Fostering Computer Science Education through Expert Interviews
Victor I Robila · 2023
Computer Science Chats (CSChats) was developed as a platform that promotes career awareness and readiness for students’ computer science careers. Through CSChats, a series of publicly available video interviews with expert professionals was created. This paper details a content analysis of the interviews, identifies themes related to motivation for pursuing computing careers, recommendations for pursuing such careers and the future of computing. Motivations for pursuing a career in computing included the novelty of the domain, the creativity in performing the work, the drive to contribute to solving complex problems and being exposed to it. The recommendations for preparing for CS careers included taking advantage of accessibility of opportunities to experience computing, developing a mathematical and communications foundation and considering computing’s applicability in the broader context. Cybersecurity, privacy, and artificial intelligence from the point of view of explainability, societal acceptance, and ethics were identified as key aspects of CS’ future.