CERIC funds development of guides for working with students interested in computing disciplines
In partnership with Mount Royal University, CERIC will fund a new project to improve career counselling for students interested in information and computer technology. The project will produce both a Practitioner’s Guide and Student’s Guide.
The Practitioner’s Guide will provide secondary and post-secondary counsellors and academic advisors with accurate discipline information. They can use this to direct students prior to application for admission to post-secondary education and/or prior to when students are required to choose their major.
Over the past 15 years, computing has undergone significant change, resulting in five sub-disciplines (or career areas) which are distinct from one another. These five disciplines, defined by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), are: computer science (CS), information systems (IS), computer engineering (CE), software engineering (SE) and information technology (IT).
Research and practice have shown that there is considerable overlap between the computing sub-disciplines, but universities tend to offer distinct computing degrees that typically do not blend curricula between the different disciplines. For students, this poses a strain, as majors need to be chosen early on in their post-secondary education process.
The outcome of this project for students will be to support their career selection process, so that they may make career choices that are more in line with their values and interests.
CERIC provides funding and other support to develop innovative career development resources. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to submit project proposals for career counselling-related research or learning projects.