Computing

A kaleidoscope of Computing as a discipline in 2025

What are we looking for here? In the realm of drawing a picture of the current status of how computing is assessed and presented today, we thought it insightful to show how a kaleidoscope of institutions in academia and the professional community define the discipline themselves, name it and formulate visions for future trends.

Professional organisations and Research institutions

German Association of Informatics (Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.)

Visionary Statement

“Die Mitglieder der GI eint die Sicht auf Informatik als eine dynamische und zukunftsweisende Disziplin, die wir inhaltlich mitgestalten und weiterentwickeln.” [148]

Which translates to: “The members of the GI are united by their view of computer science as
a dynamic and forward-looking discipline, which we help to shape and develop.”

https://gi.de/ueber-uns
as of 13/02/25

News

“Berlin, 5. Februar 2025 | Die Informatik muss sich zuallererst um die von der Informatik selbst geschaffenen Probleme kümmern. Mit diesem Grundgedanken hat die GI bereits im Jahr 2014 fünf große Herausforderungen der Informatik identifiziert, die es in Zukunft zu bewältigen gibt. Nun ist die zweite Runde der Initiative abgeschlossen: In einem strukturierten Verfahren konnten Mitglieder sowie Gliederungen der Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI) einreichen, welche Herausforderungen sie für die wichtigsten halten, und sich für deren Aufnahme in die „Grand Challenges der Informatik 2025“ einsetzen. Fünf hat die Jury ausgewählt: Sie drehen sich um Edge AI, Selbstbestimmung in der digitalen Gesellschaft, das Internet of Everything, vollautomatisiertes Software-Engineering sowie das World Wide Metaverse.” [149]


Which translates to: “Berlin, 5 February 2025 | Computer science must first and foremost address the problems created by computer science itself. With this basic idea in mind, the GI identified five major challenges for computer science in 2014 that need to be overcome in the future. The second round of the initiative has now been completed: In a structured process, members as well as branches of the Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI) were able to submit which challenges they consider to be the most important and advocate for their inclusion in the ‘Grand Challenges of Computer Science 2025’. The jury has selected five: They revolve around Edge AI, self-determination in the digital society, the Internet of Everything, fully automated software engineering and the World Wide Metaverse.”


https://gi.de/meldung/grand-challenges-2025
as of 13/02/25

IEEE

“Mission Statement: IEEE's core purpose is to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.” [150]


https://www.ieee.org/about/vision-mission.html, as of 13/02/25

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

“Our Vision: Ensure that every student is prepared for a world powered by computing.” [152]


https://csteachers.org/about-csta/
as of 13/02/25

MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

“Our Mission

MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory pioneers research in computing that improves the way people work, play, and learn.

We focus on developing fundamental new technologies, conducting basic research that furthers the field of computing, and inspiring and educating future generations of scientists and technologists.” [153]

https://www.csail.mit.edu/about/mission-history
as of 13/02/25

Synthesis

If you look at the descriptions of the excerpted (mission) statements and news items shown here, you can see a pattern that quickly falls into the category of higher, faster, further: Words like innovation, new, and trendsetting are at the core of describing computing's trajectory.

The interwovenness with people, “the humanity” even, is part of almost every statement, mostly in showing that what computing is used for will be beneficial and improving humans’ lives.
How else could it be, in a world “being powered by computing.”

Study Programmes

B.Sc. Informatik


“Informatik ist die Wissenschaft der systematischen, automatisierten Verarbeitung von Informationen.
Sie beschäftigt sich damit, Informationen in ursprünglichen und hoch technisierten Computersystemen zu strukturieren, präsentieren und verarbeiten. Der Bachelor in Informatik an der Technischen Universität München bietet Ihnen die Möglichkeit, solide theoretische, praktische und technische Fertigkeiten in einem sich ständig weiter entwickelndem Gebiet zu erwerben.

Keine andere Wissenschaft hat die Lebens- und Arbeitswelt in den letzten 30 Jahren so sehr verändert wie die Informatik. Handys, Digitalkameras und PCs sind in kürzester Zeit zu Alltagsgegenständen geworden und das Internet hat sich rasend schnell durchgesetzt. Auch in der Medizin, Automobiltechnik oder Raumfahrt macht die Informatik einschneidende Fortschritte erst möglich.” [155]



which translates to “Computer science is the science of the systematic, automated processing of information. It is concerned with structuring, presenting and processing information in original and highly technical computer systems. The Bachelor in Computer Science at the Technical University of Munich offers you the opportunity to acquire solid theoretical, practical and technical skills in a constantly evolving field.

