Where do research software engineers come from?:A new minor programme in CS at Lancaster University

As part of the Institute of Coding, the School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University is creating a new minor programme. A year-long series of credit-bearing modules take non-Computer Science students through computational thinking, learning to program in JavaScript and Python, the history of computing, and teach skills in applied areas of data analytics, information visualisation, virtual worlds, and physical computing. The programme is capped by a 5-week group project for students to showcase their new skills with projects relevant to their fields. Interdisciplinary and group communication is at the heart of the programme, with lab space being redesigned to help people collaborate more effectively. But once students have finished this programme, taking 1/3rd of their first year, what are they going to do with their skills? Are these students, developing experts in their disciplines but with Computer Science skills, the RSE's of the future? Can their home programmes deal with their skills? This talk will discuss the programme's design, intended to give practical, applied skills and widen participation from disciplines across the university, and explore the implications for RSE's identity in the future.