College of Art, Science and Engineering

News and information relevant to the College of Art, Science and Engineering.

Reid Hoffman: The network philosopher

He may be the billionaire cofounder of LinkedIn, an early investor in Friendster and Flickr, a board member of Zynga, Airbnb and Mozilla, and the man Sean Parker approached back in 2004 to invest in a promising new startup called thefacebook.com. He may also be the digital world's best-connected networker, the man his VC colleague AneelBhusri calls "the Kevin Bacon of Silicon Valley", who each day receives 500 emails and 40 business pitches. But all Reid Hoffman ever wanted to be was a philosopher.
"My original plan was to become an academic," the 44-year-old LinkedIn executive chairman and Greylock Partners investor reflects over lunch one crisp November afternoon in a riverside Cambridge hotel. "I won a Marshall scholarship to read philosophy at Oxford, and what I most wanted to do was strengthen public intellectual culture -- I'd write books and essays to help us figure out who we wanted to be." Within months of starting his course, however, Hoffman concluded that "spending one to two decades answering a professional philosophical question" might not impact sufficiently on the world. "I realised that academia wasn't the right platform -- it didn't have enough scale," he says. "So I decided I would be a software entrepreneur."

If you want to read more, visit:
http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2012/04/features/reid-hoffman-network-philosopher

An insight into driverless car technologies
For many people the prospect of seeing a driverless car on our roads is still science fiction or, at best, one possible scenario that may come about many years into the future. However, in the world of the microprocessor and with reliability of electronic systems at the levels seen in the aerospace industry, the prospect of driverless cars on our roads is not as far off as many think.
Read more at: http://www.theengineer.co.uk/blog/an-insight-into-driverless-car-technologies/1011770.article

Steve Jobs giving a presentation in 1980
Even though this is a footage form 1980, it is inspirational and insightful as Steve Jobs speaks about how he formed one of the world’s most famous and valued brands – Apple.
To see the presentation, follow the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0lvMgMrNDlg

Forth Replacement Crossing
Bridge Factstaken from: http://www.thethirdbridge.org.uk/overview-forth-replacement-crossing
The new bridge will be 2.7km long cable-stayed bridge composed of three towers and will span from west end of South Queensferry above Inchgarvie house across to Ferrytoll in Fife very close to where the existing bridge currently lands. An overview map supplied by Transport Scotland is also available.
For more information, visit: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/road/projects/forth-replacement-crossing
 

A Cartoon for Maths Students

Facebook IPO

It's the year's hottest initial public offering (IPO), but some wealth managers find themselves having a hard time recommending Facebook to their clients.
Recently Facebook filed for a $5 billion initial public offering. If all goes smoothly, the actual IPO would follow a few months later. However, some wealth managers find themselves having a hard time recommending Facebook to their clients.
An article by Sarah McBride and Poornima Gupta offers analysis of the Facebook IPO and compares it to other technology corporations like Google and Microsoft.
For full article visit: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/03/us-facebook-investment-idUSTRE...
 

Case Study – Star Dundee

When thinking about how far an entrepreneurial team could go with a product, you might think that it would be impressive for anything to be used out-with the UK, even outside Europe would be considered extraordinary! Professor Steve Parkes and his team have managed to create a product used in SPACE! Star-Dundee, the creators of spacewire, create equipment that is used in our everyday lives in satellites and spacecraft orbiting the earth - but without us even knowing it. Steve and his team have been working on this technology as far back as 1992 and now have links with agencies such as the European Space Agency. Boasting over 45 ‘man-years’ of industry experience in spacewire technology, Star Dundee proves that if you try hard enough, any entrepreneur can get their product to reach for the stars!When thinking about how far an entrepreneurial team could go with a product, you might think that it would be impressive for anything to be used out-with the UK, even outside Europe would be considered extraordinary! Professor Steve Parkes and his team have managed to create a product used in SPACE! Star-Dundee, the creators of spacewire, create equipment that is used in our everyday lives in satellites and spacecraft orbiting the earth - but without us even knowing it. Steve and his team have been working on this technology as far back as 1992 and now have links with agencies such as the European Space Agency. Boasting over 45 ‘man-years’ of industry experience in spacewire technology, Star Dundee proves that if you try hard enough, any entrepreneur can get their product to reach for the stars!

http://star-dundee.com

Case Study - Dynamo Games

A great success story from within our very own School of Computing, Dynamo Games was founded in 2003 when 3 ‘Applied Computing’ graduates founded ‘Dynamo Computing Solutions’. This was followed up with the beginning of ‘Dynamo Games’ in 2004. Nowadays, Dynamo has a large amount of big gun titles to their name including mobile versions of ‘The Crystal Maze’, ‘Countdown’, and the ever popular ‘Championship Manager’. The company started by the three computing musketeers still supports the school to this day and takes on summer placement students to introduce them into the fast paced world of computer game development where anything is possible. Just goes to show that with a little know how and a hit in the right niche market - anything is possible!

http://www.dynamogames.com/newsite/index.php

Project Protege UK

Have an interest in art, design, or technology? Microsoft's Project Protege UK is a national competition that asks students to explore innovative ways to market their Windows Phone 7 product to students. The first part of the competition involves the submission of a marketing plan (created either individually or in teams of up to 5 people), followed by several rounds of presentations to Microsoft managers and executives.

The prize? Aside from a great CV boost, there is a months paid internship in the marketing department at Microsoft on offer. The initial submission deadline is the 1st of April, and you can register at http://www.microsoft.com/uk/protege. More information is also available at the Project Protege Facebook page.

Dare to be Digital

On of the UK’s largest games development competitions; Dare to be Digital takes place right here in Dundee during the summer months. Open to all students in higher education, teams of 5 compete to win a video games BAFTA! Throughout the competition support and mentoring is provided by some of the World’s leading games studios. Applications can be submitted now and are open until Sunday the 3rd of April.

Not studying computing and want to enter? Teams need people able to work with graphics and audio as well as the tech geeks, so get together with some computing students and start thinking of some great game ideas!

You can find more information on daretobedigital.com

The Cultural Enterprise Office

The Cultural Enterprise Office (CEO) is an organisation that supports entrepreneurial activity for graduates in creative industries with advice, training, and networking events; helping you start or grow a business in the creative sector.

They are also involved with a programme called Starter for 6, which provides free mentoring and business coaching for participants, and the opportunity to pitch for £10,000 of cash to grow your business. Applications for Starter for 6 2011 are now open.

If you’ve recently graduated, or will be graduating soon, check out their website at: culturalenterpriseoffice.co.uk