Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Leeds Beckett students to showcase innovative technology projects at free event
The eighth annual programme, which is to include a keynote speech by Bob Crooks, Chair of the British Computer Society’s (BCS) Green ICT Specialist Group, will take place from 6pm to 8.30pm on Monday 23 May at the University’s Rose Bowl.
In addition, there will be a public viewing of the creative technologies projects beforehand from 2.30pm to 4.30pm, also at the Rose Bowl. No booking is required for the afternoon.
Speaking ahead of the event, Dr Maurice Calvert, Principal Lecturer in the School of Computing, Creative Technologies and Engineering, said: “The showcase provides an opportunity for our very best students to display the work that they have created – it is the capstone of their course.”
The projects on show this year include work by games designers, computer animators and computer programmers and have been drawn from a variety of subject specialisms with topics derived from the School’s research activities, industry sources and from the personal interest and enthusiasm of staff and students. The projects include Using Android Forensic Artefacts to Predict a User’s Location (Jordan Brear, BSc (Hons) Computer Forensics) and Underground, a tense, visceral action horror game set in the London underground (Charles Clark, Nathan Duke, Gregg Perry, Reece Sherwood and Hayden Young, BSc (Hons) Games Design).
Jordan commented: “I have really enjoyed the Computer Forensics module. Through it I have developed a wide range of skills, including forensics and development skills which will be of great help going forward and will allow me to succeed in many roles within the IT industry. I'm excited to be displaying my work at the showcase so that people can see how I have applied these skills to my final project.”
Che Guevara John, Course Leader for BSc (Hons) Games Design, added: “The event aligns itself to digital events and conferences which have taken place across the city, including the recent Leeds Digital Festival in April, which celebrated digital culture in all its forms and included work by Leeds Beckett University students and staff.
“Our courses steer gifted students towards much sought-after jobs in the growing creative sector. The showcase allows people from both industry and the public to view the high-standard of work that our students produce.”
Keynote speaker, Bob Crooks, has been involved in all aspects of IT over a long career in government ICT, which since 2011 has focused on Sustainable and Innovative ICT. He currently works for the UK’s Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and chairs the cross-government Green ICT Delivery Unit which is now undertaking a fifth annual assessment of departments’ adoption of Green and Sustainable ICT best practices. The BCS Green ICT Specialist Group he chairs now has over 1,000 members of which 25 percent are from overseas. The Group has sponsored the IoT video project which features in the showcase.
Bob said about the showcase: “I am very impressed by the range of topics covered by the students’ projects. I think we in the UK rightly pride ourselves on our ability to innovate and generate new ideas; opening up new services and business opportunities. The recent statistic showing that 94.1 percent of Leeds Beckett 2013/14 graduates were in work, undertaking further study or both six months after leaving the university, shows the role that Leeds Beckett is playing in delivering students which such great ideas into business. The BCS is very much about joining up ICT communities - business, academic, and public sector - and promoting the role of ICT in Society. A showcase is a great way of enabling and facilitating the academic contribution to those activities.”
Professor Colin Pattinson, Head of the School of Computing, Creative Technologies and Engineering, summarised: “We are very proud of the creative and practical skills of our students, as shown by the breadth, depth and diversity of the high-quality work on show.”