Q When is the Induction Day?
A The Induction Day normally takes place on the Friday before the start of the term. You shall receive a separate invitation letter in due course.
Q Is there any work I can do over the summer in order to prepare for my modules in the first semester?
A It is not required to undertake any preparatory studies. Experience suggests, however, that the first semester module, COA122 Programming for the WWW is quite challenging to many of those students who do not have any background knowledge on programming. It might therefore be useful to develop or practise some basic programming skills in JavaScript before you begin your studies. To this end, plenty of free online tutorials are available. If you search the web for "javascript" and "tutorial", then you can find a large number of appropriate resources. One example is accessible using the following URL: http://www.tizag.com/javascriptT/
For Computer Science / Computer Science and AI students, Java is taught in the first year. The current recommended texts are:
- Horstmann, C.S. (2010) ‘Big Java’ (4th Edition), John Wiley.
- C.Thomas Wu, T.C. (2010) 'An Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming with JAVA' (5th Edition), McGraw-Hill.
Please note again that this preparatory work is by no means compulsory.
Q Do I have to buy a computer for my studies? If so, is there a preferred type?
A You do not need to own a computer for your studies. The Department and Loughborough University's IT Services have a sufficient number of labs, some of which are open round-the-clock. These labs are equipped with excellent computer hardware often featuring a triple-boot system that runs Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. If you nevertheless wish to purchase a laptop or desktop computer specificially for your studies, then it is recommended that you wait until you have started your studies and know what works best for you.
Q I am heavily involved with sports (or any comparable type of activity). What happens if I have a tournament (or any comparable event) during term time?
A We deal with each such case individually. While we expect that you give your studies top priority during your time as a student in our Department, we appreciate and endorse reasonable extracurricular activities. You may therefore assume that we will be able to find a sensible solution to any such problem.
