Computer Science Student Society

The UBC Vice-President, Students' Office is soliciting nominations for its 2008–2009 Student Development Awards. One of these is the Alfred Scow Award for a UBC undergraduate program or department. The Cube is delighted to nominate the computer science department for this award and to do that we would like to compile a number of positive student testimonials for inclusion in the award application.

Our testimonials (stories, comments or quotes) are about your undergrad experiences in CS. For example, you can provide a testimonial about tutoring experiences you've offered or received at the Learning Centre or in the Student Lounge, or the impacts you've experienced from participating in programs such as Focus on Woman in Computer Science, Tri-Mentoring, Industry Panels, or Co-op. The awards committee is particularly interested in knowing how you've been involved with the department, how you may have offered feedback to the department, and how the department has responded to your feedback.

Please send your testimonial to yicentchen@gmail.com by February 2nd, 2009 with the following information included:

• Your name
• The name of your program
• Your year in the program

Please write "Award Testimonial" in the subject line of your e-mail.

Please indicate in your e-mail if you are willing to allow your name to appear with your testimonial. We believe that the more signed testimonials we can give to the awards committee, the stronger the department's chance will be at winning this prestigious award.

If you send us a testimonial, we will enter your name in a draw to win one of more than 20 prizes, including a $100 Amazon.ca gift certificate, Starbucks gift cards, combination USB hub/mug warmers, and UBC Computer Science T-shirts. The draw will be held at the Cube BBQ outside the Reboot Cafe on Thursday, February 5, 2009.

Thank you so much for helping the department take its best shot at winning this award!

Calling for all ENERGETIC, and ENTHUSIASTIC volunteers for Imagine UBC!

If you are interested in joining the UBC Orientations Team as a:

• MUG Leader, Squad Manager or Welcome Team Member with IMAGINE UBC
• Group Leader or Welcome Leader with GALA - INTERNATIONAL ORIENTATION
• Group Leader with PARENT, TRANSFER STUDENT or MATURE STUDENT ORIENTATION

…then please apply at https://secure.students.ubc.ca/orientations/apply.cfm before February 4th!

Since first years are allowed to select CPSC as their major once they apply to UBC, there are MUG groups that's dedicated to first year CPSC students! Therefore, it's important for us to show the first year students what we've got!

The earlier you apply, the better the choice of timeslots you will have for your Group Interview with senior leaders on our team. Group Interviews will take place February 5th–11th. Please note that both new and returning applicants will be required to attend group interviews. Applicants must be returning as registered UBC students in September of 2009 to be eligible for positions with UBC Orientations. If you have any questions about being a leader, please email imagine.info@ubc.ca.

Keep in mind that UBC Orientations has replaced the first day of school for ALL UBC students next year, not just first year students (with some exceptions). So student volunteers need not worry about missing the first day of classes.

For more details please visit: http://www.students.ubc.ca/newtoubc/orientations.cfm.

Elections for the Alma Mater Society are coming up. This is your chance to make a difference! Please vote here!

Interested in gaining some proficiency with Photoshop, Powerpoint, Dreamweaver, or Excel? Arts UBC is holding workshops on these three programs. Each workshop runs from noon to 1PM in Koerner Library 216. For each application, workshop dates run from lowest to highest level workshop.

Photoshop

January 19, 21, 23, 26, 28

Powerpoint

February 2, 4

Dreamweaver

February 23, 25, 27; March 2, 4

Excel

March 9, 11

For more information, see the brochure.

It's time for our annual clothing order! Please order your t-shirts and hoodies by February 25, 2009.

UPDATE: Ordering is NOW CLOSED.

You are cordially invited to attend a special event at UBC's Faculty of Law: "FREE SOFTWARE IN ETHICS AND IN PRACTICE"

Mr. Richard Stallman will speak about the Free Software Movement, which campaigns for freedom so that computer users can cooperate to control their own computing activities. The Free Software Movement developed the GNU operating system, often erroneously referred to as Linux, specifically to establish these freedoms. This is a free event open to the public.

For more information, contact Penny Cholmondeley, Communications Coordinator at communications@law.ubc.ca or 604-822-0846.

Richard Stallman launched the development of the GNU operating system (see gnu.org) in 1984. GNU is free software: everyone has the freedom to copy it and redistribute it, as well as to make changes either large or small. The GNU/Linux system, basically the GNU operating system with Linux added, is used on tens of millions of computers today. Stallman has received the ACM Grace Hopper Award, a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer award, and the Takeda Award for Social/Economic Betterment, as well as several honorary doctorates.

Working from a clearly-defined list of issues which we provide, the successful candidate will analyze existing PHP-based reports and functions to determine the source of documented errors. He/she will report on the cause of the error and recommend necessary changes to the code.

Excellent communication skills and concision are required as the supervisor's time is extremely limited. In-depth knowledge of PHP and the SQL database query language are necessities. The pages to be debugged are part of an extensive web-based intranet site, written in PHP with a MySQL database back-end. The code in question powers web-based parameterized reports. $20.00/hour.

Please login with your U-Connect account for more information or simply create one at www.u-connect.ca to apply to this project.

Do you have a simple idea for a fun and educational game but never got around to making it?
Imagine Cup 2009 gives you a reason to get a move on!

Using the latest XNA Game Studio 3.0 and Visual Studio, we give you the tool necessary to bring your ideas to life!

Round 1 Entry Deadline is March 1, 2009

To sign up go to http://imaginecup.com/ for more information.

It's that time of year again: time for the annual Tech Career Fair! Come out to the career fair in the SUB ballroom to network and learn about tech companies from Vancouver… and everywhere else. Bring your résumé!

For full details, see cf09.thecube.ca.

How to Prepare for a Career Fair

When employers descend upon campus looking to hire UBC students, will you be ready? UBC's Career Education team joins forces with superhero Chris Irveses to bring you a workshop that will get you trained, prepped, and ready in time for two upcoming career fairs.

Through an interactive workshop, we'll provide you with the effective skills, strategies, and superpowers you'll need to win over any potential employer. This session is open to all UBC students and alumni from all faculties.
Register at www.students.ubc.ca/workshops/careers.cfm.