Over the last 30 years, no other science has changed the way we live and work as much as computer science. Mobile phones, digital cameras and PCs have become everyday objects in a very short space of time and the Internet has become established at breakneck speed. Computer science has also made radical advances possible in medicine, automotive engineering and aerospace.“

https://www.cit.tum.de/cit/studium/studiengaenge/bachelor-informatik/
as of 13/02/25

M.Sc. Informatik


“Die Informatik ist
die Wissenschaft von der systematischen Verarbeitung von Informationen mit dem Schwerpunkt auf deren automatischer Verarbeitung mit Hilfe von Rechenanlagen. Ziel des Studiums ist es, Grundlagen des Faches Informatik in theoretischer, praktischer und anwendungsorientierter Hinsicht zu vermitteln. Dies umfasst insbesondere Methoden zur Lösung von Anwendungsproblemen und deren Umsetzung in computergerechte Form.” [154]


which translates to “Computer science is the science of the systematic processing of information with a focus on its automatic processing with the help of computer systems. The aim of the degree programme is to teach the fundamentals of computer science from a theoretical, practical and application-oriented perspective. This includes, in particular, methods for solving application problems and their implementation in computer-compatible form.”


https://www.lmu.de/de/studium/studienangebot/alle-studienfaecher-und-studiengaenge/informatik-master-hauptfach-4501.html
as of 13/02/25

B.Sc. in Computer Science

“Carnegie Mellon's undergraduate major in computer science combines a solid core of computer science courses with the ability to gain substantial depth in another area through a required minor in a second subject. The curriculum also gives you numerous choices for science and humanities courses. Computing is a discipline with strong links to many fields, and our program gives you unparalleled flexibility to pursue these fields. Our mathematics and probability component ensures that you'll have the formal tools to remain current as technologies and systems change, but at the same time you'll gain insight into the practical issues of building and maintaining systems by participating in intensive project-oriented courses.” [156]


https://csd.cmu.edu/academics/bachelors/overview
as of 13/02/25

Bachelor of Arts (A.B.)

“Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard College

The concentration in Computer Science is designed to teach students skills and ideas they will use immediately and in the future. Because information technology affects every aspect of society, graduates with computer science degrees have open to them an enormous variety of careers—engineering, teaching, medicine, law, basic science, entertainment, management, and countless others.” [157]


https://www.harvard.edu/programs/computer-science/#undergraduate
as of 13/02/25

Bachelor of Computing in Computer Science (with Honours*)
“Life as a Computer Science student

Developing cutting edge applications. Studying the latest developments in AI and machine learning. Working with industry leaders in software, social media and gaming. These are just a few of the opportunities you’ll have as a Computer Science student at NUS.

With deep connections at leading companies, NUS offers a truly immersive Computer Science education. We pride ourselves on providing the strongest technical foundation available at any institution in Singapore, across all sub-disciplines of computing. Although our programme is well grounded in theory, we place a special emphasis on skills that matter to employers. As part of your education, you will build and develop applications, while learning the theoretical foundations of Computer Science that make it all possible.” [158]


https://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/programmes/ug/cs/
as of 13/02/25

University of Sao Paulo - Computer Science Department

“About the Department

The starting point of the first undergraduate degree in Computer Science at University of Sao Paulo can be dated from 1962, by the time the Department of Mathematics at the Polytechnic School had acquired an IBM 1620 computer for teaching and researching. In 1970, with the creation of Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, several members of this initial group have become professors of the Department of Applied Mathematics at the newly created Institute.

In 1987, a group of twenty-four professors at Department of Applied Mathematics decided to create the Department of Computer Science. So, the Department of Applied Mathematics got divided into two: one that kept its name and another one – the Department of Computer Science. Before it, all activities related to Computer Science were held at Department of Applied Mathematics.

Since its early years the Department of Computer Science has encouraged its members to conduct doctoral studies abroad. This practice deeply contributed to form faculty.” [159]


https://www.ime.usp.br/en/computer-science-department/
as of 13/02/25

“Undergraduate

You can choose to major either in:

• Computer Science in Science

• Information Systems or Computer Science in Commerce

• Informatics or Computer Science in Humanities

• Business Computing in Science

Even if you only discovered an interest in Information Technology after making your subject choice at school and are worried that you don't have Maths or Physical Science, it is still possible to pursue a BA Informatics. This allows you to combine IT with other subjects, such as Film and Media or Geography. Make the degree your own.

