40 demos, 6 workshops, 4 talks and 1,400 delighted visitors!
© 2014 Alain Herzog
The IC School of Computer and Communication Sciences held its Open House Day on Saturday, November 22, 2014 to commemorate two historical milestones for its two teaching Sections: the Computer Science Section has been around for thirty years and the Communication Systems Section for twenty.
Visitors responding to the anonymous feedback form expressed their satisfaction with the wide range of different activities proposed, the smooth organization, the warm welcome and above all the easy-to-understand and very informative explanations given by researchers, who were able to adapt their speech to all age groups and convey their passion to everyone.
“It is always a pleasure to hear enthusiasts give the same explanation 600 times and always with the same degree of passion... THANK YOU! Three different age groups, 3 successes”, states a participant. This Saturday 22 November, there were 40 demos, 4 conference presentations and 6 workshops. Visitors showed great appreciation to researchers and student-assistants, conference speakers and the team that set up the LAN. It was a major undertaking: how to explain to families comprised of children, teenagers, parents and even grandparents the underlying concepts for algorithms, relay attacks, the caustic effect, data mining, the stakes surrounding privacy, automated learning or cryptography?
A successful bet
“This wide range of different demos and projects presented for all age groups!”; “diversified stands. Not over technical (thank goodness!)”; “fun, concrete demonstration”, a successful bet: researchers and student-assistants were able to make an often complex and abstract subject easier to understand by adapting their speech to their listeners, the general public. All of this was done in a friendly and pleasant atmosphere for eight hours non-stop, a formidable effort that brought thousands of smiles. 59.2% of the visitors stated that they were very satisfied with the Open House Day and 39% stated that they were satisfied. This satisfaction rate matches the level of commitment that everyone put into the event. “Very instructive (I learnt a great deal), very well explained (adaptation of speech to ensure that everyone would understand regardless of age or background knowledge, high level of motivation)”, confirms one participant. This was a day of discovery and festivities. The oldest visitor was 92 years old and the youngest only a few months old.
Large number of visitors
31% of the visitors to the Open House Day were women and 69% were men. The age curve is also quite revealing: many of the visitors were over the age of forty (parents), with a peak starting with young people born in 1995s or later (high school students) and falling with young people born around 2006. One of the participants told us that he had come “to accompany his younger brother who was interested in studying computers.”
Visitors were mainly families who had received information via e-mail or from the grapevine (i.e. friends, co-workers and acquaintances). 15% of the visitors work for the EPFL. Therefore 85% were people not directly linked to EPFL, mainly from the French-speaking part of Switzerland and a few persons from the bordering region of France. The event drew 1,400 visitors and reached the desired target group. This outcome was not just successful, it surpassed our expectations.
Subsequent studies in Computer science or Communication systems?
39.1% said no, 32.1% said yes and 28.8% were undecided. The explanation? The visitors included 54% of people who had a priori already finished their training (people older than 22 years old), an explanation that some provided us with a touch of humor: “I’m 78 years old”, “too old…sniff!”, “out-of-date…”
Among the 32.1% of those who said yes, the comments are very encouraging: “I like it,” explained one high school student who loves technology and computers. I would like to study in this field”, “because I have very good grades at school”, “I have finished my studies and was accompanying my daughter who is very much interested in attending the IC School”, “I have always been interested in computers and the activities proposed made me feel like I wanted to continue learning more”, or “I found a field of study that perfectly matches my interests and ambitions for the future.”
Thank you
Our appreciation goes without saying: 1,400 satisfied visitors! Without you, colleagues, researchers and students (and there were 200 of you), the Open House Day would not have been as successful: THANK YOU to all those who took part in this wonderful adventure! And to conclude, one of our visitors had this to say: “A fantastic idea! I really hope that the event will be organized again very soon.”
The video footage and photos of the Open House Day 2014 at the School of Computer and Communication Sciences can be found here: ic.epfl.ch/portes-ouvertes/souvenirs
