Yesterday was another busy day at the University of Toronto.  The Department of Computer Science hosts a ShowCaSe competition every year, and I got a chance to volunteer at this year’s event.  The competition is essentially a chance for high school students to demo projects that they’ve done at school.  Things ranged from games the students programmed, to things like attaching a webcam to remote control cars.  All of the ambassadors and faculty members were amazed at the work done by these high school students!  I wish I had more time to play around with these projects, but I had to give Bahen tours.  But congratulations to the winners once again!  I’m sure they’ll have an awesome time at AutoDesk!

In addition to the ShowCaSe competition that was held in the morning, the Department of Computer Science also had an Open House in the afternoon.  This Open House was slightly different than the March Break Open House we had a few weeks ago.  Read the rest of this entry »

As of last fall, I’ve joined the Department of Computer Science (DCS) Ambassadors team.  The DCS Ambassador program is a volunteer program where a team of undergraduate (and some graduate) students help the department out at various events.  In the next month or so, I’ll be helping out at:

• March 20th – University of Toronto Faculty of Arts & Science Open House
• March 27th – A prospective student will be visiting (hunting around for the right university)
• April 4th – ShowCaSe Competition & Open House
• Sometime in May – Gr8 Designs for Gr8 Girls Event 

On top of that, James and I have been working very hard in putting together a presentation for our high school visits.  We will be heading out to high schools to tell them about how great computer science is!  Our goal is to educate high school students about what computer science is about, and what kind of experiences they could get at the University of Toronto.

Yesterday, James and I gave Diane a run-through of our presentation.  We got a few more suggestions from her and some of our peers.  Now, we will start contacting high schools to see if anybody is interested.

James also created a really cool Photosynth of Bahen (our computer science building — our home away from home during the school year).  Check it out, it’s really cool!

I should really get into the habit of blogging about events right after they happen.  But I suppose it’s better late than never. :)

A few weeks ago, I officially accepted the IBM User-Centered Design Specialist offer as my 16-month internship for the Professional Experience Year (PEY) program offered at the University of Toronto.  I spent a lot of time thinking about the position, and I also spoke to a lot people to get some advice as to which offer I should take.  I had a few offers to choose from (luckily): a few IBM positions (1 of which was this UX position; others were generally software development related positions), and other offers from various other companies and organizations.  The two offers that I was mainly deciding between were this UX position at IBM, and a software developer position at Intelliware.

This was a big decision to make, and there were so many aspects to take into consideration.  For example, I was thinking about the position (and whether or not I would like to pursue in that direction upon graduation), travelling (will I have to spend approximately another 3 hours on the TTC every day?), the people I will be working with, the projects that I may potentially work on…etc.  But I finally decided to take the UX position at IBM.

Read the rest of this entry »

My first entry ever since moving from idea021.wordpress.com!

Last Tuesday, we had our second “Ladies in Computing” dinner for the Fall/Winter 2008-2009 term.  The one we had last November was a great success, and I certainly hope that this one was okay too (since this was my first time planning an event like this)!  I got to speak to a few of the ladies, and learned a bit more about the industry.  It was also a good chance to get some interview tips too — I had an interview the morning after!  I personally had a great time, and I hope the other ladies did too!

Near the end of the dinner, I asked everbody when would be a good time to host the next “Ladies in Computing” event, and some ladies suggested that 2 or so months from now would be a good time.  However, that may have to take place over the summer, so I’ll have to speak to some more people to see if they’re willing to come out for it during the summer.  If not, we can always host it sometime at the beginning of the next school year.  Hopefully, we can make this a regular event.

Here are some pictures from the dinner: Read the rest of this entry »

A few months ago, the Google Summer of Code 2008 program officially came to an end. I don’t think I can name all the things that I’ve learned throughout the summer, since there’s just so many! But I thought I’d mention a few:

• Reading – It wasn’t until this summer, had I realized how much reading a developer does. I devoted more time familiarizing myself with the Cytoscape code base than actually developing myself. I’ve also realized that reading external resources like books and discussion boards often facilitate your ability to work independently.
• Documentation – Over the summer, I’ve truly learned the importance of documentation. Spending the time to document your code while you develop it will save a lot of time for yourself and others that will have to work with your code in the future.
• Communication – In open source projects, developers are often located in all parts of the world. It is very important to have good communication skills so problems, ideas, and concerns can be addressed and brought to the others’ attention regardless of where they are. Read the rest of this entry »