Category Archives: News

News, Students, Women in Computing

New online community for young IT passionates

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DEGENERATION IT, a collaborative community created for IT passionates (in education or not) has been launched by Goldsmiths Computing student Sharon Profita.

Sharon, a third-year BSc Creative Computing student, says: “I know there’s quite a lot out there that could be considered similar, but I want this to be accessible to ‘newbies’ too, most of the forums or websites I visit are very advanced and sometimes I feel too ‘green’ to ask a question. I want everybody to feel welcome and safe.”

Designed to strengthen the young developer community, the site comprises four sections:

Projects
“Post what you’ve done for an assignment or on your spare time. Games, software, cool data visualizations, a particuar algorithm, anything you’d like to share.

“Every year across the UK, hundreds of aspiring programmers complete a ton of coursework and create projects. When they leave university, this work largely disappears. Degeneration IT is a hub for this kind of work, that values ideas even more than execution. All the projects posted end up in your profile, so you have a mini-portfolio where you can also share links to your actual portfolio or linkedin, github, behance.” Go to Projects

News
“This section can range from the latest indie game/software or hardware, to your attendance to an event, a tutorial you made, or whatever you want to share with other ‘degenerates’.” Go to News

Events
“A searchable calendar with events (like hackathons and conferences) around Europe. Not only you can browse, but if you’re organising/attending or heard of an event that’s not listed you’re more than welcome to post it.” Go to Events

Ask a question
“A place where you can ask questions or post requests for specific issues or needs you might have.” Go to Ask

EAVI, News, Staff profiles and activity

New audiovisual performance app developed by Goldsmiths researcher

Goldsmiths researcher Nuno Correia has developed AudioVisual Zones, a new iPad app for audiovisual performance which will be available at the App Store soon.

AVZones is open source and work in progress, built with openFrameworks and Maximilian, and part of Goldsmiths’ Enabling Audiovisual User Interfaces research project.

It’s composed of an audio sequencer/looper with a visualizer. By default, three audiovisual columns or “zones” allow for the manipulation of three audio loops. Each zone had three XY pads for audio manipulation: pitch shift, delay and filter. There are nine sounds available per zone. The application is scalable: the number of zones, XY pads and sounds can be modified in the code.

Nuno Correia has performed using AVZones in Berlin and at London’s EAVI XIII. In a performance, only the iPad is used for audiovisuals; the visuals from the iPad are projected behind the performer, and the sound comes from the iPad as well.

The project is supported by a Marie Curie EU fellowship, and hosted by the EAVI research group in Goldsmiths Computing. The code for AVZones is available on GitHub, and the app can be sideloaded manually on an iPad using Xcode 7.

 

 

News

Applications now open for our 2016 PhD programme

above_london[1]The Department of Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London invites applications for October 2016 entry to our PhD programme.

Goldsmiths is part of the CHASE AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership (alongside the Courtauld Institute of Art, the Open University and the Universities of East Anglia, Essex, Kent and Sussex) and successful applicants for PhD study will be able to apply for studentship funding.

Our intellectual environment fosters the problem-driven and cross- and interdisciplinary research vital to addressing the new challenges of a world shaped by the speed of technological innovation and global change. Understanding and promoting the value of human culture and creativity in addressing such challenges is central to the CHASE vision of postgraduate research and professional development.

We support discipline-based projects, but also specialise in interdisciplinary research and research in emerging fields of study and creative practice. Our research and training environment encourages our doctoral students to develop interdisciplinary methodologies and to explore how to integrate their research with developments in digital technologies. In addition, our network of partnerships with leading arts and humanities organisations and creative industries provides an outstanding resource for future CHASE scholars.

Applications for funding will be considered by Goldsmiths with the best applicants put forward to four CHASE selection panels. Applications will be considered on a competitive basis.

For UK students, these awards cover both fees and maintenance and for EU residents awards are on a fees only basis. The funding will cover professional development opportunities, including the enhancement of public engagement skills and placements with CHASE partner organisations in the UK and overseas.

To be considered for one of these awards, please note that you need to have applied to a PhD programme by 13 January 2016. We encourage you to contact us as early as possible to discuss your proposal.

  • For any enquiries to our PhD programme, please email the PhD admissions tutor as well as the member(s) of staff you’d like as your supervisors.
  • See Goldsmiths Computing’s staff expertise on our research website.
  • Full details of the subject areas covered, and how to apply, is on the CHASE website.
Events, News, Staff profiles and activity

FREE TRAINING: Computing & Entrepreneurship Business Club

digital-entrepreneurship

This autumn, Goldsmiths Computing are running free drop-in workshops on the first Tuesday of 
the month.

Come to all, or come to just one. Participants will work in groups to complete a series of business computing & entrepreneurial challenges. All welcome, but especially suitable for people considering studying business or computing at university.

