Looks like a misjudged, short-sited and highly damaging move by a bunch of bureaucrats that have completely lost touch with what a university degree in Computer Science is supposed to mean.
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Michael L Scott
5 years ago
Arthur Gould Yates Professor of Engineering and Chair of the Department of Computer Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA. ACM Fellow; IEEE Fellow; Dijkstra Prize recipient.
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Bishoksan KAFLE
5 years ago
The foundation of computer science cannot be redundant. How can you sustain a house by destroying its foundation.
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Jaroslav Opatrny
5 years ago
Foundations of Computer Science are exactly that: and without foundations the whole house of computer science will crumble down.
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Enka Blanchard
5 years ago
University of Lorraine
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Dan Licata
5 years ago
Associate Professor, Wesleyan University, United States
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Alexander Kurz
5 years ago
I joined computer science in Leicester at the time of the dot com bubble. Student numbers tumbled and something had to be done. The decision was to transform the department from being mainly focused on foundations of computing and undergraduate teaching to a department that has a second leg in software engineering and a successful master degree. All this was done in a great atmosphere, without fear, among colleagues some of which are still friends today after having left a long time ago. Then around 2016 the style of management at the university changed. Instead of "How to solve a problem collectively?", the university leadership team imposed top down decisions. Of course, on paper, there was a lot of "listening" and "consultation". But I vividly remember a number of bad decisions that were forced through against lecturers and researchers. At the time, in my mind, I blamed the then VC Paul Boyle and Head of College Paul Monks. Like many of my colleagues I left Leicester, not least because of their top level management. It now looks to me that little was learned from the mistakes of the past. If the aim is to focus on AI and DS, surely that can be done with some excellent researchers in mainstream computer science, which seems to be called Foundations of Computation all of a sudden but really include mainstream topics such as algorithms, programming languages and software engineering. So why threaten passionate successful teachers and researchers with redundancies instead of building on their expertise in moving an already successful department forward?
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Alexander Kurz
5 years ago
I joined computer science in Leicester at the time of the dot com bubble. Student numbers tumbled and something had to be done. The decision was to transform the department from being mainly focused on foundations of computing and undergraduate teaching to a department that has a second leg in software engineering and a successful master degree. All this was done in a great atmosphere, without fear, among colleagues some of which are still friends today after having left a long time ago. Then around 2016 the style of management at the university changed. Instead of "How to solve a problem collectively?", the university leadership team imposed top down decisions. Of course, on paper, there was a lot of "listening" and "consultation". But I vividly remember a number of bad decisions that were forced through against lecturers and researchers. At the time, in my mind, I blamed the then VC Paul Boyle and Head of College Paul Monks. Like many of my colleagues I left Leicester, not least because of their top level management. It now looks to me that little was learned from the mistakes of the past. If the aim is to focus on AI and DS, surely that can be done with some excellent researchers in mainstream computer science, which seems to be called Foundations of Computation all of a sudden but really include mainstream topics such as algorithms, programming languages and software engineering. So why threaten passionate successful teachers and researchers with redundancies instead of building on their expertise in moving an already successful department forward?
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Pavel Hubacek
5 years ago
I hope all affected colleagues at Leicester (within or outside the FoC community) will find the strength to overcome these difficult times. Pavel Hubacek, Charles University
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Maurice Herlihy
5 years ago
An Wang Professor of Computer Science, Brown University
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Markus Krötzsch
5 years ago
The idea of cutting down computer science at its very foundations during this time of digital transformation and AI revolution(s) is truly unbelievable. TU Dresden has actually been expanding its Theoretical Computer Science in recent years, and the institute continues to contribute strongly to many ongoing AI initiatives and related large-scale projects. Even if current management has no concerns for the integrity and strength of CS as an academic discipline, they should at least take note of the massive damage that such a step would inflict upon the university's reputation..
Markus Krötzsch, full professor, TU Dresden
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Lukas Holik
5 years ago
This is as sad as teaching a dog to fly by removing its legs.
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Arijit Ghosh
5 years ago
Indian Statistical Institute, India
Horrible decision. I hope there is still time to reverse roll back the changes.
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Tomas Vojnar
5 years ago
I can hardly imagine a truly succesfull university focusing on AI and computational modelling without supporting foundations of computer science.
Tomas Vojnar, full professor, Brno University of Technology
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Pierre-Louis CURIEN
5 years ago
CNRS senior researcher, IRIF, Paris
A
Alan Fekete
5 years ago
Students need an education which covers a broad range of approaches to computing, and prepares them for an unknown, rapidly evolving, lasting career. To deliver that sort of education, the academic staff need to represent a broad range of approaches to the field. Most assuredly, it's vital that the expertise present among the teachers cover topics like algorithms, programming languages, concurrency, and software engineering.
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Panruo Wu
5 years ago
Research in foundational computer science contribute to long term development in both understanding and application in new areas of human endeavors. I believe it's in the best interest of the University to uphold its tradition of developing and preserving knowledge that are fundamental, not merely fashionable.
