Transforming a high school student project in computer science into a significant scientific achievement

Abstract

A special program for high school has been in operation in Israel whose aim is to expose young students to the field of computing. During their studies the students are required to develop a software project, and thus gain experience in software design. In the past students lacked proper guidance in technologically demanding projects. Here we describe how the work of a student who chose to develop an engine for automatic completion of sentences by the computer was enhanced through cooperation with academia in the innovative "Computer Science, Academia and Industry" educational program. Albeit highly talented, the student lacked necessary formal knowledge in advanced computing technologies. A graduate student who specializes in the field has mentored the high school student throughout design and implementation phase, enabling him to grasp an intuitive understanding of state of the art algorithms, and contribute creative ideas of his own, resulting in an award-winning project of scientific significance.

Long-term software projects development

“…The fundamentals and core technologies that are introduced in school form the basis for students' understanding of the field of computing; however, they rarely include state-of-the-art computing as well as new, rapidly evolving directions in the field. Moreover, school software projects do not resemble actual R&D industrial processes, and the products are rarely applicable to real-world situations due to the lack of proper technological guidance in schools [3]. Our program aims at exposing talented high-school students, directly by leading experts, to state-of-the-art computing research, advanced technologies, software engineering methodologies, and professional norms [1].…”