Computers have had a profound influence on modern society. Many of the wealthiest people in the world made their fortunes in computing and numerous economically successful companies are computing companies. Most of the most sought-after jobs in the world (according to regular surveys) are in computing. It is not unusual for more than half of the 10 most desirable jobs on any such listing to require a computer science (or related) degree. Computing is one of the most marketable skills on the planet.” [160]


https://sit.uct.ac.za/our-degrees
as of 13/02/25

“Undergraduate

The Bachelor's Programmes Media Informatics and Visual Computing, Medical Informatics and Software & Information Engineering will no longer be offered to new students as of the winter semester 2023.

Instead TU Wien now offers:

Bachelor's Programme Informatics (new as of winter semester 2023)

Bachelor's Programme Business Informatics (from the old study plan)

Bachelor's Programme Computer Engineering (from the old study plan)

The first, new Programme being a combination of all the old Programmes with the possibility to choose your own specialisation later in the studies. It is described as such:

The Programme Informatics deals with the processing, analysis and use of data as well as the development of software and computer systems. It is therefore about the technology and know-how behind computer programs and applications. The subjects studied are used in almost all areas of life, since computers are used almost everywhere these days.

The Bachelor's Programme makes a significant contribution to understanding and shaping our increasingly digitalised world. Informatics also contributes to making our society safer. Specific topics of study include programming, databases, networks, algorithms, and software engineering. We place particular emphasis on the mathematical and theoretical foundations.

After that you have the possibility to choose from seven specializations. However, it is also possible to attend courses and modules from different specializations. So you can arrange your course content according to your interests.” [161]

TU Wien, Bachelor's Programme Informatics as of 13/02/25

“B.Sc. Informatics Engineering

As an informatics engineer you will develop different solutions needed to automate information based on solid scientific and technological foundations, internationally recognized. Moreover, you will carry out activities of high level abstraction such as analysis and design, as well as great responsibility tasks such as management of projects and technologies.

The academic training provided by PUCP prioritizes on the areas of information systems, software engineering and information technologies, in addition to solid foundations in computer science. This academic program also gives you the opportunity to outline your major with knowledge of business administration.” [162]


https://www.pucp.edu.pe/en/carrera/ingenieria-informatica/

abgerufen am 13/02/25

Synthesis study programmes

What can be noticed first of all, is that a study programme considering the subject of Computing may be called very differently spanning from Informatik, Computer Science, Informatics Engineering, to Informatics, not even mentioning all the different sub-fields. Even more interestingly, earning a “computing” degree can result in a Bachelor of Art, a Bachelor of Computing or Bachelor of Science degree, illustrating the difficulty to place itself.

What most descriptions have in common is that computing is tightly interwoven with the world, however there is rarely a mention that these (social) aspects then also need to be understood by the students. Nonetheless, computing educates students to develop a majority of application-oriented solutions that are realised in “computer-compatible form” and improve life, additionally leading to wealth, a safe career, and to become a person that employers want. Without further mocking, it would be interesting to investigate, if this is also what other disciplines advertise their study programmes with.

News Portrayals of Computing

Synthesis of the News Articles

While, of course, this is a very narrow selection of articles, it shows a pattern. Setting out to collect such articles, I originally opened ten news portals I frequent. However, the first one I sifted through, the BBC, already provided me with a picture. As we can’t provide a comprehensive list on news portrayal here, and studying the perception of Computing in news would be a whole other endeavour, I settled for this, throwing in only one Austrian source, that discusses more “local” issues (local thereby being the EU).

What can be seen in all of these articles, is the pattern of, once more, a killer story. Be it the teenager who secures a million dollar deal for his rendition of a LLM, a women finding solace in AI, reminiscent of ELIZA, the former Google CEO, fearing omnipotent AI systems, the EU wanting to play a major part in AI by developing war technology or the university solving crime (or at least being reported to contribute to doing so), as has been done so often before, with technology.

What I’m not trying to imply is that these platforms, meaning the BBC and Der Standard, are not critical towards technology at all. Funnily enough, there is a wonderful episode on ELIZA and all that is problematic in our blind trust in such systems, by the BBC [176]. However, what I am saying, is that this form of critical content is niche. The quick bits of news, the headline items, the higher, faster, further attention grabbing, short form content texts, are not niche – but neither are they critical.