University of Georgia computer science majors joined an immersive study abroad program in England through Connect Abroad, an initiative to make spring break trips a source of career preparedness and cultural learning.
“Computers are everywhere, right?” says Bradley Barnes, a senior lecturer and undergraduate coordinator for the School of Computing who led the program. “In every discipline, students could benefit from a deeper understanding of computers, regardless of their field of study.”
On the Computing in England trip, 17 students learned about British codebreakers and cryptography in Bletchley Park, well known as the hub of Allied codebreaking during the Second World War. They also interacted with leading computer companies and connected with industry experts.
They visited East London’s Silicon Roundabout, Britain’s answer to Silicon Valley, where they met with heads of startup companies. They toured Google’s Pancras Square office, where a panel of seven Google software engineers offered insights into career journeys. On a day trip to Oxford, they met with Imran Mahmood, an AI and machine learning researcher at the University of Oxford, who his research about developing computer models to reduce the rate of pregnancies that end in stillbirth in Pakistan.
Learn more about the program in the video above and in this story, originally published as part of UGA’s Beyond the Arch series.
