The Machine: A computer science education podcast

CodeGirl and the Conversation: Women in Computing Jun 20, 2025 00:39:04 In this special live-recorded episode of The Machine, Rob O’Connor hosts a panel discussion following a viewing of the CodeGirl documentary at SETU Waterford. The event brought together a group of secondary school students to explore pathways into computing and to hear real-life stories from women working and studying in the field.Rob is joined by Dr Indrakshi Dey (Walton Institute), Ava Neary (Ap

Why Study Computing? Jan 17, 2025 00:41:48 Are you interested in studying computing but feel a bit daunted by entering a field that can seem overwhelming? As professional computer science educators, we are often asked questions by prospective students about what’s actually involved in studying computing, the types of roles one can expect after graduating, the skills a student needs, and more. For this episode, we tried to distil some of th

Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau Nov 4, 2024 00:38:50 Coming out of our latest Computing Week on campus in SETU, Rob spoke with two members of the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau – Detective Sergeant Eoin O’Connell and Detective Noel O’Gorman. They spoke about the work of the Bureau, how cybercrime threats have evolved over the past few years and what individual and organisations can do to help protect themselves. TRIGGER WARNING: the podcast inclu

Indrakshi Dey - Autonomous Systems and Artificial Intelligence Mar 14, 2024 00:46:56 Autonomous Systems are the jumping off point for this podcast episode with Indrakshi Dey of the Walton Institute at SETU. We talk about how computer science research is progressing in this area, encompassing the world of AI and forming links with partners across all disciplines. This leads on to a chat about how we (humans) tend to anthropomorphise Artificial Intelligence systems. We also discuss

Nuria Oliver - Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Addressing Imbalances Mar 7, 2024 00:55:44 To help celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Rob spoke with Spanish computer scientist Nuria Oliver about her work to date, such as using big data systems to help unbanked people access credit in developing nations or combating bias in AI systems. Nuria recounted how she first became interested in computing and turned that interest into a career. They also discussed the g

Jobs in Computing (Live Panel Discussion) Feb 20, 2024 00:35:06 Here's a live panel discussion we recently hosted at SETU, in which a bunch of computing professionals talked about what it's like to work in the tech sector in Ireland. This took place in front of approx. 200 Leaving Cert students, tied in with Computing Week at SETU. If you're a student or someone who's interested in starting a career in IT, this discussion might be very useful.

Building a Local Large Language Model (LLM) Feb 8, 2024 00:51:30 Another #ComputingWeek talk turned into a podcast! Two Red Hat software engineers, both recent graduates of SETU, returned to discuss the issues surrounding running your own LLM on a local machine, how models and datasets are built and reduced (quantised) so as to run on a laptop rather than an array of servers. Mark Campbell and Dimitri Saradkis provided excellent insight on the technical issues

How AI is changing the ICT work environment Feb 7, 2024 00:47:12 On the back of a packed #ComputingWeek talk at SETU, Rob nabbed two speakers from UNUM Ireland – Gary Kenneally and Shourjya Sanyal – and recorded a conversation about the pace of change in the ICT industry, how AI tools can be integrated into a workflow and why new developers should even care about AI. The lads discuss why the think AI won’t be replacing anyone anytime soon – but it may help us w

Quantum Computing and Quantum Communications May 5, 2023 00:37:21 Don't know your q-bits from your bytes? This is the podcast for you! Quantum Computing is one of the next-gen technologies that can truly usher in a new era in computing. Quantum Communications has the potential to provide a truly secure infrastructure for communications across small or vast distances. Deirdre Kilbane (Director of Research at the Walton Institute) joined Rob O'Connor in th

ChatGPT and AI in the Classroom w/ Hazel Farrell and Pete Windle Mar 27, 2023 00:48:43 Hazel Farrell and Pete Windle are academics at SETU who have been playing with ChatGPT (and other AI tools) to see how they can be used in the classroom to assist teaching and learning. They both take an open approach towards the technologies, rather than shutting down conversation. They sat down with Rob O'Connor to talk about the potential of these technologies to be a useful tool in educati

