As of February, the number of young people in the UK applying to study computing has risen by 9.6%. This is more than for any other university subject, according to the chartered institute of IT. Part of this increase has come from a rise in the number of female students applying for computing degrees, figures from UCAS show that there was an increase of 18%, this is higher than any other degree course.
This could be due to a number of reasons such as the high profile rise of artificial intelligence. Young people are increasingly curious about emerging technologies and their relevance in their future lives and careers. In addition to this there is a growing awareness around the role and importance of data, with many students pursuing degrees in areas such as cybersecurity and data science. Since the pandemic forced everyone to stay home, the role of technology in our day to day lives became clearer, many young people now have a greater awareness of emerging technologies and the career opportunities they offer. In addition to this, the younger generation understand that these trends are not likely to change, so pursuing careers such as software engineering or data analytics provide a lot of job security.
This spike in applications for computer-based degrees has also meant that more students are choosing to take GCSE’s and A Levels in computing subjects too. The number of students choosing to sit computing exams at A-level rose for the fourth year in a row in 2022, and there was also an increase in the number of students taking the subject at GCSE level.
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Articles used for this blog:
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/365531434/Computing-degrees-more-popular-due-to-AI-says-BCS
https://www.bcs.org/articles-opinion-and-research/university-computing-departments-met-with-record-a...