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Anonymous
5 years ago
It does not make any sense to build a house without a steady ground, neither applied computer science without its base. Please keep the foundation!
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Alberto Marcone
5 years ago
What a horrible and near-sighted mistake! The reputation of this university will be badly damaged...
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Armando Castañeda
5 years ago
It is unbelievable that we still need to explain the importance of the foundations of CS.
Looks like a misjudged, short-sited and highly damaging move by a bunch of bureaucrats that have completely lost touch with what a university degree in Computer Science is supposed to mean.
Arthur Gould Yates Professor of Engineering and Chair of the Department of Computer Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA. ACM Fellow; IEEE Fellow; Dijkstra Prize recipient.
The foundation of computer science cannot be redundant. How can you sustain a house by destroying its foundation.
Foundations of Computer Science are exactly that: and without foundations the whole house of computer science will crumble down.
University of Lorraine
Associate Professor, Wesleyan University, United States
I joined computer science in Leicester at the time of the dot com bubble. Student numbers tumbled and something had to be done. The decision was to transform the department from being mainly focused on foundations of computing and undergraduate teaching to a department that has a second leg in software engineering and a successful master degree. All this was done in a great atmosphere, without fear, among colleagues some of which are still friends today after having left a long time ago. Then around 2016 the style of management at the university changed. Instead of "How to solve a problem collectively?", the university leadership team imposed top down decisions. Of course, on paper, there was a lot of "listening" and "consultation". But I vividly remember a number of bad decisions that were forced through against lecturers and researchers. At the time, in my mind, I blamed the then VC Paul Boyle and Head of College Paul Monks. Like many of my colleagues I left Leicester, not least because of their top level management. It now looks to me that little was learned from the mistakes of the past. If the aim is to focus on AI and DS, surely that can be done with some excellent researchers in mainstream computer science, which seems to be called Foundations of Computation all of a sudden but really include mainstream topics such as algorithms, programming languages and software engineering. So why threaten passionate successful teachers and researchers with redundancies instead of building on their expertise in moving an already successful department forward?
I joined computer science in Leicester at the time of the dot com bubble. Student numbers tumbled and something had to be done. The decision was to transform the department from being mainly focused on foundations of computing and undergraduate teaching to a department that has a second leg in software engineering and a successful master degree. All this was done in a great atmosphere, without fear, among colleagues some of which are still friends today after having left a long time ago. Then around 2016 the style of management at the university changed. Instead of "How to solve a problem collectively?", the university leadership team imposed top down decisions. Of course, on paper, there was a lot of "listening" and "consultation". But I vividly remember a number of bad decisions that were forced through against lecturers and researchers. At the time, in my mind, I blamed the then VC Paul Boyle and Head of College Paul Monks. Like many of my colleagues I left Leicester, not least because of their top level management. It now looks to me that little was learned from the mistakes of the past. If the aim is to focus on AI and DS, surely that can be done with some excellent researchers in mainstream computer science, which seems to be called Foundations of Computation all of a sudden but really include mainstream topics such as algorithms, programming languages and software engineering. So why threaten passionate successful teachers and researchers with redundancies instead of building on their expertise in moving an already successful department forward?
I hope all affected colleagues at Leicester (within or outside the FoC community) will find the strength to overcome these difficult times. Pavel Hubacek, Charles University
An Wang Professor of Computer Science, Brown University
The idea of cutting down computer science at its very foundations during this time of digital transformation and AI revolution(s) is truly unbelievable. TU Dresden has actually been expanding its Theoretical Computer Science in recent years, and the institute continues to contribute strongly to many ongoing AI initiatives and related large-scale projects. Even if current management has no concerns for the integrity and strength of CS as an academic discipline, they should at least take note of the massive damage that such a step would inflict upon the university's reputation.. Markus Krötzsch, full professor, TU Dresden
This is as sad as teaching a dog to fly by removing its legs.
Indian Statistical Institute, India Horrible decision. I hope there is still time to reverse roll back the changes.
I can hardly imagine a truly succesfull university focusing on AI and computational modelling without supporting foundations of computer science. Tomas Vojnar, full professor, Brno University of Technology
CNRS senior researcher, IRIF, Paris
Students need an education which covers a broad range of approaches to computing, and prepares them for an unknown, rapidly evolving, lasting career. To deliver that sort of education, the academic staff need to represent a broad range of approaches to the field. Most assuredly, it's vital that the expertise present among the teachers cover topics like algorithms, programming languages, concurrency, and software engineering.
Research in foundational computer science contribute to long term development in both understanding and application in new areas of human endeavors. I believe it's in the best interest of the University to uphold its tradition of developing and preserving knowledge that are fundamental, not merely fashionable.
It does not make any sense to build a house without a steady ground, neither applied computer science without its base. Please keep the foundation!
What a horrible and near-sighted mistake! The reputation of this university will be badly damaged...
It is unbelievable that we still need to explain the importance of the foundations of CS.