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Big Tech is getting cozy with computer science departments

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Re: Big Tech is getting cozy with computer science departments

#11

Post by mdorazio »

blackbear_ wrote: post #2

This is all wrong. The purpose of Universities is to uphold, expand and disseminate human culture, not to prepare people for a career in the industry. Big tech should not be allowed to piggyback on the reputation of educational institutions to push their products and the latest fads at the expense of the fundamentals.

That was the purpose of universities when the student populations were smaller, wealthier, and more focused on actually learning about the world. But decades ago the US culture shifted to "everyone must go to college as a prerequisite for getting a job", so now the focus of most programs had damn well better be preparing students to actually get a job or else the absurd cost and student debt incurred is simply not worth it.

Re: Big Tech is getting cozy with computer science departments

#12

Post by anthony_r »

bitcharmer wrote: post #3

Given the hiring practices in FAANG where you are expected to present academic background rather than practical engineering skills, I'd say this is not a new phenomenon.

You're spot on. My alma mater has had Google and the likes come to the campus for over a decade now.

Also, I see nothing wrong with that, at the same time there was plenty of room for "pure research" into even the most obscure corners of theoretical CS and maths.

Re: Big Tech is getting cozy with computer science departments

#13

Post by greenkey »

gambiting wrote: post #5
blackbear_ wrote: post #2

This is all wrong. The purpose of Universities is to uphold, expand and disseminate human culture, not to prepare people for a career in the industry. Big tech should not be allowed to piggyback on the reputation of educational institutions to push their products and the latest fads at the expense of the fundamentals.

>>The purpose of Universities is to uphold, expand and disseminate human culture, not to prepare people for a career in the industry. Like, I personally agree with you, but then I also think that we don't have the right to define it as such. There's plenty of people who think that the main goal of a university(at least in scientific/engineering fields) should be to prepare people for working in the industry. Equally,…

Students today have become quite reliant on Google Docs essentially putting almost all of their classwork out on the web. What if it were to fail? That’s different than it used to be when each student needed to handwrite or type up a paper without SAAS that could break, and those students aren’t prepping to work for Google.

Re: Big Tech is getting cozy with computer science departments

#15

Post by asutekku »

greenkey wrote: post #13
gambiting wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>The purpose of Universities is to uphold, expand and disseminate human culture, not to prepare people for a career in the industry. Like, I personally agree with you, but then I also think that we don't have the right to define it as such. There's plenty of people who think that the main goal of a university(at least in scientific/engineering fields) should be to prepare people for working in the industry. Equally,…

Students today have become quite reliant on Google Docs essentially putting almost all of their classwork out on the web. What if it were to fail? That’s different than it used to be when each student needed to handwrite or type up a paper without SAAS that could break, and those students aren’t prepping to work for Google.

And I’m pretty happy that students use nowadays google docs. Sure, it’s propiertary and can break at any point, but man if it does not make collaboration easier.

Re: Big Tech is getting cozy with computer science departments

#16

Post by vmception »

Judgmentality wrote: post #9
vmception wrote: post #7

This is the preferred way to fix the “pipeline problem” for more inclusion Recruit directly at a broader range of schools and make the curriculum more relevant Big Tech largely ignores Tier 2 and Tier 3 schools for on campus recruiting, while imagining that the intelligence community has better developers (which does recruit from tier 2 and tier 3 schools on campus) Since neither of them have figured out how to scree…

> Big Tech largely ignores Tier 2 and Tier 3 schools for on campus recruiting, while imagining that the intelligence community has better developers I don't think the general consensus is that intelligence organizations have better developers than big tech. I think the rule of thumb is the better the pay, the better the quality.

There is a pervasive view that they have scifi technology that someone had to program

I think after various leaks that idea did evaporate a lot

Re: Big Tech is getting cozy with computer science departments

#18

Post by readingnews »

As a professor in a computer science department at a state run university (that has one of the oldest CS departments in the nation), I actually am far more afraid of the book publishers than "big tech". They are going down the road of "who needs uni, just use our text, our online learning aids, our online _courses_"... With each new ad from the textbook publishing company, I see a push to have learners just use their material... the large problem is the university expects you to use books from well known publishers, so they have leverage to get you to use the book+material.

Big tech giving software and courses is one thing, but those come and go... it is like learning to use any tool, hey do you use a DeWalt or Milwaukee? Each are the same but different. In 10 years, you might use a completely different tool, but the tool was just that, it is the ideas and concepts that you are supposed to learn in (and outside of) the classroom. It is my job to teach you _how_ to solve problems, perhaps using the DeWalt or the Milwaukee or both.

Eh, as others have noted, companies have been donating for years, we could argue that grants shape our research too, but as long as professors keep the goal in mind (how do I get students to effectively and efficiently solve problems using available tools of the day), I think our future will be alright.

Re: Big Tech is getting cozy with computer science departments

#19

Post by Mauricebranagh »

djhworld wrote: post #10
gambiting wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>The purpose of Universities is to uphold, expand and disseminate human culture, not to prepare people for a career in the industry. Like, I personally agree with you, but then I also think that we don't have the right to define it as such. There's plenty of people who think that the main goal of a university(at least in scientific/engineering fields) should be to prepare people for working in the industry. Equally,…

> should be to prepare people for working in the industry. There used to be a system of education here in the UK called vocational colleges (or sometimes courses) where you would do exactly this, prepare for work in the industry - and industry would be involved in helping shape the curriculum, giving students work experience etc. This has fallen out of favour a lot, it still exists for trades activities like plumbing…

The entire vocational system in the UK was gutted by Thatcher 40 years ago - the employers did not want to pay the levy

Recently the government tried to bring back "apprenticeships" but this was abused very hard by retailers to pay shelf stackers 1/2 the minimum wage.

Re: Big Tech is getting cozy with computer science departments

#20

Post by greenkey »

noodles_nomore wrote: post #14

'Cozy'? They're snugging it under the table during meetings. They eat lunch together in Big Tech's office and lock the door. This relationship is like a 30 year nonstop honeymoon in the interstices of decency.

It’s probably not just universities either.

A company I work for spent the majority of their budget and then some on things that they didn’t need, much without any forethought or planning. It’s either because of kickbacks or because it seemed enterprise-y; there’s no rational explanation other than incompetence or corruption. An adequate IT director / CTO would be able to make their case for use of better and cheaper ToC of best-of-class open-source solutions.

Whether it’s kickbacks or just enjoying bragging about the Ferrari of webscalers we just bought or brandname IAAS we use, it’s wrong.

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