Bolton Uni

[thebish]

I have been exiled in London for 10 years, but my oldest son is now deciding which university to go to.

his choices are limited by the course he wants to do - computer games design, but... imagine my delight when he narrows down the choices to..

Teesside (where I lived before moving here)
Coventry (where i went to uni - Warwick)
Bolton (woop!)

I have to admit I didn't even know there was a Bolton Uni - wasn't when I lived there!

so - am I doing him a dis-service by steering him that way - purely to give me a floor to kip on and get to more home games?

what is the local reputation of Bolton Uni - any opinions?

[Verbal]

Think it used to be Bolton tech or some such? Either way, it only achieved proper university status in the last few years.

No idea as regards to it. However, over the summer I should(may) be working back at Bolton Hospital again. If so, a guy I work with has just graduated with a degree in computery thingys, so I could ask him if tha wants.

[superjohnmcginlay]

It was called Bolton Institute up until recently. It may have specific courses that are well regarded but I think as a University its somewhere near the bottom of the pile.

[thebish]

Think it used to be Bolton tech or some such? Either way, it only achieved proper university status in the last few years.

No idea as regards to it. However, over the summer I should(may) be working back at Bolton Hospital again. If so, a guy I work with has just graduated with a degree in computery thingys, so I could ask him if tha wants.

that'd be useful - thanks!

[TANGODANCER]

I went to Bolton Tech years ago so there's probably no comparison with now. The teaching was very good but followed a school rather than university angle; organised classes by rota and covering things like woodwork, metalwork, hygene etc rather then studying specialist careers. The day and night school classes for City and Guilds study were very good, but again, geared more towards the blue-collar trades. Lords Commercial dealt with white-collar stuff. I'd imagine to gain University status they've had to change considerably.

Here's a link, if you haven't already seen it:

http://www.bolton.ac.uk/

[ratbert]

I used to know someone who did computing at Bolton Uni (Institute as was then) and he spoke very highly of the courses there.

[Puskas]

I used to know someone who did computing at Bolton Uni (Institute as was then) and he spoke very highly of the courses there.

What - he inhaled helium before talking about them?

[Montreal Wanderer]

I have been exiled in London for 10 years, but my oldest son is now deciding which university to go to.

his choices are limited by the course he wants to do - computer games design, but... imagine my delight when he narrows down the choices to..

Teesside (where I lived before moving here)
Coventry (where i went to uni - Warwick)
Bolton (woop!)

I have to admit I didn't even know there was a Bolton Uni - wasn't when I lived there!

so - am I doing him a dis-service by steering him that way - purely to give me a floor to kip on and get to more home games?

what is the local reputation of Bolton Uni - any opinions?

Why does your son wish to specialize quite so narrowly, bish? My younger son wanted to be a computer game designer too and took a software engineering degree. Montreal has several leaders in the field of computer game design and he hoped to get a job with one of them. Credentials notwithstanding, he did not have the right contacts (which is what you also need) and he never got offered a job in the field. He did however get a job with CAE, a world leader in aircraft simulators. He programs what the pilots see when they fly. He does military attack helicopters so has to put all kinds of Iraqi tanks or Afghani freedom fighter firing rockets in the terrain. Just like a video game. He also does commercial jets which is a lot simpler. In the last couple of years the company has sent him to different parts of the US (5 times), Australia (twice), Dubai, Hong Kong, Inchon (South Korea) and he is now in Hanover, Germany. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that a more general degree might give greater flexibility and more options to someone who wants to work in a field facing the competition of half the young geeks in the world.

[The Benevolent One]

Not a frequent poster but I've got some personal knowledge on this subject.

If he hasn't already considered it, it may be worth adding the University of Abertay to the list (Dundee). Yes, Dundee's a bit of a dump (though not as bad as the reputation suggests), but the courses are relatively well regarded and Dundee is something of a hub for the games industry (I'm working up here myself).

That all said, Monty's right. I didn't do a computer game course (physics, in my case) and regardless of what particular specialty he'd like to follow within the industry, there's no replacement for a bit of personal experience and enthusiasm. It's very much the sort of thing in which course-learning can only take you so far. Opportunities are available in the industry without a specialist degree, but such a course will only narrow his options down the line.

All IMO of course, I can't personally speak for either Abertay or the courses on offer.

[General Mannerheim]

can you imagine leaving home, all your friends and family to start a new fun filled existance of pot noodles, piss-ups & shagging - then landing in Bolton...

you'd be gutted!

[thebish]

all good points Monty - and Benevolent One!

