Department of Computer and Information Sciences Delegation Visits MIT and Harvard

On Monday, October 17, 2011, an enthusiastic delegation of faculty, students and recent graduates from the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, headed by Department Chair, Kenrie Hylton, embarked on a trip that would take them to visit two of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the United States of America.  The purpose of this visit was to expose them to research opportunities and graduate study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.  This trip was partially sponsored by Dr. Byron Robinson, an alumnus of Northern Caribbean University.

Upon our arrival at MIT, on Tuesday, October 18, the delegation was met by Christopher Jones, Assistant Dean for Graduate Education, who hosted us at breakfast and introduced us to MIT while giving us a heads-up on the activities planned for the day.  Our visit started out with a brief tour of the campus and an extensive visit to the Media Lab conducted by a Research Assistant, Kenton Williams.  At the Media Lab an unorthodox research approach to envision the impact of emerging technologies on everyday life, technologies that promise to fundamentally transform our most basic notions of human capabilities, is applied.  He also gave us a very comprehensive introduction to some of the cutting-edge research activities being conducted by him and other members of the Personal Robots Group in their research laboratory.  We concluded the tour with a brief stop at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).
 

Group at MIT's Media Lab

Our visit to MIT continued with a working luncheon with representatives from the School of Engineering, Graduate Admissions, and the International Students Office who gave presentations about research and graduate study opportunities available at MIT, along with pertinent application and immigration procedures relevant to international students.  Presenters included Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook, Associate Dean and Director at the International Students Office, and Cardinal Warde, Professor of Electrical Engineering.  After our luncheon current graduate students of MIT conducted a very informative Graduate Clinic which highlighted not only what graduate study entailed, from the application process through to final research, but also their own journey as students of MIT.

On Wednesday, October 19, our trip to Boston continued with a visit to Harvard University.  After being met by Marie Dahleh, Associate Dean of Academic Programs at Harvard, Gloria Anglόn, Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions & Administrative Fellow in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), provided us with an overview of SEAS, their research activities and graduate study opportunities.  Jorge Pozo, Coordinator of Educational Programs, continued with an enlightening discourse about his own continuing journey as a graduate student within SEAS.  In spite of continuous rain, typical of Boston at this time of year, we were given a very extensive tour of the Harvard campus, during which we were exposed to the very rich history of this prestigious 375 year old university.  Our visit at Harvard concluded with a stop at the Harvard International Office where we had discussions with Darryl Zeigler, Advisor to International Students and Scholars, about attending Harvard University and living in Boston as an international student.
 

This trip was of benefit to all of us.  Prospective graduate students were energized as they were introduced to the joys, challenges and benefits of research and graduate study in Computer Science at MIT and Harvard.  Faculty and staff left with renewed interest in research and fuelled with fresh ideas for the continued development of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences.   Added to which we were all impressed by the strong commitment to scholarship that was very evident in the environment of both universities.  

by Halzen G. Ashton Smith
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Information Sciences