NCSS - The National Computer Science School

What is NCSS?

The National Computer Science School (NCSS) is a week long summer school for students who will be in Year 11-12 in 2009. NCSS brings together talented young people from around Australia for an intensive week of computer programming and website development in the School of Information Technologies, at The University of Sydney.

NCSS has been offered in various formats since 1996, when it was initiated by the University's Foundation for Information Technology. This makes 2009 the 14th year of the program.

NCSS is organised by academic staff, alumni and students of the School of Information Technologies. The school is completely residential, with all students staying with NCSS staff in full-board accommodation provided by The Women's College, within the main Camperdown campus of The University of Sydney.

When is NCSS?

NCSS 2009 will run from Saturday 3rd January to Monday 12th January (inclusive).

How much does NCSS cost?

In 2008, thanks to the generous contribution of our sponsors the cost of attending NCSS 2009 was only $330 (all inclusive) per person. In 2009 the cost for participation may rise marginally.

How do I apply?

2009 application forms will be sent to all high schools in late September. If you would like to see the type of information we will require, please view the application form from 2008. Minor changes may apply for 2009.

Application due date Monday 24th January 2008

See the applications section of this website for more details.

Who can attend NCSS?

NCSS is open to all students in Australia who will be in Year 12 in 2009. We will also consider applications from particularly gifted students entering Year 11 in 2009, but preference will be given to senior students.

You do not need to have experience with programming or web design to apply. In fact, the course assumes no previous experience but has been designed to suit a wide range of abilities and experience.

So if you are good at science, mathematics or visual art, or very enthusiastic about computing, then you are encouraged to apply.

However, the lack of assumed knowledge should not put you off if you already have lots of experience. The flexible nature of the program and the challenging project work ensure that there has never been a student we couldn't extend far beyond their existing knowledge.

Why attend NCSS?

There are many, many good reasons to give up a week of your school holidays for NCSS. You get to:

meet lots of people with similar interests from around Australia
help a major national charity
find out about University life from academics, graduates and students
find out about being a programmer from experienced professional programmers
find out about being a web designer from experienced professional web designers
talk geek/1337 with enthusiastic and expert hackers
learn a lot of interesting computer science
learn a new (object oriented) programming language
find some inspiration for major school design projects
help develop and present website ideas for a charity
develop a large piece of software in a team environment
there isn't much on telly in early January anyway.

If you find that school computing or design courses don't push you very much and you want to be extended, then this is the course for you!

On the other hand, if you haven't taken computing courses at school but have an interest in programming and web design which you would like to pursue, then this is also the course for you!

What does the program involve?

The NCSS program will involve learning:

an object-oriented scripting language (from scratch)
how web pages are transmitted across the web
how to write software to retrieve and process webpages
how search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft Live work
about dynamically generated web content
to use professional web design tools

These topics will be taught in a series of informal lectures that run throughout the week and lots of hands-on tutorial sessions. Once the basic material has been introduced, you will start developing a search engine in a team with the assistance of academics, postgraduate and undergraduate students.

In the process of learning these new skills, you will develop a web portal and a topic specific search engine tailored to the needs of an Australian charity which will act as the client for the project.

As well as the academic program, there are other activities during the summer school including team building activities, various sports such as rock climbing, movies, networked games, career talks and free time to get to know the other students from all around Australia. There are also lots of opportunities to talk with academic staff, current students, industry professionals and researchers about computer science, university and working as a professional programmer or web designer.

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	What is NCSS? The National Computer Science School (NCSS) is a week long summer school for students who will be in Year 11-12 in 2009. NCSS brings together talented young people from around Australia for an intensive week of computer programming and website development in the School of Information Technologies, at The University of Sydney. NCSS has been offered in various formats since 1996, when it was initiated by the University's Foundation for Information Technology. This makes 2009 the 14th year of the program. NCSS is organised by academic staff, alumni and students of the School of Information Technologies. The school is completely residential, with all students staying with NCSS staff in full-board accommodation provided by The Women's College, within the main Camperdown campus of The University of Sydney. When is NCSS? NCSS 2009 will run from Saturday 3rd January to Monday 12th January (inclusive). How much does NCSS cost? In 2008, thanks to the generous contribution of our sponsors the cost of attending NCSS 2009 was only $330 (all inclusive) per person. In 2009 the cost for participation may rise marginally. How do I apply? 2009 application forms will be sent to all high schools in late September. If you would like to see the type of information we will require, please view the application form from 2008. Minor changes may apply for 2009. Application due date Monday 24th January 2008 See the applications section of this website for more details. Who can attend NCSS? NCSS is open to all students in Australia who will be in Year 12 in 2009. We will also consider applications from particularly gifted students entering Year 11 in 2009, but preference will be given to senior students. You do not need to have experience with programming or web design to apply. In fact, the course assumes no previous experience but has been designed to suit a wide range of abilities and experience. So if you are good at science, mathematics or visual art, or very enthusiastic about computing, then you are encouraged to apply. However, the lack of assumed knowledge should not put you off if you already have lots of experience. The flexible nature of the program and the challenging project work ensure that there has never been a student we couldn't extend far beyond their existing knowledge. Why attend NCSS? There are many, many good reasons to give up a week of your school holidays for NCSS. You get to: meet lots of people with similar interests from around Australia help a major national charity find out about University life from academics, graduates and students find out about being a programmer from experienced professional programmers find out about being a web designer from experienced professional web designers talk geek/1337 with enthusiastic and expert hackers learn a lot of interesting computer science learn a new (object oriented) programming language find some inspiration for major school design projects help develop and present website ideas for a charity develop a large piece of software in a team environment there isn't much on telly in early January anyway. If you find that school computing or design courses don't push you very much and you want to be extended, then this is the course for you! On the other hand, if you haven't taken computing courses at school but have an interest in programming and web design which you would like to pursue, then this is also the course for you! What does the program involve? The NCSS program will involve learning: an object-oriented scripting language (from scratch) how web pages are transmitted across the web how to write software to retrieve and process webpages how search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft Live work about dynamically generated web content to use professional web design tools These topics will be taught in a series of informal lectures that run throughout the week and lots of hands-on tutorial sessions. Once the basic material has been introduced, you will start developing a search engine in a team with the assistance of academics, postgraduate and undergraduate students. In the process of learning these new skills, you will develop a web portal and a topic specific search engine tailored to the needs of an Australian charity which will act as the client for the project. As well as the academic program, there are other activities during the summer school including team building activities, various sports such as rock climbing, movies, networked games, career talks and free time to get to know the other students from all around Australia. There are also lots of opportunities to talk with academic staff, current students, industry professionals and researchers about computer science, university and working as a professional programmer or web designer.

© National Computer Science School 2005-2009	Last modified: Monday May 12, 2008

NCSS 2009

Program Info