Ones we have pressed upon him several times - we hoped his sixth form college teachers would impress upon him the same kind of advice - but they all say he is some kind of a whizzo-genius and should pursue his dreams... (and I feel kinda guilty for wanting him to opt for something "safer")

however - we are also reassured by the unis he is applying for and by his 6th form college that the courses he is applying for are not as narrow/limiting as we had feared - he also has a strong maths background - and we are assured that the skills in the courses he is applying for are extremely transferrable across several IT career-routes (interestingly, from what you say, Simulation is often mentioned)

'tis all a worry - and i don't feel old enough to be a parent of a child at university!

my daughter wanted to be a dentist - and that is a very high bar! they only take the cream of the cream - her school was encouraging her - esp her science teachers - but we were secretly thinking - you're not gonna make it sweetie - go for summat safer (and in darker moments - how will we afford 7 years of medical school!)

but then she changed her mind and wanted to be a drama teacher!

now she wants to be a science teacher...

anyway - Teesside seems to be favourite at the moment - looking fwd to going back for those games at the Riverside! - I'll check out Dundee (I once went there on holiday on a rainy day - what a complete dump!!)

[thebish]

can you imagine leaving home, all your friends and family to start a new fun filled existance of pot noodles, piss-ups & shagging - then landing in Bolton...

you'd be gutted!

but the other options were coventry and Middlesbrough!

[ratbert]

I used to know someone who did computing at Bolton Uni (Institute as was then) and he spoke very highly of the courses there.

What - he inhaled helium before talking about them?

Ho, and if you will ho.

And between all his natural swearing, it was hard to tell anyway.

[Montreal Wanderer]

Both my boys were considered 'whizzo-geniuses' at computers in high school and both won the prize. The older one took a mechanical engineering degree with a minor in computer science. He got a job with Bombardier, to whom our defence department subcontracted handling the CF-18 fighter jet. The simulator (different kind which models the plane on a computer) was written in Fortran for a mainframe (I can't believe how old our strike force is!). So Rob is building a computerized model in a more modern language and answering pilots' questions and concerns. For example they asked him under what conditions they could fire their rockets and shoot themselves down. It transpires this can in fact happen. Both boys would have preferred to design computer games, but I think they are still quite happy where they ended up. They still play a lot of the games anyway. Your son's math abilities will of course be useful in a number of fields, bish, and I suppose you have to let them follow their dream. I just hope the course is as broad as you suggest because people with IT skills can always find jobs.

[The Benevolent One]

Just to be clear, if you're going to check it out; you'll want the University of Abertay, not Dundee University (both campuses are in the city centre).

Hope it helps, and if it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't want to work in any other industry now.

[Bruce Rioja]

I've just applied to Bolton Uni to do a part time course. Whether they'll let me do it based on practical experience rather than prior qualification remains to be seen though.

[Montreal Wanderer]

I've just applied to Bolton Uni to do a part time course. Whether they'll let me do it based on practical experience rather than prior qualification remains to be seen though.

Universities often waive formal academic requirements for 'mature student' applications. Just make sure they don't read TW so you can retain the illusion of maturity!

[Bruce Rioja]

I've just applied to Bolton Uni to do a part time course. Whether they'll let me do it based on practical experience rather than prior qualification remains to be seen though.

Universities often waive formal academic requirements for 'mature student' applications. Just make sure they don't read TW so you can retain the illusion of maturity!

[TANGODANCER]

I've just applied to Bolton Uni to do a part time course. Whether they'll let me do it based on practical experience rather than prior qualification remains to be seen though.

Universities often waive formal academic requirements for 'mature student' applications. Just make sure they don't read TW so you can retain the illusion of maturity!

I'd have thought being a member of auch an august body of scholars would be a real reccomendation. Mind you, on second thoughts....

[William the White]

Computer Game Design at Bolton has a good rep, and is technically up to date, and getting some investment. It isn't that narrow a degree these days - I'm told there are multiple outlets and, in any case, the creative and taechnical skills involved will be very useful and transferable to other careers. Graduates in history rarely become historians, those in English rarely professional critics.

My son just graduated in the same subject from Bradford (with a first - yeah!) so I've had conversations about the subject.

And I teach (not Computers of any kind!) at Bolton Uni. It obtained Uni status only about 5 years ago, but has a long and venerable history, reaching back to Victorian times when one of its antecedents was Bolton Mechanics Institute.

It's just opened a new campus in the Emirates, following on from others in Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore. It also validates degrees in partnership with universities in nigeria and S Africa.

It's pretty much in the same league as Teeside and Coventry which were also former polis.