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Why are we here?

• Purpose of the meeting is to help you:

– Make the most of this semester

– Achieve what you are capable of

– Help you achieve your plans for the future

• So:

– Exams

– Projects

– Careers

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Exams

• Option choices deadline: 5pm Fri 12th February

• Feedback session– A chance to see last semester’s answer books

– Weds 16th March 2pm

• Resits– There are none

• Mitigating Circumstances?– Tell us as soon as possible, deadlines will be announced

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Your final degree

• For most students

– Y2 average counts 33%

– Y3 average counts 67%

• 40 credit project is c.22% of the degree

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• For Honours status you need to pass

– 80 Y3 credits >40% (class indicated)

– 60 Y3 credits >40% (drop a class)

• Failing exams

– Can fail exams and not fail your degree

– NO RESITS

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Project Timetable

• Demonstrations: 2 – 16 March 2016

• Project Showcase: 20 April, pm

• Stop implementing: 18 March 2016– 7 ½ weeks

• Give your supervisor time to proofread• And you time to correct

• Submission (report and screencast): 3 May 2016

• Plagiarism– Report automatically checked

• Balance work between project and course units

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Graduation

• 11th – 22nd July

– Date and time to be confirmed

• Then what?

– Work

– Further study

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What next?

• Congratulations if you’re already sorted

• Most larger companies have closed but …

Lots of SMEs recruiting computer scientists

• See Moodle http://bit.ly/csmcrjobs (see later)

• See Careers Link

http://www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/careerslink

• And www.gradcracker.com etc

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Its not easy, but there is

good evidence to suggest

UK economic climate is

getting much better

Via

www.highfliers.co.uk

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Dates for your Diary

• Manchester Digital Skills Festival 2016

– www.manchesterdigital.com Town Hall

– Talent Day: Weds Feb 10th

2016 ~60 local employers

– Similar in Kilburn, March

• University Careers fairs

– #MyFutureFest (8-12th Feb)

– ~11/12th(?) June, Armitage Centre Fallowfield

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www.SiliconMilkRoundabout.com

• 7th – 8th May 2016 in London

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CV?

@csmcr alumni http://bit.ly/linkedinmcr

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• Github

• Sourceforge

• Google Code

• Not just code!

• Your final year

project?

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Unique Selling Points @csmcr

• ~9000 grads in CompSci from UK Universities,

what makes you special?

– Fundamentals (not fashions)

– Education (not training)

– Mix of hardware AND software

– Languages aren’t important (any language)

• Quick learners!

– Proven ability to pick up stuff

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Help and advice

• We’re here to help! http://bit.ly/cv-bank

• Come and see me (LF25) or speak to Mabel (LF26)

• Drop-in sessions

• Careers Service– CV / application help

– Assessment Centres

– Interviews

• Ben Carter, Thursdays 9-11am

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Further study / research

• Now is the time to be applying: Deadlines vary, but the earlier you apply the more likely you are to be able to be considered for funding ( if there is any available)

• What and Where to study?

http://www.cs.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/

• http://www.cs.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/

• http://www.findaphd.com & http://www.findamasters.com

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Review/Feedback

• I take trying to improve what we do seriously

• Lots of ways for you to give us feedback:

– Suggestion boxes (physical and online),

– Staff Student Committee (SSC),

– CEQ/UEQs,

– Speak to tutors, Lab supervisors, Director of UG, Head of School...

– President’s visit (3pm 17th Feb 2016),

– National Student Survey.

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National Student Survey (NSS)

• Conducted by IPSOS MORI for the Government.

• Another feedback mechanism for us, but:

• You fill it in during Feb - April, we don’t get the results until late August.

• NSS asks for an overview of the whole of your time

here, so...

– Use UEQs, SSC, suggestion boxes for feedback on course units

– We want to hear about current issues directly

– Use NSS to rate your overall experience from day 1

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What is NSS used for?

• NSS is how we benchmark ourselves against

other universities.

• It’s important that it’s representative of what

you all think, so please do complete it.

• Last year 79% of CS students completed it,

please help us by making it higher this year.

• Give detailed comments in the text boxes so

we understand your scores.

• Some detail of how scores are calculated...

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What does NSS look like?T

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What do the results look like?

Two main numbers for each question: Mean score and %Agree

I look at how we compare to other universities for ALL questions.

The headline figure most widely used for comparison is %Agree with Q22

Please fill in the NSS with an honest appraisal of your whole degree

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• NSS started 1 Feb

– IPSOS MORI will eventually pester you until you complete NSS.

• Some more positive encouragement:

• Complete the NSS survey

• Print out the confirmation Page

• Take it to SSO (LF21)

• Free bar of chocolate for everyone!

• Vote for your favourite charity

SCS NSS Lottery 2016T

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The Contenders …

• Francis House Children’s Hospice

• Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention

• Manchester Deaf Centre

• Manchester Mind

• Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity

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You Said – We Did

• Delayed Feedback

• Inconsistent marking

• Content in

years/courses

• No Halal outlets nearby

• Monitoring lecturers

• Continuing to train

Teaching Assistants

• Ongoing course reviews

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The End.

• Any Questions?