CS 1944: Computer Science First Year Seminar
Spring 2016
Details on Deliverables

Elevator Speech

An "elevator speech" is a short introduction of yourself that you give to someone (e.g., a prospective employer at a career fair) when you only have 30-60 seconds to make an impression. See this handout from VT Career Services for some tips.

A common thing to include in your elevator speech is a brief answer to the question "what are you interested in?" This can be a difficult question, especially if you are just getting started in CS. The best answer is one that reflects both your own (genuine) interests and the possible opportunities at a particular company. But just to get started, and in case you don't know much about a particular company, it's a good idea to think about this question ahead of time, even if only in a general sense.

If you don't know where to start, here are some examples from our CS Ambassadors.

Cool Topic Project

This is a group project involving groups of about 4, assigned by the instructor. The goal is to learn about a recent cool topic related to computing and computer science, and to share what you learn with the rest of the class. A "cool topic" might be a new technology or tool, an emerging trend or application, or an exciting new use of computers or computation. Your topic should not be something too familiar ("Java") or too broad ("Computer Security", "The Cloud"). Instead, find something that you are interested in and you think others in the class might benefit from hearing about. Topics must be approved by Dr. Ribbens by March 31. Your topic should be something for which you can produce the following:

Company Presentations

The table below lists upcoming company presentions or information sessions. More will be added as the semester unfolds, but the majority of company presentations are during the first half of the semester. We will attempt to keep this list up-to-date. However, it is likely that you will hear about other relevant presentations through email or posted flyers. Some are hosted by the CS Department, some by student groups, some by Career Services. Any of these is fine. Email announcements are more authoritative regarding time and place.

For each presentation you attend, write one paragraph summarizing what you heard, i.e., something about the company, what was emphasized, what you learned that was interesting about the company or careers at that company, etc. Upload your paragraph to the class Scholar site.

Technical Talks or Seminars

The table below lists upcoming technical talks and seminars (more will be added as the semester unfolds). Email announcements are more authoritative regarding time and place. For each talk, write a summary paragraph of the presentation, including something you learned and any helpful critiques you can suggest to improve the presentation. Upload your response to the class Scholar site.

CS 1944, C. J. Ribbens, 01/18/2016