The Wednesday Waggle is your weekly roundup of opportunities for Computer Science students to start experiencing your future, both before and after graduation. We highlight stuff we think you should know about, selected from some of the many places you can look for experience outlined at cdyf.me/finding

Like the waggle dance of bees, this newsletter can help you find promising opportunities and explore the most interesting ones. The Waggle gets mailed out to all undergraduate and masters students in Computer Science, so if there is a career related event or a job opportunity you'd like to include in next weeks newsletter, tell us about it and we'll pass it on bit.ly/waggle-it

Future Focus Week 2025 is a programme of workshops and events, tailored to the needs of upcoming and recent graduates. If you don't know what to do next, or would like some inspiration for your next steps, this event is the perfect starting point. Learn top tips for the graduate job-search, get advice on how to develop your skills, feedback on your CV and more.

Wednesday 11 June - Apply

• CV Clinic (drop-in - no booking required) (10am - 12pm midday), Atrium, First Floor, University Place
• Speed Interviewing (drop-in - no booking required)(2pm - 4pm), Atrium, First Floor, University Place 

Friday 13 June

• 英国求职宣讲会：中文讲座 | | Introduction to your UK Job Search (in Mandarin Chinese)(12pm midday - 1pm), Online

Last few tickets left for Technology and Global Inequality in the Age of AI: This years Cockcroft Rutherford  Lecture by Professor Simon Johnson from the MIT Sloan School of Management, 19th June details below:

The Nobel Prize winner and University of Manchester alumnus Professor Simon Johnson will deliver the Cockcroft Rutherford  Lecture. The lecture, which will be Chaired by Professor Duncan Ivison President and Vice-Chancellor, is titled ‘Technology and Global Inequality in the Age of AI’.

According to leaders of the tech sector, the arrival of Artificial Intelligence will “change everything” – about productivity growth, jobs, and shared prosperity. In their recent book, Power and Progress: Our Thousand Year Struggle Over Power and Prosperity, Simon Johnson and Daron Acemoglu take the long view – putting the latest (and likely future) AI developments into historical context. AI could help boost the wages and living standards of everyone, but there is a very real danger that it will primarily bring a lot more automation and further widening of income inequality both within industrial economies and across countries.

In this lecture, Professor Johnson will discuss the intellectual and policy debates swirling around AI both in the US and around the world. Can we really create “Pro-Worker AI”? What would that take?

Professor Johnson’s pioneering research has significantly shaped modern economic thought, providing policymakers with key tools to address inequality and promote sustainable growth. His career has included prominent roles at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he served as chief economist. He is currently the Ronald A Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

We do hope you will be able to join us for the lecture followed by a drinks and canapes reception. You can book tickets on Eventbrite using the link below.

The lecture will take place in the Nancy Rothwell Building,, Booth Street East, M13 9QS, at 6.15pm. Free registration at bit.ly/Simon-Johnson-Manchester

In the face of the present climate crisis, there is pressing need for skilled software engineers to aid climate scientists in delivering a new generation of high-quality, high-performance, and high-assurance models. This is the broad aim of these RSE posts at the new Institute of Computing for Climate Science (ICCS) at the University of Cambridge. 

ICCS hosts a team of Research Software Engineers who are working directly with international Schmidt Futures' Virtual Earth Systems Research Institutes (VESRI) to directly address specific computation and research software needs of climate scientists. The team of RSEs will also interact closely with researchers based at ICCS. Thus, this provides a unique opportunity to be involved in research projects directly connected to climate science but also broader research into supporting climate science through computer science, software engineering, and data science.

RSEs will be part of a team, with training and guidance provided by the Engineering Lead, the Head of Research Software Engineering and the Computer Science lead. RSEs will be encouraged to develop their own ideas and will also be encouraged to take part in training, including the opportunity to help run training sessions for PhDs and other scientists. The post also includes funding to support travel to conferences and for training activities to support career development, as well as dining rights at Queens' college three times per week.

Essential requirements for the role include:

• Degree-level education or equivalent experience.
• Experience in software engineering (SE), including a strong track record of employing SE best practises and use of development and productivity tools (e.g., Git/GitHub, Jira)
• Good knowledge of a programming language such as Fortran, C++, C, Python.
• Testing and associated technologies for enabling automated testing.

