Automated machine. — Image © Tim Sandle.
With the technology job market in more than its usual state of flux and computer science rapidly evolving, the technology associations Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), IEEE Computer Society, and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) have jointly released a report titled “Computer Science Curricula 2023” (CS2023).
CS2023 provides a guide outlining the knowledge and competencies students should attain for degrees in computer science and related disciplines at the undergraduate level. Customarily, such guidelines are updated every ten years. Hence, CS2023 builds on CS2013.
As technology firms scale back entry-level hiring amid a surge in computer science graduates, these new frameworks provide advice for would-be students and employees.
A key focus of the CS2023 Curricula is the increased emphasis on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. These fast-evolving fields are transforming the job landscape for computer science graduates, making proficiency in artificial intelligence, as well as ethical computing principles.
The concept of a shared global curricula is intended to ensure that students develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed as they graduate to become industry practitioners, researchers, or educators.
Additionally, by supporting consistency in the field across the world, the curricular guidelines can enable efficient global collaboration. Examples of collaboration include among professionals working across borders for an international company, or among academics from different nations coming together for a research project.
Other things raised in the report include:
- The addition of AAAI as a core partner of CS2023 reflects the growing importance of artificial intelligence as a discipline, as well as how AI is disrupting the teaching of computer science.
- Since computing touches so many aspects of personal and public life, CS2023 goes beyond simply outlining technical competencies to include a knowledge unit called Society, Ethics, and the Profession (SEP) and incorporating it in most other knowledge areas to encourages educators and students to consider the social aspects of their work.
- To meet the disciplinary demands of artificial intelligence and machine learning, mathematical and statistical requirements have been increased throughout CS2023, but individually identified for each knowledge area so that educators can accommodate the needs of students with varying levels of mathematical background.
CS2023 is designed to be a primarily online resource at https://csed.acm.org/, both for utility and so the curricular guidelines can be updated more frequently to keep pace with the rapid changes in the field.
