Universities should broaden how computer science is taught in light of the current mismatch between business IT requirements and graduate skills, according to a renowned professor.
<p>Statistics indicate that many businesses are still struggling to fill job posts and that there are thousands of computer science graduates out of work; the conclusion is that there are many opportunities available for suitably skilled professionals.</p>
<p>Adrian David Cheok, professor of pervasive computing at City University, London has stated that graduates and other IT professionals should be looking beyond the basics of programming and should understand the basics of business itself.</p>
<p>“In the UK, just learning the basics of programming is not enough because it has become a commoditised industry. There are hundreds of thousands of graduates in India and China who are really good at programming, so a lot of these things can be outsourced,” he said.</p>
<p>Human skills are a necessity even in computer science, continued the professor, meaning that IT workers should make more attempts to build their network and to leverage it. It is interesting that his comments were made at a time when 'mundane' lessons are actually putting younger people off studying computer science at a higher level.</p>
<p>Professor Cheok also says that universities have a vital part to play in the process, noting that the higher education institutes should adapt and provide more courses focused on combining business skills with pure programming knowledge such as using Java or C.</p>
<p>The opportunities for skilled programmers who are prepared to work on their business acumen are undoubtedly there.</p>