Three good things about being a UH ICS student

Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Michael Beck on August 27, 2011 at 3:03pm

Three good things the UH ICS program provides:

1. The flexibility to take some courses on-line

2. An M.S. program that enforces enrollment in courses from different concentrations or areas of ICS

3. The ability to earn an ICS graduate degree in the State of Hawaii - for both Hawaii residents and non-residents

Permalink Reply by Jayson Gamiao on August 27, 2011 at 11:59pm

1) If you're good enough there are plenty of opportunities to showcase your skills in this major.

2) I believe ICS is a difficult major all-around, so this forces most of us to naturally help each other out.

3) I've never realized the creative aspect of ICS up until now (I get caught up with the details regarding syntax which bogs me down). But you can do some really nice things given a problem that requires a solution.

Permalink Reply by Jason Yeo on August 28, 2011 at 1:00am

1. Gerald Lau is a great resource for ICS students to reach out too. He does a lot for the students (send internship emails, job opportunities, and class availability updates). I've visited him plenty of times over the years for advice on career goals and ICS related issues.

2. Asynchronous classes taught though outreach is a great solution for students that are not able to attend a class if it does not fit into their schedule. The only drawback to this is that it does get expensive since it is taught through outreach.

3. Relevant courses, after taking your fundamental basic programming courses the upper level classes offered are relevant to student's current interests. For example android programming/mobile development, high performance computing, etc..

Permalink Reply by Jordan Takayama on August 28, 2011 at 1:58am

Access to the UH Manoa faculty and advisors, who are knowledgeable, willing to help with academic and career goal-planning, and have deep ties to the local technology industry. It's always good to have these kinds of resources, especially when you're starting out in the major and trying to plot out the next four years.
In line with other responses, MSDNAA membership - it is a good way to get experience with professional development tools before graduating in a way that is easier on college student's wallets.
Email notification of available ICS-related campus and off-campus job offerings at the beginning of the semester. Regardless of whether one is going to apply for a position in any given semester, it's always good to see what is out there and what programming languages and areas of expertise employers are looking for.

Permalink Reply by Shawn Matsuura on August 28, 2011 at 10:26am

1. The community of ICS students and teachers is much closer than other colleges. Making it easier and much more comfortable to ask for help and work together as a group.

2. The courses offered by the UH system fill a wide area. For example Manoa offers operating systems and Leeward offers applications for iPhone/iTouch.

3. The UH staff is always willing to help the students, from sending out e-mails about offers and events to having teachers reply to e-mails late at night.

Permalink Reply by BJ Peter DeLaCruz on August 28, 2011 at 12:09pm

Being Julia's student was probably the greatest thing that happened to me at UH.

Permalink Reply by Christopher Foo on August 28, 2011 at 1:21pm

Online courses through Outreach helps students to take classes that otherwise would not fit into their schedules. It also allows students to access outside faculty such as Dr. Endicott-Popovsky from the University of Washington who teaches the various security courses through Outreach.
The wide range of courses offered covers many different topics that fall under the heading of Computer Science. The ICS department offers a wide variety of courses with subjects as diverse as scripting languages, high performance computing, security and information assurance, and even cognitive science. This allows students to obtain a good deal of breadth in the field and can also help students who are unsure of what specialty they want to go into (such as myself) explore some of the options that are available.
The e-mails sent out by Gerald Lau and the presenters brought in for ICS 290 present students with many potential job and internship opportunities. This really helps students connect with the industry and can help students in obtaining valuable internship/work experience before graduating. In addition, these resources can help students see what qualifications employers are looking for in their candidates. Some of these are taught through standard ICS coursework, but others would require some outside learning and finding out about those desirable skills ahead of time allows students to work on them before entering the job market.

Permalink Reply by Chris Fang on August 28, 2011 at 1:54pm

1. Challenges - Starting from ICS111, students are challenged to think and strive to be excellent. The assignments are usually engaging and students are often left without much guidance, which often leads to the greatest understanding.

2. Well-rounded understanding - The UH ICS program doesn't just focus on teaching students how to code. It tries to shape students to be ready for the software world by conveying the importance of all stages of development, not just implementation. It also makes students think about the hardware, not just the software, and understanding both is the best way to become better at either.

3. Education - If nothing else, the first and foremost thing that any University ought to strive for is the education of their students. Even when a degree doesn't guarantee a career, it should still qualify the student which holds the degree as someone who became more knowledgeable through the teachings and pushing of their professors. The ICS program certainly makes students learn.

Permalink Reply by Sean S K Chung on August 28, 2011 at 2:39pm

1) We have a great counselor Gerald Lau who has proven to be very helpful to me along my ICS journey. Though the guy could use some more help...

2) As many people have already mentioned the MSDNAA free software for obvious reasons.

3) I don't know if I plan to go that far, but Manoa does offer a PhD program in ICS.

Permalink Reply by sergey.negrashov on August 28, 2011 at 2:49pm

1. Diverse Faculty. Some with interdisciplinary backgrounds.

2. Graduate chair Henri Casanova is simply awesome. He is very accessible and always happy to help.

3. Close ties to the EE/Math/Physics department.

-Serge

Permalink Reply by Ardell S Klemme on August 28, 2011 at 4:27pm

1. Greyhats. Although I regrettably don't have the time available to continue to participate in that group, it is a wonderful opportunity for "regular" college students. The group allows a community of motivated ICS students a chance to meet and learn from each other. In addition, it offers students an opportunity to learn a lot about security and even take part in national network security competitions, which is an excellent resume builder for those able to participate.

2. While this cannot be said for all the professors in the ICS program, some of the staff are incredible and amazing! There are professors and others who really care about a student's development and are amazingly motivational! I rather wish that I had started thinking earlier about a professional persona, as well as building a list of impressive projects, to showcase to the world and prospective employers. I finally feel like I'm aware of a larger picture than simply "going through the motions" to get a degree. As a result, I have a much different approach to assignments as opportunities to excel and show-off, rather than obstacles or obligations that need to be completed to progress forward.

3. It is exciting to learn that there are actually some decent opportunities in Hawaii for ICS graduates. Nothing can be as disappointing as realizing that the "light at the end of the tunnel" has been turned off, so having possibilities after graduation is encouraging.

Permalink Reply by Mitchell Kupfer on August 28, 2011 at 6:03pm

1. Insight into the profession: UHM does a good job, in my opinion, in exposing, educating and preparing its ICS students for what is going to come after graduation with classes like survey of computer science careers, and ICS 314.

2. Challenging classes: Not all of the ICS classes at UHM are extremely challenging, but having transferred half way though my bachelors degree to UHM I appreciate the quality of education/professors I get from UH.

3. Good academic advisor: If you like to utilise an academic advisor, which I do, working with a bad one is a nightmare luckily... we have Gerald.

Three good things about being a UH ICS student

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