Ojaswee’s First Year
Ojaswee Bajracharya, Informatics Student, shares her experience of her 1st year at the University during the pandemic.
Note: This is just Ojaswee’s experience in 1st year during the pandemic in 2020/21, others may have different experiences. Course names, lectures and content changes from year to year, so make sure to check the correct Degree Programme Specification for the current year on the link provided below. Lectures, workshops and labs are now in-person as opposed to online as was the case in Ojaswee’s experience.
Background
Hi everyone! My name is Ojaswee and I’m a BSc Computer Science student in the School of Informatics. A little bit about myself – I took both Computer Science GCSE and A-Level, so I was familiar with the subject. Don’t worry if you are completely new to the subject – as you’ll soon find out, all of us pretty much start off in the same boat. However, be prepared for increased pressure compared to school and dedicate appropriate time for studying the subject!
Semester One
This year (2020/21) in Semester 1, I took the Introduction to Computation and Introduction to Linear Algebra courses.
Introduction to Computation had two strands: Functional Programming and Computation and Logic. We had online lectures, weekly Q&A sessions with the lecturers and also smaller online tutorials for both strands with our tutors. Nearly everything in this course was entirely new to me. We learnt Haskell, a functional programming language, which was completely different to what I was used to (Python, some Java). The Logic side was also all very new, looking at topics such as propositional logic, predicates, finite state machines etc. We were assessed through short quizzes and weekly assignments. So overall quite a big jump from school and very challenging at times but nonetheless, extremely rewarding!
Introduction to Computation 2023/24 DRPS
We also all had to take Introduction to Linear Algebra, something else which was completely new. This is a course from the School of Mathematics, however, all first-year Computer Science students also had to take it. Here we looked at fundamental ideas of linear algebra and were assessed through weekly tests and also one final larger test at the end of the semester. We actually had in-person tutorials in small groups for this course! If you took something similar to Further Maths A-Level, you might find this course easier at the start. I had only taken Maths A-Level and personally found this probably the trickiest course. Although, there are still many places to get help even with the maths content, such as asking your tutor and MathsBase, which you can read about in the Getting Help section.
Introduction to Linear Algebra 2023/24 DRPS
Semester Two
In Semester 2, I took the Object-Oriented Programming and Calculus and its Applications courses.
I really enjoyed Object-Oriented Programming and it’s probably been one of my favourite courses so far! We learnt object-oriented concepts using Java and were assessed through three large pieces of coursework and small weekly tests. The assignments were actually quite creative and fun to do and allowed us to apply the concepts we’d learnt through the lectures. We had online lectures, lab assignments, online tutorials in small groups and weekly pair programming sessions.
Object-Oriented Programming 2023/24 DRPS
Calculus and its Applications was again another compulsory maths course all Computer Science students had to take. Calculus consisted of online lectures, online tutorials and also weekly live sessions led by a lecturer. We were assigned homework assignments, weekly quizzes and one final exam (having done some calculus before at school, I found this course a lot better than linear algebra!).
Calculus and its Applications 2023/24 DRPS
Getting Help
For both semesters, we used a platform called Piazza extensively, which I also really found useful – especially as we had the option to ask anonymously too! Piazza is an online forum where you can ask questions, discuss topics, host polls etc. and lecturers, instructors and other students can answer. From my experience, I’ve found the replies to be fairly fast and always pretty helpful!
There are also other places such as InfBase, InfPals, MathsBase etc to get more help if needed!
Informatics Student Learning Support
Optional Courses and DRPS
All the courses I’ve talked about above were all compulsory courses and we had 40 credits free to take any other courses we liked (including from other schools). I chose to take German 1A for the entire year and it was very refreshing to do something different to the Informatics and Maths content!
You can look at more information regarding your specific degree programme for the upcoming academic year on the Degree Regulations & Programmes of Study (DRPS) 2023/24 website below.
Degree Programme Specification (DRPS) 2023/24
Beyond Classes
Aside from just doing the degree, at Edinburgh, there are many activities and events you can get involved in. Due to COVID, all the events were online but still very fun!
The events I took part in this year include:
- HackTheBurgh, one of the largest student-run hackathons in the UK
- DataFest, a data analysis competition run by the School of Maths
- PwnEd, a CTF organised by SigInt, a cybersecurity special interest group within CompSoc (Edinburgh’s tech society)
Conclusion
So looking back, my top tips would be to get involved in lots of events, societies, try to stay organised and on top of your work and also to not be afraid to get help when you need it – honestly, even if you’re struggling with something like the set-up, please do ask for help! There is loads of support available as long as you ask for it.
Blog post originally written by Ojaswee Bajracharya, Informatics Student 2020.
Edited by Dimona Videnlieva, Informatics Communications Intern 2023.
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