Experience of working in a scientific context is desirable but not essential. bit.ly/rse-cambridge

It's probably not news to you, but it has been a tough job market this year for everybody, from first years to graduates, from second years to masters students. If you've not been successful in getting that coveted job offer for a summer internship, year long placement or graduate role, you don't need to give up. Now that exams have finished and you've had a bit of a breather, if you're wondering why all your job applications have disappeared into employers "black holes", what can you do next?

• Mug up with courses online,  LinkedIn Learning is available free to University of Manchester students, there's a tonne of technical and non-technical courses you can do on everything from cloud computing to having difficult conversations, see bit.ly/linkedin-learning-uom
• Tinkering and hacking - own projects are a good way to demonstrate to potential employers your interests beyond the curriculum bit.ly/tinkering-and-hacking
• Go Virtual with the Bright Network who still have opportunities open this summer bit.ly/IEUK-2025
• Reading, brush up on your theory as well as your practice. The first nine chapter of Beyond Cracking the Coding Interview are available free bit.ly/nine-chapters-free
• Practice your Coding Interview technique with Leetcode and Hackerrank. Easy to medium problems are a good place to start see bit.ly/leetcode-hackerrank
• Network, attend free tech (and non-tech) meet-ups, there's hundreds of them in most cities around the world. You don't have to pay a fortune to attend expensive conferences. You can build your professional network at free meet-ups via eventbrite.co.uk, lu.ma. tickettailor.com, meetup.com etc 
• Get peer support, don't go it alone. Find a friend, do a CV swap, help each other, learn from other's mistakes. Network together. Despite how it might sometimes feel, you are not alone. 
• Volunteer with non-profits and community groups. They often need help with tech related projects and it's a great way to build experience while giving back bit.ly/let-me-volunteer
• Get Casual, most jobs help you learn transferable skills. Whether it's customer service, working in retail, hospitality or tutoring, you're building communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, which are all valuable skills in the longer term. It doesn't have to be tech to be valuable.
• Relax: Take some time out, switch off over the summer and recharge your batteries while you think about your next moves. 

(Black hole sketch by Visual Thinkery is licensed under CC-BY-ND, based on an original image of a supermassive black hole via Wikimedia Commons w.wiki/3RCa)

Now that exams are over, you might be able to find some time to do some job applications (after a well earned break, obvs). The deadline for finalising your placement is the end of August and there are still plenty of good opportunities out there... Here are some from Axelera and Roku in Manchester (for example) 

• google.com/search?q=software+engineering+intern+manchester
• google.com/search?q=business+analyst+intern
• google.com/search?q=data+scientist+intern

Find out more in Finding Your Future, Chapter 11 of Coding Your Future www.cdyf.me/finding#looking

Looking for something to do this summer to boost your experience? Take a look at Bright Network's internship experience UK. It's 4 days long (14th-17th July) and virtual so you can do it anywhere . There's 4 different sectors you can apply for with many different employers attending. Just to name a couple examples of employers there is:

• Technology and engineering (Google, Lloyds Banking Group, Sky),
• Finance and consulting (Bank of America, IBM, ICAEW),
• Commerical law (BCLP, Clyde & Co, Kennedys) and
• Business, operations and marketing (British Airways, AlphaSights, Macfarlanes).

You'll get a real insight into your chosen sector and an opportunity to work on a project! It'll make a great addition to your CV and that chance to network with professionals. If you're interested take a look for further information and eligibility requirements. Application by 6th July at bit.ly/IEUK-2025

It's never too early or too late to start debugging your CV, LinkedIn, covering letter, job application and search strategy. I'll be running live debugging sessions today (online and in person) from 10am to midday in Kilburn which you can join using this three step process:

1. Self debug using this checklist cdyf.me/debugging#quick
2. Submit CV to the debugging queue with this QR code (right) or form bit.ly/debug-my-cv
3. Join the live session or wait for asynchronous feedback on the CV you've submitted using the form above via teams.microsoft.com

Please do not email or message your CV directly, because the form above allows me to queue requests, which I aim to clear on a weekly basis.