Course Objectives
This course serves to introduce the fun and challenge of computer science (CS) and information technology (IT) to exceptionally gifted secondary school students through working on a programming-oriented group project under guidance. Its dual objectives are to expose students to the scientific foundations of CS and to give them ample opportunities to gain hands-on experience in using IT in creative ways to solve problems encountered in daily life. The target participants are Form 3 to Form 7 students who are gifted in IT.
Course Description
Students will work in project groups of 5-6 students each. There are altogether eight projects. Each project is supervised by at least one professor from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, with the assistance of one tutor who is either a research postgraduate student or an instructional assistant. Students indicate their project preferences in the application form. Project assignment will take into consideration the interests of the students.
The project will last for 4-5 months, from April to August 2008. The Opening Ceremony will be held at the beginning of April 2008. There will be five project group meetings, with the first one to be held immediately after the Opening Ceremony. The meetings will normally be held on Saturdays. Through the group meetings, students will acquire relevant background and plan on details to carry out their project.There will also be a round-up camp at the beginning of August 2008 at HKUST. Students attending the camp will stay in an undergraduate student hall for two nights. Attendance of the camp is mandatory for the group members to complete their project together. Each group will be required to give both oral and poster presentations (in English) to all the Project Course participants as well as other guests who will be invited to attend the project presentations.
Certificate
Students who have achieved at least 80% attendance of the five group meetings, attended the camp, and successfully completed and presented the project will be issued a certificate. In addition, awards will be given to group members of outstanding projects and their projects will be displayed publicly.