Thirty six Sydney high school students will give up some of their holidays next week to explore a future in Information Technology at the inaugural CSIRO/Macquarie University ExploreIT! Summer School.

ExploreIT! will give the students, who have already shown an aptitude for computing, the chance to find out what studying and working in the rapidly advancing information technology sector is all about.

Macquarie University's Associate Professor Robert Dale, who is running the summer school, says "These students are entering the final years of high school and this is an opportunity for us to show them early on just how much fun and how interesting studying and working in IT can be."

Some of the projects the students will be involved in include spoken language dialog systems, developing virtual web tours of the University and computer games development.

ExploreIT! is an extension of Macquarie's unique undergraduate program in Language Technology (www.comp.mq.edu.au/hlt). Language technology involves using computers to process human language, whether in spoken or written form. A major goal of the Summer School is to make school students more aware of language technology and its importance in computing interfaces of the future.

Dr Cécile Paris of CSIRO says that language technologies are increasingly important both for processing large amounts of information to extract useful knowledge and as a means of communicating with a new generation of hand-held information and communication devices.

"Language technology will be inherent in how we locate and use information in the very near future," says Dr Paris.

Dr Paris says that CSIRO sees real value in supporting ExploreIT!.

"CSIRO is always on the lookout for top IT graduates - people with the ideas and skills for undertaking advanced IT research. The summer school allows us to reach young, enthusiastic people who may not yet have considered research as a career option.

"We can't imagine some of the new directions that communication and information technologies will take in future years. Some of these young people may be the ones who will be setting those directions," says Dr Paris.

The students have come from all over the state and most are surprisingly unconcerned about giving up a week of the holidays to return to the classroom.

Melissa Paisley of Cheltenham Girls High School is already studying software design and development for the HSC and is looking forward to some extra challenges.

"I want to study engineering or computing when I leave school, so this is a great chance for hands-on experience," she says.

Oliver Gabot Czibula from Chatswood High School is also expecting a fun and challenging week.

"I definitely want to study computing after year 12 and this is a great opportunity to enhance my CV and gain some extra experience in areas like programming and design," he says.

The ExploreIT! summer school runs from 15-19 January at Macquarie University, Building E6A.

More information:

Associate Professor Robert Dale, Macquarie University, 02 9850 6331
www.comp.mq.edu.au/hlt/exploreit

Dr Cécile Paris, CSIRO 02 93253160 mobile 0408 792 791
 cecile.paris@cmis,csiro.au
www.cmis.csiro.au/iit

For photo and interview opportunities please contact:

Tom McGinness mobile 0419 419 210 email: tom.mcginness@cmis.csiro.au 

Images for this release will be available on Monday 15 January at:
www.cmis.csiro.au/mediapics.htm