5pm-7pm, Tuesday 6 October 2015
How much am I worth? Discover how businesses use and track your data to create a picture of who you are, to sell you products and services. Book your place

5pm-7pm, Tuesday 3 November 2015
Why are we all brand junkies? Learn how businesses use brands and digital identities to sell products & services – and why we love them. Book your place

5pm-7pm, Tuesday 1 December 2015
How do social media sites actually make money? You use social media like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, but rarely pay for it. Find out how they make money and why these businesses are worth so much. Book your place

ABOUT THE TUTOR

Dr James Ohene-Djan is a senior lecturer in Business Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is an internationally recognized innovator, designer and creator of digital products, services and businesses and has a strong strategic and technical understanding of creative approaches to implementing business solutions.

As co-founder and inventor of WinkBall Video Media, James pioneered key aspects of the use of video in social networking, reporting and mobile technologies. He is currently managing director of the digital businesses Bizwinks and RecoverySpaces.
He has appeared numerous times in the press and on BBC1, Sky News and CNBC.

News, Staff profiles and activity

Master web design with our new global computing course

Learn how to build, test and deploy a mobile-ready website with a new online course led by Goldsmiths’ Department of Computing.

Designed for beginners, the course will be launched on 15 September 2015 by the University of London International Programmes.

The course, Responsive Website Development and Design. has six component courses with the final one culminating in a project. This requires the student to develop and design a website through the learning that has been acquired by completing the first five courses.

The course is designed to enable learners to understand and develop all the technical layers found in a typical website. These range from the familiar interface text, through to several layers of technology, right down to the underpinning database structure.

Goldsmiths has led on developing this specialisation following a successful bidding process undertaken by Coursera to add new ‘high demand’ courses to its portfolio of 34 such Specialisations. This win follows a successful collaboration between the University of London International Programmes and Goldsmiths during the first phase of MOOCs in 2013.

A more recent MOOC, Creative Programming for Digital Media and Mobile Apps, was also designed by Goldsmiths and has seen more than 187,500 learners enrol on the three occasions it has been made available. The record number of enrolments make it one of the most successful MOOCs for the University of London International Programmes.

Professor Mark D’Inverno, Pro-Warden for Research and Enterprise at Goldsmiths, said: “We have a very distinct approach to teaching computing, which is both highly creative and deeply technical, with the capability of producing the next generation of programmers for the creative industries. Our experience also extends to the undertaking of a large scale European project, which supports advanced peer feedback and social learning analytics – all of which have been built into this Specialisation for Coursera”.

The MOOC is expected to attract learners from across the globe. “Not only will the course enable learners to master a skill and acquire expertise in web design and development but it will also make them more attractive to any prospective employer, regardless of whether they chose to go into a technical job or an unrelated area,” adds Michael Kerrison, Director of Educational Innovation and Development, University of London.

The first of the six component courses for the Responsive Website Development and Design programme will be launched on 15 September 2015. The programme is led by Dr Matthew Yee-King with additional teaching by Dr Kate Devlin, Dr Mick Grierson and Dr Marco Gillies from our Department of Computing.

Adapted from a news story published on Goldsmiths’ website here.

News, Staff profiles and activity

BBC reports on Paul, one of Goldsmiths’ robot artists

paul-robot

BBC’s ‘Get Creative’ team have recently produced a series of video reports on Paul, one of Goldsmiths’ robot artists.

They interview Paul’s creator, the artist and computer scientist Patrick Tresset who spent six years building an artist robot with a camera for an eye, a robotic arm and an old school desk for a body.

To be a sitter for one or more of the ‘Paul’ robots created by Patrick, join him for a workshop at The Big Draw launch event at the Weston Library, Bodleian Libraries Oxford on 19 September 2015.

Events, News

Thu 17 September: Goldsmiths artist-in-residence presents new work

hamilton

This week, visual and sound artist Helena Hamilton presents the kinetic sound sculpture developed during her 3 month artist-in-residence at the EAVI research group within Goldsmiths Computing.

“Currently the material that I am sampling and researching is chalk. I am intrigued by both its sonic and visual qualities, using its brittleness and subsequent mark making as a measure of time/interaction/effort.”

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session with Helena. All welcome.

EAVI is a research group focused on embodied interaction with sound and image. We broach issues of whole body interaction, haptic feedback, sound image relationships, all in live real time applications. They are a small group of academics, researchers, and PhD students, carrying out cutting edge research across a diverse range of topics including motion capture, eye tracking, brain computer interfaces, physiological bio-interfaces, machine learning, and auditory culture.

When: 4pm-6pm, Thursday 17 September 2015
Where: WB100, Ground floor, Whitehead Building, Goldsmiths

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