Red Hat Academy w/ Brendan O'Farrell & Leigh Griffin Nov 28, 2022 01:04:15 Red Hat are the world's largest open source software company. Senior Engineers at Red Hat - Brendan O'Farrell and Leigh Griffin - joined SETU lecturers Rob O'Connor and Amanda Freeman-Gater to chat about Red Hat Academy, an online portal that provides free resources for students of computer science. They discussed the kind of material you can find there and why students might be interested in this

3D Printing and AMASE Jun 30, 2022 00:31:30 Two colleagues at SETU from the School of Engineering, David Alarco and Natalie Romanyatova, joined Rob in the podcast studio to discuss additive manufacturing (3D printing), how it dovetails with computing and how it's changing the way "stuff" is made. They have a new course starting bout it too. More information about Additive Manufacturing Advancing the South East (AMASE) can be found at amase.

Wireless Comms on the Farm ... and Mars? Jun 23, 2022 00:34:54 Can we detect an excess of carbon in a field using equipment that already in place? Rob spoke with SETU academic Bernard Butler and his graduate student Thakshilla Wedage about their work in VistaMilk and using the physical properties of wireless signals to predict atmospheric conditions in a farming context. The speed of the terahertz signals they use are hampered by our wet, dense atmosphere - b

Religion & Video Games (with Frank Bosman) Jun 16, 2022 00:43:09 What place does religion have in video games? Why should developers be concerned with religion, theology or morality when creating games? Frank Bosman is a Dutch academic with Tilberg University who spoke with Rob about some of the larger ideas contained in video games and how they add depth to the gaming experience.  Frank's book "Gaming and the Divine: A New Systematic Theology of Video Gam

I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now (II) Jun 9, 2022 00:46:33 A rerun of an episode we published a few years back - Rob sat down with some final year students who'd just completed their undergraduate degree. He asked them to reflect on their time studying in Waterford, highlight the areas of computing they liked most/least and also offer advice to their 1st year-selves. The students in the room were Ciaran Malone (Games Development), Dimitri Saradakis (Appli

StudyAtHome with Martin Deinhofer and Brendan Jackman Jun 2, 2022 00:33:18 StudyAtHome is a collection of eLearning courses approved by Universities across Europe where students can pick up extra credits in a variety of specialist computing courses, such as Data Ethics and Open Data, The Connected Car and Assistive Technologies Basics. Rob discussed the initiative with two of the computing academics involved: Brendan Jackman from SETU Waterford and Martin Deihnhofer from

Learning Your Second Programming Language May 26, 2022 00:32:28 To kick off a short season at the end of the academic year, Eamonn Deleastar and Siobhan Drohan joined Rob O'Connor in the studio to discuss issues around learning your second (or third!) programming language. They touched on the the programming language family tree, how tools and tech have changed over the years and identified some programming trends to watch out for in the coming few years.&nbsp

From There To Here: 50-Odd Years of WIT May 3, 2022 01:13:44 A documentary tracing the 50+ years history of Waterford Institute of Technology, from its initial creation as Waterford Regional technical College in 1970, through to its re-designation as the South East Technological University in 2022. The documentary features a number of voices including: Caroline Corcoran; Willie Donnelly; Ray Griffin Sr & Ray Griffin Jr; Mary Lacey; Venie Martin; Denis M

Update and Introducing 9plus (Female Researchers) Mar 8, 2022 00:41:29 It's not a new episode, but Rob gives an update as to where The Machine podcast current stands (HINT - will be back soon!) and also reposts an episode of their new podcast 9plus which was recorded for International Womens Day 2022. If you like what you hear, you can find 9plus wherever you normally get your podcasts www.podfollow.com/9plus

Automotive Computing Nov 26, 2021 00:45:38 Continuing our series looking at sub-disciplines of computer science, in this episode we're discussing Automotive Computing (yes, the computers that run cars!) On the panel are Brendan Jackman, head of the Automotive Control Group research unit at Waterford Institute of Technology. Also on the panel is Applied Computing graduate David Evans, now working as a Connected Vehicle R&D Engineer with

Mícheál Ó'Foghlú (Google Engineering Director, Core Developer unit) Nov 3, 2021 00:59:53 Mícheál Ó'Foghlú is a former computing faculty member at WIT, one of the founders of the TSSG research group (now Walton) and instrumental in the spin-out of FeedHenry and its evolution into Red Hat. Mícheál's current role is that of Engineering Director at Google Core Developer unit based in Munich, Germany. He spoke with Rob about his career to date, musing on technology and how it can be a forc

