I was former academic staff of the Department of Maths and Computer Science during 1994-2005. I remember there were a small group of 9 computer scientists in the department, and there was not an even a single CS professor and no BSc in CS at Leicester. It was that group of computer scientist, mostly in the area of FoCo, who worked hard to have build and developed the CS of the University. I am very saddened to have heard that the university plans to cut the root of CS of Leicester. I strongly urge the university admin to reconsider its plan.
K
Koichi Takeda
5 years ago
I would strongly support the FoCo research and its contribution for giving deeper understanding of computer science including AI and machine learning.
A
Anonymous
5 years ago
Whoever proposed this plan is clearly unfit for their administrative position at your respectable university. There should be a petition asking them to resign.
T
Tan Duong
5 years ago
IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca
R
Robert Harper
5 years ago
Tragically misguided.
S
Shaofa Yang
5 years ago
Staff should at least be given an option to adapt their research agenda with the proposed new directions. Their strong background in CS foundations will be a strong advantage in making contribution to the foundational issues of the proposed new applied directions.
R
Rob van Glabbeek
5 years ago
Removing the Foundations of Computer Science is like removing the foundations of any tall structure.
It leads to buildings prone to collapse.
Foco is essential for any truly reliable future software.
K
Koko Muroya
5 years ago
It is a short-sighted plan to focus only on applications that are visible at the moment and on the part of FoCo (and mathematics) that is "directly" related to those applications.
The connection between theory and practice is always dynamic. The FoCo research group at the University of Leicester is an active group that could contribute to future trends. It would be such a shame for the university to aim at the current trend and get rid of the group.
M
Michael T Goodrich
5 years ago
The so-called application areas the administration plans to focus on all owe their existence to Foundations of Computer Science. Without the foundations there is nothing to build upon.
S
Seth Pettie
5 years ago
This plan will begin the intellectual decline of the university. Such a terrible idea.
H
Hongseok Yang
5 years ago
Professor, School of Computing, KAIST, South Korea
M
Masahiko Sakai
5 years ago
It is very dangerous to focus narrow research area for future.
Nothing more important for science than human resources like researchers.
W
Wing-Kai Hon
5 years ago
Professor, Department of Computer Science, National Thing His University
M
Mukesh Tiwari
5 years ago
We need more mathematician than computer scientist.
K
Kirill Bogdanov
5 years ago
A strong department attracts both good staff and good PhD students and once the core staff is lost, few people would want to join, especially in the light of management choosing to make them redundant at any time. This part is different to industry because academics are interested in their research and publishing results, their employment is not just a job. Applied research draws on results from theory, most famously electronic commerce relies on cryptography which is made possible by the number theory, developed by mathematicians and initially believed to be useless in practice.
R
Roberto Bruni
5 years ago
Please reconsider your short-sighted management plan: nothing is more strategic than investing in solid foundations to invent shiny applications in the near future
P
Praveen Thomas Methrayil Varghese
5 years ago
As an alumnus of the department of Informatics (formerly Computer Science, when I was a student) who benefited greatly from a degree (and professors) that focused on the foundations of computer science, and who now works in AI, please don't make this short-sighted change, UoL.
P
Prof Rami Grossberg
5 years ago
I am a Professor of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University. Exciting your narrow minded plan, very quickly the graduates of your "university" will be no more desirable to future employers than high school graduates. You are destroying your own univrsity.
H
Hiroyuki Seki
5 years ago
I am a full professor of Nagoya University (Japan). Theoretical Computer Science is one of the most important areas in the international research collaboration, especially, the collaboration between European and Asian countries.
University of Padua
I was former academic staff of the Department of Maths and Computer Science during 1994-2005. I remember there were a small group of 9 computer scientists in the department, and there was not an even a single CS professor and no BSc in CS at Leicester. It was that group of computer scientist, mostly in the area of FoCo, who worked hard to have build and developed the CS of the University. I am very saddened to have heard that the university plans to cut the root of CS of Leicester. I strongly urge the university admin to reconsider its plan.
I would strongly support the FoCo research and its contribution for giving deeper understanding of computer science including AI and machine learning.
Whoever proposed this plan is clearly unfit for their administrative position at your respectable university. There should be a petition asking them to resign.
IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca
Tragically misguided.
Staff should at least be given an option to adapt their research agenda with the proposed new directions. Their strong background in CS foundations will be a strong advantage in making contribution to the foundational issues of the proposed new applied directions.
Removing the Foundations of Computer Science is like removing the foundations of any tall structure. It leads to buildings prone to collapse. Foco is essential for any truly reliable future software.
It is a short-sighted plan to focus only on applications that are visible at the moment and on the part of FoCo (and mathematics) that is "directly" related to those applications. The connection between theory and practice is always dynamic. The FoCo research group at the University of Leicester is an active group that could contribute to future trends. It would be such a shame for the university to aim at the current trend and get rid of the group.
The so-called application areas the administration plans to focus on all owe their existence to Foundations of Computer Science. Without the foundations there is nothing to build upon.
This plan will begin the intellectual decline of the university. Such a terrible idea.
Professor, School of Computing, KAIST, South Korea
It is very dangerous to focus narrow research area for future. Nothing more important for science than human resources like researchers.
Professor, Department of Computer Science, National Thing His University
We need more mathematician than computer scientist.
A strong department attracts both good staff and good PhD students and once the core staff is lost, few people would want to join, especially in the light of management choosing to make them redundant at any time. This part is different to industry because academics are interested in their research and publishing results, their employment is not just a job. Applied research draws on results from theory, most famously electronic commerce relies on cryptography which is made possible by the number theory, developed by mathematicians and initially believed to be useless in practice.
Please reconsider your short-sighted management plan: nothing is more strategic than investing in solid foundations to invent shiny applications in the near future
As an alumnus of the department of Informatics (formerly Computer Science, when I was a student) who benefited greatly from a degree (and professors) that focused on the foundations of computer science, and who now works in AI, please don't make this short-sighted change, UoL.
I am a Professor of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University. Exciting your narrow minded plan, very quickly the graduates of your "university" will be no more desirable to future employers than high school graduates. You are destroying your own univrsity.
I am a full professor of Nagoya University (Japan). Theoretical Computer Science is one of the most important areas in the international research collaboration, especially, the collaboration between European and Asian countries.