Michaelmas Term Week 6 Newsletter

Contests, Lunch, a Talk, Presentations and So Much More!

Bienvenue, Mes Amis,

Whew. We got through Week 5! Now, without further ado, onto Week 6, where we have a smorgasbord of events in store!

We'll be kicking off the week this Monday with our third competitive programming contest of the new year! As ever, come along from 7:30-9:30pm for showdowns, food and fun.

On Tuesday, our sponsors at QRT will join us to host their coding challenge! Big prizes and opportunities are in store for the victors, so if you'd like to sign up, a link is below! The event will run from 5-8pm.

On Wednesday, we're daring to venture out in daylight hours (gasp) for a lunch social! Come and join us as we grab a bite to eat at Taylors. We'll be around from 12:30-1:30pm!

All good things must come to an end, and our student talks this term are no exception. Join us this Thursday from 5-6pm for the fourth of our four student talks this term, discussing terminating processes through the Hercules and the Hydra game!

This Saturday, we'll be struck by a swarm of events! First off, we'll be in the Undergraduate Social Area from 5-7pm to work on a CTF again — watch the Discord server for details. From 5:30-6:30pm, we'll be back with the fifth Learn to Code instalment at Jesus College. Finally, from 7pm onwards, we'll retire for a presentation night, featuring mini-talks given by you! If you'd like to sign up to speak on any topic of your choice (not limited to CS!), see below for details.

— Declan, CompSoc Secretary

Fun Computing Fact: While we take a lot of it for granted these days, interoperability used to be the name of the game when it came to advancements in office software in the 90s and 2000s. One of the most bizarre instances of this, however, comes from Microsoft Office and Visual Studio. Did you know it was once possible to open Office documents in Visual Studio, add buttons and controls to the document and then add code to make the document interactive outside of Visual Studio? Well, now you do!

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/

Competitive Programming: Sixth Week Contest

Tick tock goes the clock and, before you know it, it's Monday again and time for competitive programming once more! This week, we'll be back for our third contest of the term. After honing your skills at last week's bootcamp, come on down and put them to the test; we'll be in the Undergraduate Social Area from 7:30-9:30pm as usual!

When: 7:30-9:30pm, Monday 17th November

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

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

QRT x Oxford C3 Coding Challenge

This week, we'll be joining with our sponsors at QRT for a brand new opportunity! On Tuesday, we'll be playing host to QRT's C3 Coding Challenge at the Department of Computer Science, from 5pm onwards! Come along with teams of up to four and solve problems together!

If you're interested in coding, winning prizes, or looking into opportunities with QRT, make sure to sign up with our form below. We'll have pizza to satiate your hunger and QRT will also provide tokens for LLM usage during the challenge. Winners will be announced at 8pm.

When: 5-8pm, Tuesday 18th November

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

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/ke4FgNRbCGPQ15xH8

Lunch Social at Taylors

This Wednesday, we'll be stepping out in the broad grasp of daylight and touching grass! We'll be down at the Taylors on St Giles' to mix it up with a lunch social. If you fancy a bite to eat with your CompSoc friends, make sure to come and join us from 12:30-1:30pm for the first lunchtime social of the academic year!

When: 12:30-1:30pm, Wednesday 19th November

Where: Taylors 31 St Giles', Oxford OX1 3LD

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/3SOMyWG2t

Hercules, the Hydra and Terminating Processes — A Talk

This Thursday, we reach the end of our student talks this term with our fourth talk. We'll be descending to Lecture Theatre A this week to hear all about methods for verifying processes will eventually terminate, using the Hercules and the Hydra game. Join us from 5-6pm for a sure-to-be fascinating talk, after which we'll retire for pizza!

Talk Description

Hercules is battling the Hydra; he wants a pot of gold the Hydra guards. Every time he chops a head off of the Hydra, though, more heads grow back! Can Hercules ever win the battle and get the treasure? Surprisingly (given a particular interpretation of the Hydra as a mathematical object, mind you) he can!
In this talk, we'll cover methods to show that processes do eventually terminate, through the lens of what's called the "Hercules and the Hydra game". In doing so, we'll learn about ordinals, well-quasi orders, and the fate of that poor Hydra. The talk should be accessible to all, with some content from the IP1 and Set Theory courses being covered (you don't have to have taken these courses beforehand). 

When: 5-6pm, Thursday 20th November

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

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/1S3YLa1hVB

Capture-the-Flag Evening

It's Saturday, and it's time to kick off another triple header with another CTF evening! Join us this week in the Department, where we'll be working on a CTF together — check out the Discord server beforehand for details. We'll be around before the evening's social from 5-7pm!

When: 5-7pm, Saturday 22nd November

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

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/8GqZrIEK3

Learn to Code: Fifth Session

It's Saturday, and what better time than this could there be to continue your journey into the murky depths of Python? As this week comes to a close, we'll be back at Jesus College for the fifth session in our Learn to Code series this term. Join us from 5:30-6:30pm!

When: 5:30-6:30pm, Saturday 22nd November

Where: Digital Hub, Jesus College Turl St, Oxford OX1 3DW

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

Saturday Social: Presentation Night

This Saturday, it's time to hear whatever you want to talk about! (Not you specifically necessarily, unless you want to, but you get the point.) We'll be giving the stage to a series of ten-minute student presentations in the Department, hosted by CompSoc members on whatever topic they want — they don't have to be CS-related! Make sure to pop down at 7pm for a fascinating set of presentations, along with the pizza we all know and love.

If you'd like to present, sign up here! You'll have up to ten minutes to present, including questions and answers. Make sure to sign up by the end of the day on Friday if you're interested.

When: 7pm, Saturday 22nd November

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

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/8RGNZ0bLY

Perplexity Pro

A message from our sponsors at Perplexity:

Students get free Perplexity Pro and exclusive student features like flashcards and quizzes when you verify your student status. Sign up at perplexity.ai/students

Check Out OxWoCS!

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

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