Acadia University faculty and student volunteers will lead girls aged 11 to 15 in a winter workshop this Saturday to make robots dance like stars. The daylong workshop kicks off National Computer Science Week on the Wolfville campus.

Acadia is one of many universities across Canada and the US promoting computer science - one of the fastest growing career fields.

"It's a field hungry for graduates. The demand is so high, that students are getting multiple job offers," says Dr. Ken Barker, president of the Canadian Association of Computer Science / Association d'Informatique Canadienne.

"Students live and breathe computers - from YouTube and their iPods to Facebook and instant messaging - but they don't realize how much more there is to learn about the science of computing and how much of an advantage that extra knowledge could be in so many different careers."

Universities are struggling to meet to the demand in the sector, as indicated in a recent report of the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC), which predicts that by 2015 up to 179,000 new ICT jobs will be created, many of them requiring a university education.

"Our biggest challenge is introducing computer science to Canada's youth as early as possible; showing them its importance to the nation and the many exciting career and entrepreneurial opportunities that exist," says Dr. Danny Silver, director of Acadia's Jodrey School of Computer Science. "The National Computer Science Education Week is the start of a campaign to better connect with Canadians."

He notes that the idea that computer science involves nerdy men, sitting alone behind monochrome terminals doing boring work is far from the truth. In reality, there are all types in the field ranging from mathematicians to artists to environmentalists and entrepreneurs. 

For more information about the events taking place across the country, visit: http://www.cacsaic.ca/computerscience_educationweek_2010

For more information about the Girls Robot Event: http://cs.acadiau.ca/rpc/women/index.php

For the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) report, visit:  http://www.ictc-ctic.ca/uploadedFiles/ICTC_Outlook_e_Summary.pdf

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Media Contact:

Dr. Danny Silver

Director, Jodrey School of Computer Science

Acadia University

902-585-1331

danny.silver@acadiau.ca