This document provides advice and recommendations for computing students at university, focusing on extracurricular activities, projects, networking, and career development. It encourages students to get involved in societies, attend hackathons and meetups, develop projects and publish their work on GitHub, participate in activities like iDEA that boost skills and resumes, and overcome imposter syndrome through blogging and giving back to others. The presenter provides their own experiences and roles in various computing societies to demonstrate ways students can make the most of their time at university.

1. University Recommendations &
GitHub – Getting the most out of
Uni as a Computing Student
A presentation by Sean O’Mahoney for Salford City College

2. Contents
 Who am I?
 Activities (iDEA, Science and Engineering Extra-Curricular
Award, Futures Skills Award, etc)
 Societies / Students Union (SU)
 Networking
 Projects
 Hackathons
 GitHub
 Blogging
 Imposter Syndrome
 General Advice

3. Who Am I?
 Pendleton College - BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in IT Software Development (QCF): D*D*D*
 Manchester Metropolitan University – Computer Science: Expected First Class Honours Degree
 Roles: Societies Council Academic Rep, Computing Society Head, Photography Society Head,
Peer Mentor, 2nd Year Computer Science Rep, Workshop Lead, Digital Content Ambassador
 Workshops/Talks Ran: 20 (Web Stuff, JavaScript, GitHub, Photoshop, Photography)
 Meetups Attended: 200+
 Hackathons Attended: 9
 GitHub Repos: 40+ Public, 40+ Private (including NDA & University Projects)
 Lover of Web Development & Music (JavaScript & Panic at the Disco)

4. Village Data Quest
Manchester Web Meetup
Homeless Hack (Winners)
Student Hack VI (2nd Place)
Panic at the Disco After-party
OTB Hackathon
Storytellers Unite
BCS Hackathon (2nd Place)
Future Artists VR Lab 2

5. Activities
 iDEA
 Science and Engineering Extra-Curricular
Award
 Futures Skills Award
 Etc
Pick up useful skills, make new friends and
boost your CV

6. The Union / Societies
 Student Voice, raise any concerns and get help
 Academic Societies: Computing / Hello Hackers / Ethical Hacking
 Other Societies: Rock / Nerds / Gaming / Pole / Table Top … (90+)

7. Networking
 http://mcrmeetup.tech/
 Great to find new technologies
 Can help solve technical issues
 Embed into the tech community
 Meet your potential employer
 Grow your LinkedIn Network
 Usually serve free refreshments

8. Projects
 Learn either from University or in your own time
 Apply that learning by setting yourself a goal/challenge
 Make that challenge slightly difficult for yourself (requiring more learning over time)
 Complete the challenge/project and document it, put it on GitHub and your CV
 Repeat the cycle, learning more and building your portfolio
 Advice on: http://mmucompsoc.com/

9. Hackathons
 https://mlh.io/
 “A hackathon is any event of any
duration where people come
together to solve problems.”
 Insight to common practice
 Learning
 CV Building
 Swag

10. GitHub
 Repos = Project Folders
 Version Tracking (go back in time)
 Collaboration at Scale (no USBs)
 Unit Tests (Testing Projects for Errors)
 CI/CD (Continues Integration / Deployment, update your code, updates servers)
 GitHub Pages, quickly deploy websites (put them online without FTP)

11. Blogging
 For Projects/Blog/Conferences/Talks
 Sets you apart from the competition
 Proves your experience to employers

12. Imposter Syndrome
“The imposter syndrome is a psychological term referring to a pattern of behavior where people
doubt their accomplishments and have a persistent, often internalized fear of being exposed as a
fraud” - Megan Dalla-Camina

13. General Advice
 Do the Maths module/unit, it WILL help you in first year on a Computing related course
 Give back, volunteers/mentor
 Jobs4Students is a decent way to earn a little extra money through University
 Don’t be embarrassed to ask a stupid question
 Have fun

14. Any Questions?