> That's interesting Tom. Would you like to expand on why/how it was > very obvious that lower years were driven by financial motives rather > than an interest in the subject?

Most of my impressions of this came from doing the lab demonstration last year – which was certainly an interesting way to get to know the lower years. One of the overriding impressions I got out of it was simply that, for a lot of people, their heart wasn’t in it.

I know not everyone likes coding, but even so for a lot of people it seemed to be about the bare minimum and no more, and there just wasn’t that feeling that people were there because they really were interested in the subject. In my mind, the conclusion from this was that it must therefore have been financial motive. I do know that I was not alone in sharing this view, it seemed to be fairly consistent among most people.

Of course there were some people there who were genuinely there because this was the subject they really wanted to do, so I’m not lumping everyone into the same category here!

> I don't think the downturn has affected graduate recruitment too much. Sure, there'll > be fewer jobs and less likelihood of multiple job offers per student > but I believe that most/all of our graduates will get a good job at > the end of the day.

I would also agree that graduate recruitment will remain steady – although people may have to spread their wings a little further – but one crucial difference might be that employers will probably be much more conscious of real ability. You can’t afford not to, and this is where those with only a financial interest may well find themselves in difficulty.

That said, god loves a tryer, and you can’t really blame anyone for trying to do well for themselves!

> On upside from my perspective as an academic is that there are several students > considering to stay on to do research in the subject. This is a 'good thing' and will > positively impact our ability to do research.

Research wasn’t my cup of tea, but I know someone from the current fourth year who was thinking of staying on – and its has to be good for the standing of Strathclyde and the department if there is more research going on.

-Tom