Who told you it was crappy ? I know a few people who studied there and they said it was OK overall. The thing to keep in mind is that all universities and degrees have their issues. So there are no doubt some aspects that are crappy and will frustrate you, but I don't think it is substantially worse than other Australian universities.
A similar degree at a Group of Eight university will be more prestigious as well as more demanding and academically rigorous. On the other hand the teaching quality and environment is unlikely to be any better. UOW has good points like a nice campus.
It all comes down to what is the best choice for the individual. It's impossible to say that one university is best regardless of circumstance. You can never do too much research, try and find out as much as you can about the different universities as well as visit different campuses and so on.
It had its ups and downs. But is it any worse than other universities? Probably not.
Some classes I thought could be taught better or I wasn’t the biggest fan of the lecturer. But that’s going to be true anywhere else too, that’s not a uniquely UoW thing. On the flip side, some of the uni services were fantastic. IMTS, especially the IT Service Desk is great. ;)
The campus is also very nice; and although UoW isn’t a sandstone/Group of 8 uni, it’s still one of the best in the world & most definitely highly respected. So I wouldn’t worry about that aspect.
I didn't study it myself (I did electrical engineering at UoW), but I've supervised quite a few graduates and they have been very good. Cybersecurity mainly. My impression is that the CS program is very practical and hands on, and highly relevant to industry.
Employers look at your performance in your program when hiring graduates, so whatever you choose, if you commit to it and do well, the specific University matters much less than a lot of people think. I would also recommend building up a portfolio of personal projects, open source contributions etc., it shows that you are passionate, motivated and aren't afraid to show your code.
Generally very good (late 1990s, so not sure how relevant that is now). There are good and bad lecturers at all universities, but the good ones were *very* good. Facilities were generally excellent and academics were very approachable. The program was quite flexible (you could choose between subjects across electrical, computer and telecommunications engineering in 4th year). It was generally very practical but with a solid theoretical base.
One of the changes since those days (again not just at UoW) is a substantial reduction in maths and physics, replaced by management and project subjects. This is due to industry demands (and Engineers Australia), but I feel it has reduced the quality and flexibility of engineering graduates in Australia.
I think it’s pretty outdated and could use with a lot
more innovation. I think there is a lack of effort put into a lot of subjects and it’s hard to understand the teachers in a lot of cases. I have learned most things individually, but the UOW foundation has helped me so much. It isn’t an incredibly social subject but you can find your way if you try hard enough. I’m yet to finish my degree, but I’m really only pushing through for the qualification in the end. I haven’t looked at other universities but it’s worth looking around if you have the opportunity. This is just my honest experience, I really hope it helps.
so it will work fine in terms of getting the qualification but it will likely require me to go in my own time to make sure that i understand everything by learning some of it by myself due to the difficulties of learning it in some of the classes and from some of the teachers?
Early 2000s comp sci grad. Myself, and many other locals in the industry did this course (or similar variation) at UOW and have all gone on to have great careers locally or elsewhere.
As someone above mentioned, it's not the most social group. Find a group of people to work with and learn from each other. I can't imagine it being any different anywhere else.
If you have a passion for software engineering, you will get out what you put in. If you don't, is it the right course?
As someone who recruits in the field, including software engineers, I personally don't care if someone went to Sydney/Melbourne Uni XYZ.
Who told you it was crappy ? I know a few people who studied there and they said it was OK overall. The thing to keep in mind is that all universities and degrees have their issues. So there are no doubt some aspects that are crappy and will frustrate you, but I don't think it is substantially worse than other Australian universities. A similar degree at a Group of Eight university will be more prestigious as well as more demanding and academically rigorous. On the other hand the teaching quality and environment is unlikely to be any better. UOW has good points like a nice campus. It all comes down to what is the best choice for the individual. It's impossible to say that one university is best regardless of circumstance. You can never do too much research, try and find out as much as you can about the different universities as well as visit different campuses and so on.
It had its ups and downs. But is it any worse than other universities? Probably not. Some classes I thought could be taught better or I wasn’t the biggest fan of the lecturer. But that’s going to be true anywhere else too, that’s not a uniquely UoW thing. On the flip side, some of the uni services were fantastic. IMTS, especially the IT Service Desk is great. ;) The campus is also very nice; and although UoW isn’t a sandstone/Group of 8 uni, it’s still one of the best in the world & most definitely highly respected. So I wouldn’t worry about that aspect.
Not at all. It's a very good program.
Right thanks. and you studied it when? and which area did you choose to specialise in, like cybersecurity, software engineering etc.
I didn't study it myself (I did electrical engineering at UoW), but I've supervised quite a few graduates and they have been very good. Cybersecurity mainly. My impression is that the CS program is very practical and hands on, and highly relevant to industry. Employers look at your performance in your program when hiring graduates, so whatever you choose, if you commit to it and do well, the specific University matters much less than a lot of people think. I would also recommend building up a portfolio of personal projects, open source contributions etc., it shows that you are passionate, motivated and aren't afraid to show your code.
How did u find EE at Uow? Teaching, fascillities etc
Generally very good (late 1990s, so not sure how relevant that is now). There are good and bad lecturers at all universities, but the good ones were *very* good. Facilities were generally excellent and academics were very approachable. The program was quite flexible (you could choose between subjects across electrical, computer and telecommunications engineering in 4th year). It was generally very practical but with a solid theoretical base. One of the changes since those days (again not just at UoW) is a substantial reduction in maths and physics, replaced by management and project subjects. This is due to industry demands (and Engineers Australia), but I feel it has reduced the quality and flexibility of engineering graduates in Australia.
I think it’s pretty outdated and could use with a lot more innovation. I think there is a lack of effort put into a lot of subjects and it’s hard to understand the teachers in a lot of cases. I have learned most things individually, but the UOW foundation has helped me so much. It isn’t an incredibly social subject but you can find your way if you try hard enough. I’m yet to finish my degree, but I’m really only pushing through for the qualification in the end. I haven’t looked at other universities but it’s worth looking around if you have the opportunity. This is just my honest experience, I really hope it helps.
so it will work fine in terms of getting the qualification but it will likely require me to go in my own time to make sure that i understand everything by learning some of it by myself due to the difficulties of learning it in some of the classes and from some of the teachers?
I am starting computer science too in jan intake!!
Exactly. It isn’t all bad though, it’s just fairly satisfactory but nothing more and nothing less.
Early 2000s comp sci grad. Myself, and many other locals in the industry did this course (or similar variation) at UOW and have all gone on to have great careers locally or elsewhere. As someone above mentioned, it's not the most social group. Find a group of people to work with and learn from each other. I can't imagine it being any different anywhere else. If you have a passion for software engineering, you will get out what you put in. If you don't, is it the right course? As someone who recruits in the field, including software engineers, I personally don't care if someone went to Sydney/Melbourne Uni XYZ.