This mixed-method study at six universities asked degree apprentices about their trajectories into the apprenticeship, to better understand the social mobility potential of apprenticeships. The degree apprenticeship offers a route to a degree for apprentices, who are employees studying for a degree. As a new model, little is known about the apprentices: who they are, their journey towards this degree, and whether they fulfil the social mobility aspirations expressed by apprenticeship policymakers. Computing and IT apprentices at six universities in Scotland, UK, were surveyed (n = 160) to ask about their background and previous experience. Interviews (n = 28) were carried out with apprentices studying with one of the institutions, to enquire how their backgrounds impacted on their journey to this point. By taking a multi-institutional approach, the study reports findings across different degree apprenticeships and geographical locations. Apprentices were found to be drawn from all socio-economic groups and represented those new to work and upskillers, already in work. For upskillers, the degree apprenticeship offered a belated opportunity for degree-level study. However, young people recruited into the apprenticeship were disproportionally from more privileged groups. We make recommendations for recruitment and selection processes to increase equality of access to degree apprenticeship places.

As supply chains evolve toward the adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), vast amounts of data are collected by different systems across the manufacturing, logistics and transportation value chain. John G Russell (Transport) is a UK-based company involved in multiple lines of business in the supply chain. As the company adopts the utilization of data intelligence as a way to collect, process and utilize data for insights, this presents an opportunity for applying artificial intelligence (AI) approaches such as reinforcement learning (RL), to identify trends, and offer recommendations for improving the sustainability and efficiency of its logistics. Preliminary results show that we can achieve up to a 20–30% reduction in carbon emissions from the fleet of a segment of the transport business lines of the Russell Group. This paper presents a holistic framework for achieving sustainable supply chains, reducing costs as well as achieving operational efficiency using a supply chain digital twin.

A series of Working Groups has met at previous ITiCSE conferences to explore ways of incorporating cloud computing into courses and curricula, including mapping industry job skills to knowledge areas and those areas to student learning objectives. The importance of industry-standard learning content and certification, produced by cloud vendors and others, was apparent throughout this work. This Working Group has focused on the role of certification within cloud computing curricula, from the viewpoints of a range of stakeholders: students, graduates, institutions, vendors and other certification providers; and employers, with the aim to provide insights and recommendations for educators who are considering whether to integrate cloud certifications into their courses. We reviewed the landscape of certifications provided by the most widely recognised cloud vendors, based on publicly available information and the knowledge embedded within the Working Group through the inclusion of vendor representatives in the membership. An overview is provided of the scope of available certifications and their mapping to our knowledge areas and learning outcomes, and of the influence that standards have or should have on learning design. We then explored the perspectives of stakeholders, through surveys of students on courses with a cloud computing element and of employers who have employed graduates of those courses, drawing conclusions on the awareness of certifications and specific vendors within each of those stakeholder groups, and on differences between the groups on the perceived importance of certifications for employability. Finally we explored approaches to integrating certification in academic cloud curricula, and challenges involved in doing so, through thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with a range of educators who have experience of doing so successfully. A set of recommendations for educators is presented, based on the findings of the Working Group's activities.

Objectives : There is currently no single accepted definition of Computational Thinking (CT), but abstraction, algorithmic thinking, problem solving and pattern recognition are often identified as four top skills with decomposition and spatial ability also being considered important. Physical activity has been linked to development of algorithmic thinking, visual processing and pattern recognition, while dance has been associated with ability in problem solving, visual-spatial manipulation, abstraction and pattern recognition. Dance notation has been linked to the development of skills in decomposition. This article investigates whether taking part in structured dance activities affects performance on CT tests. Participants : Fifty participants (33 girls, 17 boys) aged between 6 and 9 were recruited from schools in Scotland and out-of-school groups in Germany. Study Methods : The methods were influenced by Educational Design theory and adopted a mixed methods approach. It employed an explanatory sequential design with the aim of explaining quantitative results using qualitative methods and comprises three studies. Groups 1 and 2 used a pre-experimental design, while Group 3 used a quasi-experimental non-equivalent group design, which arbitrarily split the group in an intervention group and a control group to establish whether there was an observable change in performance on CT tasks after taking part in structured Scottish Country Dance (SCD) activities. Participants undertook the BCTt test as pre- and post-test; motivation was measured using versions of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI). Direct observation and teacher interviews provided qualitative information and were used to explore the findings. The intervention consisted of workshops that mapped physical dance and transcription activities to cognitive attributes identified as important for CT. Findings : A Related Samples Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test found a significant difference between the median marks for pre-test ( M = 18.70, SD = 4.21) and post-test ( M = 20.45, SD = 3.137) (n = 20, p = 0.007) in Group 1. In Group 2, a Paired Samples t -Test indicated that the post-test score ( M = 21.50, SD = 1.789) was significantly higher than the pre-test score ( M = 16.69, SD = 3.945), (t(15) = 5.189, p < 0.001). However, no differences were found between scores on the pre-test ( M = 20, SD = 2.00) and post-test ( M = 19.67, SD = 2.160), t(5) = 0.237, p = 0.822 in Group 3A or between the pre-test scores ( M = 13.75, SD = 5.898) and post-test ( M = 15.13, SD = 2.997), t(7) = 0.903, p = 0.397 in Group 3B. Participants in all studies were observed to engage well with the activities. Conclusions : Participants in Groups 1 and 2, who were taught by experienced SCD teachers in a classroom situation and had some prior familiarity with the dance genre, showed a significant improvement in their scores. The addition of related coding activities appears to strengthen this effect. The absence of significant results in Group 3 allows for some hypotheses about which aspects of the dance workshops may be affecting CT.

Despite continued efforts to further the participation of women in Computer Science (CS), progress has been limited during the past decades. Recent efforts have been focused on recruitment and retention, with a notable gap in exploring the impact of admissions processes on diversity and inclusion. Through an extensive literature review, contextual analysis of public admissions data from 40 universities across four regions around the world, and qualitative and quantitative analysis on surveys and interviews, we explored the role of admissions in enhancing diversity and inclusion in CS undergraduate programs. Our findings highlight the role of financials, the possible positive effects of explicit advocacy for diversity and inclusion, and the imperative to cultivate a more welcoming and inclusive culture in CS programs.