Be A Computer Scientist for a Week

McGill Computer Science Summer Camp 2013

July 8-12 2013

Registration is Open until May 16 2013

Student Information

Have you ever been puzzled by science? Have you tried to analyze exactly how a computer works? Are you good at problem solving, trouble-shooting, and coming up with original solutions? When people ask you about how many languages you are familiar with, do you answer: "Three. English, French and Java? Then the place you want to be, from July 4th to July 8th 2011, is at McGill University's "Be A Computer Scientist for a Week"!

Sixty students from high schools across the Montreal area will be given the opportunity to live out their passion, and learn more about the intricate sides of Computer Science! The name "computer science", or CS for short, might give the impression that we are trying to study computers, the every day machines we use for e-mail, chatting and watching movies. But CS is not about surfing the net, making charts with Excell and writing programs. Dijkstra, a famous computer scientist, once said: "Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes."

Instead, CS is the theoretical study of computing systems and information. It deals with design principles, requirements analysis, and implementation of hardware or software to solve problems in biology, physics, pharmacy or economy. It is the study of algorithms and of methods for analyzing, testing and verifying concepts. To sum it all up, Computer Science offers you skills that can be applied to any discipline and help you solve the "problems of the future"!

"Be A Computer Scientist for a Week" is a free, but intensive camp. It'll take place on the McGill University campus, in the heart of downtown! This year we offer TWO themes: Mission to Mars and Game Programming Guru, so every morning you will attend a cool presentation about a different field of computer science, like graphics, artificial intelligence, or robotics! Then you'll have an in-class lecture, and be prepared to take notes because you will be given lab assignments and projects, that will be solved in teams. First, you'll be given simple programming assignments, and then they will progressively get complex. By the end of the camp, if you were in MISSION TO MARS - you will have designed and built artificial intelligent systems and programmed robotics! If you were in Game Programming Guru you will have learned about graphics and designed your own video game. But the most exciting part is that you get to meet 29 other students from across Montreal who share similar interests to you, and who might end up being your classmates in CEGEP or university!

The camps days are divided into 5 periods: two in the morning and three in the afternoon. During the first period a keynote speaker, who is a specialist in our topic of the day, will introduce you to our days theme. The second period will be a lecture covering some of the theory behind the days theme. After lunch, period three will take place in a lab where you will solve progressively harder problems related to the mornings presentation. Period 4 is a continuation of the lab time where you will attempt to solve a single non-trivial practical problem. The last period in the day, period 5, will take you out of the class and out on campus to tour a location at McGill related to the days theme.

The last two days of the camp are centered on preparing you for a competition that takes place on the last day. For Mission to Mars, the competition will require you to program robots to perform a task that would take place on Mars. For Game Programming Guru, the competition requires you to program your own interactive video game. You will be organized into a Competition Team of about 5 members who will prepare a project that will be presented to a judging-committee. Your teachers and parents are invited to attend the competition, the award ceremony and the prize distribution. Prizes for first, second and third places will be awarded.

If you have strong mathematical and problem solving skills, are creative and enthusiastic about group work, and think that you are up for the challenge, tell your school and find out how you can register!

Find us on Youtube and Facebook!

Information

Important Doc.

The following documents are available in PDF format.

These documents are also available in French.