FIT CTU is the only education institution in Europe that has twice offered 100 high school students in the Czech Republic the possibility to see what it is like to study at Stanford University – one of the world’s top universities. Also this year, Stanford University prepared an extraordinary intense summer course “Introduction to Computer Science” (ICS). The sophisticated lectures followed by solution of assigned programming tasks in modern computer laboratories helped high school students grasp the basics of programming.
The aim of the unique course in Europe is to teach high school students the basics of programming in a fun and attractive way. Teachers from Stanford University are top experts in technology education. Together with teachers from FIT, they give students knowledge and skills during this busy, well-tested program. Students were provided with meticulously prepared study materials and interesting tasks, thanks to which the course is in the form of a fun game. Sophisticated lectures followed by solution of assigned programming tasks in modern computer laboratories helped high school students grasp the basics of programming.
This Stanford University course is a result of twenty years of work of dozens of teachers and more than 10,000 students. This is why the course is used by many universities worldwide.
“Last year, the participants were absolutely thrilled by this course, so we decided to get in touch with Stanford and do it again this year,” says doc. RNDr. Josef Kolář, CSc., the project’s coordinator and Vice-Dean for External Affairs at FIT CTU. “Over 80% of participants considered applying to FIT. They totally fell in love with programming, which is exactly what we need at FIT,” doc. Kolář comments on the first-ever ICS course that took place at FIT.
Alena Brožová was among the students who attended the course.
“I would like to thank everyone who participated in the event – organizers and students. The course was definitely very intense,” says Alena Brožová, who decided to study at FIT after completing the course. “I would definitely recommend the course to anyone who wants to try something new, or improve their coding skills,” she concludes.
Although the course is intended primarily for beginners, it is useful also for people who already have some experience with programming. Also, this year organizers decided to focus on the programming language Karel and the introduction to programming in Java. Students were then able to discuss the subject in small groups, which provided more individual approach to students. Emphasis was given to the use of graphics elements in Java. Examples of programming using the graphic library lead to a demonstration of the implementation of the game “Breakout”. Participants also worked on a project where they used the knowledge acquired in the course. An interesting accompanying program was prepared for the participants by FIT students.