The Internet of Things Oct 19, 2021 00:49:14 Continuing our explorations of sub-topics of Computer Science, WIT lecturer Frank Walsh and student Dominik Wawak joined Rob O'Connor in the studio to discuss the Internet of Things. The discussed some samples projects, the technologies involved, how it all fits together and where it might be going. There is also a conversation about beer - as Frank used a homemade IoT setup to help him brew his o

What is Cloud Computing? Oct 11, 2021 00:44:42 In the first episode of the new season of the podcast, the panel have a chat about cloud computing, what's involved, some of the big techs to watch out for and what you might need to know if this is an area you'd like to specialise in. They also theorise as to the causes of the major fault on Facebook's services which resulted in Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Oculus Rift being unavailable for

What 3rd Level Needs To Know About 2nd Level Computer Science Jun 23, 2021 01:02:10 An unexpected episode for the academic year 2020/21. What does 3rd Level need to know about Leaving Cert Computer Science? This podcast is an edited live recording from the ACM SIGCSE Eire’s annual meeting (held on Zoom). The panel is comprised of Keith Quille (TU Dublin), Brett Becker (UCD), Siobhan Drohan (WIT) and is chaired by Machine host Rob O’Connor. Towards the end of the panel chat, there

Leaving Cert Computer Science & more with Brett Becker Apr 22, 2021 01:00:39 Rob chats with Brett Becker, one of the co-authors of the Computer Science for Leaving Cert book. They talk about computing as a 2nd level school subject, why certain topics were emphasised and technologies chosen, as well as potential impacts for 3rd level and beyond. They also speak about the Irish branch of the ACM’s Computer Science Education special interest group and finally, engage in a bri

Gianluca Wants a Record Player Apr 5, 2021 00:55:17 A different episode to our normal programming. 'Gianluca Wants a Record Player' is a documentary that follows an Applied Computing student's quest to get into vinyl music. What is so appealing about vinyl? Who’s listening to the format? Does it really sound better than music streaming services like Spotify? What gear should Gianluca buy? Should he even make a purchase at all? This piece was origin

Final Year Projects & The Sun Life Awards Mar 26, 2021 00:42:43 Final Year Projects are one of the most exciting (and daunting!) parts of an undergraduate degree. WIT have a close relationship with Sun Life, a multinational company with a strong presence in Waterford and who also sponsor a number of awards for final year computing students. To talk about all of this on the podcast, we had Lucy White computing lecturer at WIT, Shane Corbett of Sun Life and Jona

Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality Mar 19, 2021 00:51:15 VR/AR and MR are acronyms that are becoming increasingly prevalent in the tech world. We delved into what that means from a tech and business perspective in this episode, with contributions from three individuals working in TSSG/Walton: Carol Faughnan, Ryan McCloskey and Anujah Pathak. If you're looking for a starting point in the world of Mixed Reality, this is it. Show Notes: - What is Augmented

The Walton Institute and ICT Research at WIT Mar 5, 2021 00:48:02 In March of 2021, the TSSG (tssg.org) will rebrand as The Walton Institute. Rob spoke with co-directors Sasi Balasubramaniam and Kevin Doolin about the change is taking place, the shift in focus of ICT (Information & Communication Technology) research over the past 20 years and what this means for the South East region as a whole. The conversation touches on cross discipline research subjects

Work Placements & Internships Feb 19, 2021 00:56:12 Despite the ongoing COVID situation, work placements and internships are still going ahead in the tech industry. Rob spoke with three stakeholders to get different perspectives on how things have been proceeding. James Richardson is a final year computing student at WIT who completed his placement with Red Hat (https://www.redhat.com)last year, during the first phases of the pandemic. David Ryan o

Christmas Recommendations Dec 16, 2020 00:42:19 Ho ho ho! Five of the regular podcast hosts from WIT got together to record a joint episode recommending some books, TV programmes, films, podcasts and tech that you (or a loved one) might enjoy over the Christmas period. Features Jenny O’Connor from The Nerve, Bruce Wardrop from Win Win, Niamh Maguire from Engendering Change, Tom Grinsell from WIT Talks Student Life and Rob O’Connor of The Machin

