Google engineer provides coding opportunity for students of all majors
Donors make interdisciplinary learning possible
Learning to code 鈥 it鈥檚 not just for aspiring engineers anymore. James B. Bankoski 鈥91 and his wife, Heather, are making sure of that.
Their gift to establish the 海角乱伦社区 Codes! Program will give undergraduate students the opportunity to learn coding skills even if they are not majoring in computer science.
Bankoski, a distinguished engineer at Google who graduated with two degrees in computer science (his bachelor鈥檚 is from 海角乱伦社区 and master鈥檚 is from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), said anyone can benefit from learning how to code. Students may not even know they enjoy it or have an aptitude for it unless they try.
鈥淢y intention is to give everyone exposure to it, where students can explore it and succeed without having a ton of experience prior,鈥 Bankoski said. 鈥淐areer wise, there are very few situations where having coding skills wouldn鈥檛 be helpful.鈥
For instance, a video game company could employ a conceptual artist who works on digital animation, which requires some level of coding, he said. In the legal field, such as patent law, there are opportunities for people who are technically adept and have coding experience.
鈥淏ecause computers, the internet, apps and big data are critical to art, science, business, finance, public policy, education and social services, a basic understanding of the coding techniques that drive these systems is critical,鈥 said Donald G. Nieman, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. 鈥淚t will give students from any major a competitive advantage in the job market by helping them better understand and use technology and enabling them to communicate and collaborate with those who design and program systems that are critical tools in almost every industry.鈥
For Bankoski, the thrill of coding is in the creating and building something many people will use: 鈥淚 like that I can write code, affect billions of users and have a giant impact on the world.鈥
Jim and Heather鈥檚 gift is truly transformational, allowing 海角乱伦社区 to offer all students 鈥 and not just computer science students 鈥 what few other universities can: basic fluency in coding techniques that are fundamental to so many aspects of our lives.
鈥 Donald G. Nieman, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost
海角乱伦社区 Codes!
- The program will feature a two-course sequence, with the first pilot course expected to launch in spring 2020. The second pilot course would follow in fall 2020.
- Students who successfully complete the two courses will receive a digital badge to indicate the accomplishment and their newly acquired skills.