UL CyberCamp offers software insights to second level students

A CyberCamp held at University of Limerick has offered second level students an insight into software and electronics.

During the last week in June and first week in July, 140 second level students from over 50 regional schools have been given an introduction to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) subjects during UL CyberCamp 2024.

The four three-day camps allowed students between the ages of 13 and 17 to experience an introduction to core software and electronics topics such as web design, games development with Java, electronics and robots.

During each camp, the students were shown how to make a website, design and code simple games in the Java programming language, programme robots with Lego Mindstorm toolkits, and build a simple circuit to monitor a person's heart rate.

Commenting on the initiative, Clem O'Donnell, Director of the ICT Learning Centre at UL said: "I would like to thank all those who contributed to making this year's UL CyberCamp such an enjoyable and successful experience for the attending secondary school students over the last two weeks.

"We believe that giving these students an insight into the fundamentals of Software and Electronics subjects is crucial in making them aware of the exciting options for future third level study within this critical sector. The University of Limerick is once again grateful to the Higher Education Authority for supporting the camp."

David (14) from St Muchins College said "UL Cybercamp is a great place to make friends and learn about Computer Science!, I'd highly recommend attending if you're interested in computers in any way whatsoever!" while Vareesha (14) from Edopia, Islamabad, stated that she "liked that it's [Cybercamp] very interactive and fun, It's an amazing camp, I would recommend it to everyone!"

The students were guided through the material for each topic by experienced presenters who were assisted by trained undergraduate and postgraduate students attending the University.

The UL Cyber Camp initiative is led and managed by the ICT Learning Centre and Peer Supported Learning Centre at UL with assistance from both the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems and the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering. The Camp is funded by the Higher Education Authority.

More information about the UL CyberCamp is available online.