Developer Stories: Rocketship Park Games w/ Shane McCafferty Dec 4, 2020 00:43:53 "LOVE: A Puzzle Box Filled With Stories" is the recent release from Canadian studio RocketShip Park Games. Rob spoke with their chief games designer and programmer Shane McCafferty (originally from Slieverue, Co. Kilkenny) about how he got into games development and the processes that led to LOVE. Shane talks about the emotional motivation behind the game, collaborating with other artists (both vi

SEE Space Network Nov 20, 2020 00:54:53 Quantum communication! Cybersecurity! Controlling tractors from space! Rob spoke with Mark White (Head of Research WIT) and Niall Smith (Head of Research CIT) about the newly formed SEE (Society, Economy, Environment) Space Network, Ireland's first space region as academics in Cork and Waterford join forces to forge links with the European Space Agency. Can Ireland have a positive impact on space

A Beginner's Guide To Cybersecurity Nov 13, 2020 01:01:22 We have three IT security and forensics experts in the virtual studio for this episode! Rob knows next to nothing about cybersecurity so was able to honestly ask questions like "what is a denial of service attack?' and "how does encryption work?." Thankfully Judy Kelly (Security Architect with Red Hat), Jimmy McGibney and John Sheppard (both Lecturers from WIT) were on hand to provide the answers.

Developer Stories: COVIDTracker App Nov 6, 2020 01:23:32 The COVIDTracker app, developed by NearForm in Tramore Co. Waterford has become the basis for exposure notification apps across the globe. In this episode, Rob O'Connor speaks with Conor O'Neill, Chief Product Officer with NearForm about the history of the company, how the HSE first approached NearForm, how the app works and the technologies used to create it as well as addressing some of the crit

Online Learning: The Student Perspective Oct 12, 2020 00:27:58 A companion piece to our last episode, this time Rob is speaking with two computing students - Sinead O'Neill (2nd year Computer Forensics & Security) and Dimitri Saradakis (3rd Year Applied Computing) - about their views on the online teaching and learning situation we find ourselves in.

Online Learning: The Lecturer Perspective Oct 9, 2020 00:45:40 Rob O'Connor discusses the new academic year with Colm Dunphy and Siobhan Drohan and the shift from on-campus to remote teaching and learning. They discuss some things they enjoy and dislike, some tools they find useful and outline other observations and tips.

COVID-19 Treatment Research at WIT May 19, 2020 00:37:43 Following on from our previous episode, here's a discussion about two more Covid19 projects that are being actively worked on during the lockdown by researchers from TSSG at WIT. Rob chats with Director of Research at TSSG Sasitharan Balasubramaniam along with Dixon Vimalajeewa and Bruna Fonesca to discuss "Treating Lung Tissue Damage due to COVID-19" and "Molecular Communication modelling of COVI

Technology vs COVID-19 from WIT Research May 1, 2020 00:51:19 Applying their expertise in information communications technology (ICT), researchers from TSSG at WIT are working to develop both short as well as long term solutions for COVID-19. Rob O'Connor spoke with Frances Cleary and Stepan Ivanov of TSSG to discuss some of their projects including 1) ensuring social distancing though wearables 2) blockchain based certification of public health policies 3)

Research at WIT Apr 17, 2020 00:43:37 Mark White (VP for Research & Innovation) and Kathryn Kiely (Industry Services Manager) spoke with Rob about research activities at WIT. What kind of work goes on? How important is it to the Institute? What does it mean for students? What does it mean for SMEs? Recorded remotely during the Covid19 lockdown.

Danny O'Dwyer (NoClip) Feb 7, 2020 00:40:15 Rob and podcast regular Colm Dunphy sat down with former student Danny O'Dwyer, now well known across d'internet for the documentaries he's created at NoClip and his work in the world of video games journalism. They discuss Danny's journey from student to web developer to games journalist to media entrepreneur. Danny was in WIT to chat with current students about the game dev industry and then fac

Alternative Nativity Play Dec 23, 2019 00:24:34 As a special Christmas treat, we present a radio nativity play which was produced by computing students from WIT back in 2012, made in conjunction with Beat 102-103. It was shortlisted for a number of radio awards at the time and always raises a smile from Rob when he listens. It's a fairly irreverent retelling of the famous story, so if you're easily offended please switch off now.  The bul

