The art of computer science

The University of London, in partnership with Member Institution, Goldsmiths, University of London, offers an innovative BSc Computer Science. With a choice of seven cutting-edge specialisms – including Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Games Development – the degree programme supports you to build up an impressive portfolio to help you stand out to future employers.

Computer science is the ultimate tool of creative freedom. A writer has a blank word document and an artist has a blank canvas. We as computer scientists have a blank file.

Twenty-year-old Kyle Jussab is studying the Games Development specialism. Kyle’s passion for games was sparked by a PlayStation game called ‘The Last of Us’. He was so committed to pursuing a career in the field that he campaigned with his IT teachers to be allowed to study a new computer science course that had only recently been introduced for younger year-groups at his school in Malawi, and spent his weekends taking additional lessons and teaching himself the curriculum.

Kyle said: “Playing that game was the first time I put down the controller and thought, ‘that was an amazing experience and I could only have had that experience with a game – not with a movie or a TV show or anything else’.

“Computer science is the ultimate tool of creative freedom. A writer has a blank word document and an artist has a blank canvas. We as computer scientists have a blank file. Your imagination roams free once you know how to code and the developmental strides being made in computer science are so gigantic that I honestly believe there is no better way to express your creativity than being able to code it. Hopefully one day I'll be a part of a team which creates something that shines more light on computer science and inspires people to keep pushing the boundaries of entertainment and technology.”

Studying computer science has significantly improved my logical and creative thinking, particularly when problem-solving. This programme from the University of London and Goldsmiths has actually been a real surprise in terms of the level of creativity involved.

UK-based Camila Farina is studying the Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence specialism. Her data analysis, product and project management career has included roles at Thomson Reuters, Nokia, Wipro Technologies and MasterCard. She’s now hoping to incorporate her passion for tech and innovation into her work, creating smarter processes for her customers.

Camila said: “Studying computer science has significantly improved my logical and creative thinking, particularly when problem-solving. This programme from the University of London and Goldsmiths has actually been a real surprise in terms of the level of creativity involved. We have assessments that encourage creative thinking and challenge you to go beyond pre-defined topics and discussions and do additional research. We have exercises that use gamification techniques and reward us for completing them, which makes learning a fun process. The staff are really creative and incorporate a range of teaching techniques, such as digital whiteboarding.

“I’ve also found the staff have really diverse backgrounds, which reflects the diverse background of students. Diversity is such an important aspect for any computer scientist to consider to ensure fairness when building unbiased artificial intelligent systems.”

Computer science is unique. Each time you encounter a problem you have to find a solution, and every time you solve a problem you learn something new.

Remy Jerry George discovered a love of coding during a high school project in which she had to create a cinema-booking system using Java. When the pandemic struck and travel became nearly impossible she decided the University of London’s BSc Computer Science degree offered her the best opportunity to pursue her dream career in cyber security, while studying from home in the United Arab Emirates.

Remy said: “Computer science is unique. Each time you encounter a problem you have to find a solution, and every time you solve a problem you learn something new. Creativity is so important in this field because it’s changing so drastically and evolving every second. Just like fashion, people’s interests in things change so quickly – just look at how Facebook gave way to Instagram and now TikTok and other platforms are dominating. If you don’t evolve and continue to be creative you’ll vanish.

“This programme includes a Slack channel, which I’ve found so helpful – students really help each other. We started off with four or five students in the groups and by the end we had 20 or 25 people joining in the discussion, all different ages and backgrounds, and whoever knows more about the topic offers support to the rest of us.”

This programme is perfect for me because it offers so much flexibility, which is essential because I work full-time. We have students based all over the world so I’m really excited that we’re making an international impact.

After graduating from high school, US student Betmig Link initially wanted to be an artist, but found it unfulfilling. She moved to a career in medicine but soon missed having the same creative freedom. Completing a Google IT certificate on Coursera helped her to discover her calling.

“I love the creative freedom you have as a computer scientist. As a traditional artist you have lots of freedom, but you are limited to the medium you are working with. As a traditional scientist or engineer, you are limited by your materials and equipment. But for a computer scientist, even the laws of physics can be changed or ignored when you're creating something. Computer science and IT are in many ways the nervous system of our society, so our potential as humanity is just as limitless.

“This programme is perfect for me because it offers so much flexibility, which is essential because I work full-time. We have students based all over the world so I’m really excited that we’re making an international impact. And I really like the creative, art focus the programme has.”

Find out how a BSc in Computer Science can unlock your creativity, with the University of London.