By Michael Chen (22A01C), Chairperson
The Computer Science Society (CSS) is made up of all kinds of people: the socially awkward (obviously), the charismatic leader, the genius who knows everything, and passionate beginners. Everyone has a place in our CCA.
When we’re not coding in front of the computer with our teammates, we are…coding in front of the computer with our teammates.
Our CCA’s activities revolve around these 3 core principles: Learn, Build, Play.
Learn
Every year, the EXCO conducts courses on a myriad of computer science topics. To provide the best learning experience possible, our members get access to professional resources and help.
This year, our data science course was taught by Gerrard Tai (22S06D), our vice-chairperson, to a group of 11 members. For the first time, we collaborated with AI Singapore to provide a combined $3000+ worth of interactive data science resources for everyone who took the course.
To take our user interface design (UI/UX) course to the next level, we started an in-house UI/UX mentorship programme with professional designers from large companies in Singapore. Course takers received portfolio reviews, career guidance, and design tips from experts.
Web and app development remains a huge part of our course offerings, with over 50% taking at least 1 in a year. Our EXCO engaged Tinkercademy, an external coding school with highly experienced instructors, to teach the fundamentals of programming languages like HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
And these are just some of what we offer. Everyone has the freedom to choose the skills they are interested in—it’s 100% your choice as to which course you wish to take part in.
Projects done by our members as part of our 4-week courses
Build
Computer science should not be confined to lonely, isolated computer labs. It is a force for social good, a powerful way to make our lives better. Our CCA doesn’t just aim to learn—we also aim to contribute back to society.
With this in mind, we launched an internal incubator—a specially designed program to help teams from our CCA innovate and build their ideas. It allows them to work on their ideas during CCA time, while leveraging our resources and expert network. For example, Nyx Iskandar (22S06G), a member of our CCA, formed a team under our incubator program to build BookUs—a platform to help RI teachers and students to arrange consultations/meetings, in an organized way.
We’ve also initiated a slew of collaborations with other CCAs. We are working closely with Raffles Press and Raffles Basketball to improve their respective websites. For the past 2 years, we’ve aided the Students’ Council in creating an immersive digital open house experience for prospective students.
Our new CCA website and a prototype of BookUs
Play
The typical image of a “coder” is a guy with nerdy glasses, bad hair and no social skills, sitting in front of 3 monitors filled with alien symbols. And to be fair, computer science can feel like a solitary journey.
But our CCA changes this. From icebreaker games to bingo, we have created a collaborative and fun CCA experience for everyone. We’ve even created our own computer science-themed bonding games!
Courses are conducted in an interactive fashion and projects are always done in groups. The best tech innovations are always those of multiple heads working together, so getting comfortable with collaborative work is great for both working and mingling with peers.
We make computer science a social activity.
TL;DR
If you’re looking to learn new skills, help people with tech and forge new friendships, then Computer Science Society (CSS) is the perfect CCA for you!
In 2021 alone, Computer Science Society (CSS) conducted 6 courses for our members, initiated 5 exciting partnerships with other CCAs and external organizations, and we’ve grown our members count by 3 times.
Best of all, the only prerequisite is passion for computer science—no prior experience required.
We look forward to welcoming you into our CCA!
*Cover picture taken by Raffles Photographic Society, taken in accordance with SMMs during the prior phase of Covid-19 measures.
