Technology is moving in an ever-increasing speed. Staff and students alike are forever faced with the challenge of adapting quickly to the dynamic University computing environment. There is always a need to learn about new software features and how to make technology transitions, for example, migrating to a new operating system. In order to stay current with the technology trends, staff and students are encouraged to take advantage of the training opportunities on campus.

How can the CSC help?

There are several training options at the Computing Services Centre (CSC) for learning about technology, whether you are a novice or more advanced user. All of this training is offered at no charge.

Designed primarily for new students, the Student Computer Literacy Programme is a series of short courses that provides the basic knowledge on the use of computers outside formal curriculum. It consists of the following courses:

These courses are offered repeatedly throughout each academic year. New courses are regularly added and the course content is often revised to keep up with the latest software versions. Free online computer courses are also available; please see this issue's article on "Student Computer Literacy Programme Goes Online". For details on how this programme works, please visit http://literacy.cityu.edu.hk/.

The CSC also offers a series of computer courses to all staff of the University as part of the staff development program. This year, 52 courses of introductory and advanced levels were being conducted on an on-going basis. These courses focus on PC's operating systems, office automation software, programming, statistical analysis tools, design tools, application packages and other utilities which are useful to staff in their teaching, research, and administrative activities. They are often organised into one, two, or four 3-hour sessions with lectures and practical exercises. For the past 3 years, external qualified trainers have been carefully selected to conduct these classes. To find out more about these learning opportunities and to register online, browse the In-house Staff Development Catalogue for courses offered by the CSC. In order to ensure that the courses could begin on time, commencing Semester B, all staff computer courses will start at 9:30 a.m. instead of 9:15 a.m. in the morning sessions.

Apart from the on-site training courses, the CSC also sees the needs in keeping pace with the latest technology. This is where CSC Forums come into play. Every Semester, public seminars on various topics of interest are being held on a bi-weekly basis for all staff and students. Most of these seminars were well received. To show you just how popular they were, here are some of the topics: