Hello all, I'd firstly like to thank everyone that attended Learn to Code, especially our wonderful volunteers. It was great to see Lecture Theatre A packed out ten minutes before the session even began, with even more people overflowing into Lecture Theatre B! If you missed the first session then you can find notes on it here <https://goo.gl/LPXnRS>, and we'd be delighted to see you this week. If you are still interested in volunteering then we would really appreciate your help this week as the sessions become more interactive. As per usual, we will have our weekly Geek Night on Saturday. Learn to Code attendees are more than welcome, and there will be plenty of people more than happy to provide one to one advice on programming. Regular Geek Night attendees will know that this year we've been doing a different programming challenge each week, and I'm more than happy to receive suggestions for future Geek Nights. Next Wednesday we will be hosting a Bloomberg talk on efficiently implementing quick sort. Have a great week :) Thomas and the rest of the committee Learn to Code <https://www.facebook.com/events/1698101570480173/> *Lecture Theatre A + Room 051, Department of Computer Science - 7pm Thursday (2nd week)* Learn to Code is back! If you've ever wanted to learn the basics of programming, refresh your Python knowledge, or get an idea of what computer scientists actually do all day then this is going to be a great course for you :). We aren't going to assume any prior programming experience, although to get the best out of the sessions we highly recommend that you bring a laptop so that you can follow along with some of the examples. In this second session we will be looking at executing different code based on conditions (if/elif/else) and looping (for/while). Both Matt and Thomas' sessions will cover the same content, but you may wish to go to the same session as last week for continuity. We do expect demand to be very high for this course, so please try to arrive before the advertised start time as we need to register everyone (for fire regulations). You'll need to enter via the back door on Parks Road; there are CompSoc signs up at the department. If you're a CS student with a little spare time and enthusiasm, please consider volunteering by contacting the committee. Events Geek Night 3 <https://www.facebook.com/events/1851746301738212/> *Undergraduate Social Area, Department of Computer Science - 7pm Saturday (3nd week)* Join us for an evening of relaxing, chatting, games, coding, and the usual selection of food and drinks. We will also have an Adafruit IoT starterkit and a BBC micro:bit if you are interested in learning some embedded programming. If anyone is in need of suggestions for a side project, I have a few cool ideas that I'd be more than happy to share. Bloomberg: Quicker Sorting <https://www.facebook.com/events/707824112729406/> *Lecture Theatre A, Department of Computer Science - 7pm Wednesday (4th week)* Quicksort is a well-known sorting algorithm used to implement sort functionality in many libraries. The presentation isn't really about the algorithm itself but rather about how to actually create an efficient implementation of the algorithm: a text-book implementation of the algorithm actually is not that quick (even if the pivot is chosen cleverly). It takes paying some attention to detail to improve the implementation significantly. This presentation starts with a simple implementation and makes incremental improvements to eventually yield a proper generic and fast sorting function. All code will be in C++ but it should be possible to follow the majority of the reasoning with knowledge of another programming language. After the talk we will have pizza and the opportunity to speak to the speaker. Sponsor notices Microsoft Imagine Cup One of the biggest student competitions is back and you can be part of it. Microsoft is hosting their annual Imagine Cup <https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/uk_faculty_connection/2016/11/30/microsoft-imagine-cup-2017-starter-pack-get-your-teams-ready/> competition, looking for the 'next big thing.' Previous entries have included everything from innovative games <https://www.imaginecup.com/en-us/team/99043>, to life changing apps, with many teams going on to form their own business <http://www.nacue.com/from-soundsynk-to-gloop-how-winning-microsoft-imagine-cup-helped-kickstart-a-new-company/>. This year we are partnering with our start-up team, to provide you with the skills you need to take your idea to the next level. Whether you are in your 1st year of University, or finishing up a PhD, you are eligible to enter. There are no categories for this year's competition, so you are free to be as creative as you like. The secret to success is blending the skills of technical and entrepreneurial students, to develop something that is not only amazing, but also has real world business value. There can be a maximum of 3 people to represent each team at the finals, but supporting members or mentors are encouraged to develop the idea. The winners will receive some incredible prizes, with the worldwide winners taking home $100,000 in prize money, $120,000 worth of Azure and a once in a lifetime experience they won't forget. That's everything you need to take your idea to the next level. Dates to remember: * Create your team and register <https://compete.imagine.microsoft.com/en-us/imaginecup?wt.mc_id=DX_874656> - Open now * Registration and submissions close - March 24th, 2017 * National finalists announced - 6pm April 3rd, 2017 * UK National finals - April 14th, 2017 * Worldwide finals - July 2017 Your submission doesn't need to be 100% polished and perfected for UK finals. We will be looking for a strong concept at the shortlisting stage, then if you are successful at the UK finals we will work with you to refine your idea and coach you, ready for the worldwide finals in July. You will be judged on the use of technology, the concept, innovation and feasibility of your idea. Utilising Microsoft Azure will be a key focal point for this year's competition and to support you we have a range of online resources <https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/uk_faculty_connection/tag/github/>. So, what are you waiting for? Get inspired by last year's UK finalists <https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/uk_faculty_connection/2016/06/09/interview-with-uk-imagine-cup-world-games-finalist-team-sapient-from-university-of-south-wales/>, create your team and register <https://compete.imagine.microsoft.com/en-us/> for the Imagine Cup today! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Oxford University Computer Society (CompSoc) aims to organise meetings and events for our members to use and further their computing interests. See all of our upcoming events on our Facebook Page <https://facebook.com/oxcompsoc>, Twitter <https://twitter.com/oxcompsoc>, or visit our website <https://ox.compsoc.net> for more information about the society. -- Thomas Denney Secretary - Oxford University Computer Society secretary(a)ox.compsoc.net <mailto:secretary@ox.compsoc.net>