Greetings, Eventgoers,

As Week 1 goes by, Week 2 rolls into place, bearing all-new events! We have a variety of socials and talks to pique your interest, starting with...

...our bubble tea social this Tuesday! Join us at Fantastea between 3-4pm for a calmer social, with scrumptious drinks and fun conversation.

On Thursday, we'll be joined by three experts for something new – a cybersecurity policy panel! We'll be at the Department of Computer Science at 5pm with Peter Stephens, Dr. Mel Garson and Warda Hassan for a discussion on cybersecurity policy.

For Friday, CompSoc and the Invariants will be hearing from Peter Schwabe on the topic of post-quantum cryptography! Join us at 5pm in the Maths Institute for an intriguing talk on the future of encryption.

On Saturday, we'll be back in the Undergraduate Social Area for a classic Saturday Social – an extravaganza of pizza and snacks! If you want an opportunity to kick back and relax, make sure to come along!

Finally, a termcard update: next week's arts and crafts picnic will now be held on Tuesday 13th May instead of Wednesday 14th May. All else remains the same – apologies for the inconvenience!

— Declan, CompSoc Secretary

Fun Computing Fact: You're probably familiar with the ubiquitous SQLite relational database library, now bundled with everything from Windows to Audacity. What you may not know, however, is that the SQLite project rolls its own version control system. Since 2009, SQLite's source has been hosted on Fossil, a source control system which itself relies upon a SQLite database to guarantee atomicity of transactions.

Still not a member? How?! Membership only costs £1 for LIFE, with tons of benefits - discounts on merch and tickets, free food at all socials, our exclusive Discord server and more - so it's definitely worth signing up!

or, go to https://ox.compsoc.net/product/lifetime-membership/

This Tuesday, we'll be enjoying a slightly calmer social. Come and join us at Fantastea between 3-4pm where we'll be sipping some bubble tea and indulging in light conversation. If you fancy a break from studying or just want some free bubble tea, make sure to come along!

When: 3-4pm, Tuesday 6th May

Where: Fantastea 36 High St, Oxford OX1 4AN

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/8drBTgBW8

This week, we'll be joined by three experts on Thursday to explore the realm of cybersecurity policy. We'll have a 45-minute discussion at 5pm about cybersecurity policy with Peter Stephens, Dr. Mel Garson, and Warda Hassan. We'll be talking about recent developments in the field from the perspective of tech companies, governments, and international organisations. We'll also discuss how the speakers came to work on cybersecurity policy, and their advice for students looking to enter a career in the field.

When: 5pm, Thursday 8th May

Where: Lecture Theatre A, Department of Computer Science 7 Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QG

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/5lyAxuVOb

We'll be joined by the Invariants this Friday for another talk – this time on the topic of cryptography! From 5pm, we'll be joined by Peter Schwabe to discuss the area of cryptography in a future where large-scale quantum computers exist and commonplace asymmetric encryption standards are broken, while looking at how we can prepare for that day in advance.

Abstract: Already since Shor's seminal paper from 1994 we know that once physicists and quantum engineers are able to build a large universal quantum computer, our current generation of asymmetric cryptography will be broken. To be ready for the day when this happens, the world is currently moving to a new generation of cryptography: so called post-quantum cryptography. This migration was majorly facilitated and driven by a multi-year open standardization effort by the US American National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), which selected 4 algorithms for standardization in 2022. Three standards were published in 2024, two for signature schemes and one, ML-KEM, for key encapsulation. ML-KEM is securing billions of Internet connections per day already now. In my talk I will give an overview of the design of this algorithm and the path through standardization to ongoing deployment.

When: 5pm, Friday 9th May

Where: Lecture Theatre L1, Mathematical Institute Andrew Wiles Building, Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6GG

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/3p1sVO3aK

After we heard your presentations last week, we're going back for a classic Saturday Social. Join us this Saturday at 7pm, where we'll be down in the Undergraduate Social Area to forget about studies and indulge in classic CompSoc cuisine (read: pizza and snacks), along with fun chatter and hijinks.

When: 7pm, Saturday 10th May

Where: Undergraduate Social Area, Department of Computer Science 7 Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QG

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/4U5zyqJjH

Make sure to join OxWoCS (Oxford Women in CS), a society we're working closely with, if you identify as a woman or woman-adjacent person in CS! They have a host of wonderful events on, including talks, panels and socials. Computer Science is unfortunately a subject with one of the biggest gender gaps in Oxford and worldwide, and addressing this is at the core of OxWoCS.

or, contact us at committee@ox.compsoc.net

Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe here.