FAQ on Computing at WIT Nov 20, 2019 00:42:17 WIT has an Open Day coming up for prospective students. We thought it'd be a good to publish a podcast answering some of the frequently asked questions we're regularly asked about computing courses at WIT. We gathered a collection of Course Leaders from various programmes to have a chat with Rob O'Connor: Mary Lyng [BSc Software Systems Development]; Mairead Meagher [BSc (Hons) Applied Computing];

Student Experience of Online Learning Nov 8, 2019 00:44:52 Two students of the HDip in Computer Science at WIT were drafted in to describe their experiences of being a student on a totally online programme. Sarah Barron and Bernard Thompson were very generous and forthcoming with their answers! Also on hand were lecturing staff Eamonn de Leastar and Colm Dunphy to give the experience from a teaching perspective.

How The Internet Works Oct 11, 2019 00:34:21 It's hard to imagine life without the Internet. Podcasts wouldn't exist without the infrastructure provided by a collection of interconnect technologies and networks. But how does it all work? Rob chats with networking lecturers Richard Frisby and Amanda Freeman-Gater to break it all down and explain the relevant protocols and standards that allow all internet services to operate. Follow The Machi

Teaching Kids To Code Oct 4, 2019 00:48:14 As it's #CodeWeek across the EU, we thought we'd record an episode offering advice on starting coding with younger folk (primary and secondary school age children). We spoke about some of our personal experiences working with schools and mentoring with CodeDojo. On the panel were podcast regulars Siobhan Drohan and Brenda Mullally, along with another WIT faculty member Frank Walsh. Our guest was p

Tips On Buying a Computer Sep 13, 2019 00:49:02 We've all gotten questions like "what laptop should I buy?", "any recommendations for a computer?" or "is this a good deal for a PC?" The short answer to all those questions is  "it depends!" Host Rob O'Connor goes through some of the considerations you should make when thinking about buying a new laptop/desktop/computer. The panel go through some of the headline specs of machines and then so

I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now May 17, 2019 00:32:28 In what is likely to be the final episode of The Machine for this season, Rob chatted with some outgoing final year undergraduate computing students about their time at WIT: Dimitra Zucharelli, Ciaran Roche and Emma Ní Bhriain. The offered advice they wished they could have heard as first years and discussed some of the technical skills they learned over their four years. They also reflected on th

Tech News Roundup - Global Tech Workers, Myspace Data Breach and Google Stadia Mar 22, 2019 00:43:32 Rob is joined by Siobhan Drohan and Brenda Mullally to discuss a few tech news stories making headlines this week.  - Canada is becoming a tech hub thanks to President Trump's immigration policies - Myspace loses all user data prior to 2016 - Google announces Stadia, their new cloud gaming platform Follow The Machine on Twitter @machine_podcast or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/machinepodcas

Women in Tech Mar 7, 2019 00:49:52 Four women chat about how they began their careers in computing & technology. Features Phil Healy (Irish Athlete and postgraduate computing student at WIT), Aisling Furlong (digital media consultant with Glanbia), Mairead Meagher (computing lecturer at WIT) and Judy O'Brien (final year student of Computer Forensics & Security). Hosted by Rob O'Connor.

Bluffer's Guide To Artificial Intelligence Feb 27, 2019 00:33:00 Ahead of the AI2 Applied Artificial Intelligence (www.ai2.ie) conference taking place in Kilkenny this week, Rob sat down with Glen Collins (Conference Director) and Susan Gallagher (Engineers Ireland) to chat about some of the main technical issues surrounding AI in 2019. What is Machine Learning? How computationally intensive is it? Will AI take all our jobs? (No!)

Technology Enhanced Learning Feb 15, 2019 00:51:22 How can technology assist in the learning experience? How have these systems evolved over the years? What kind of access opportunities to education can they provide? A very interesting discussion on this episode of the podcast between Laura Widger and Pete Windle of the Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning (CTEL) at WIT, Emma Fahey a 3rd year computing student and our host, Rob O’Connor.

Evolution of Mobile App Development Feb 1, 2019 00:43:24 How did we get here from there? Rob O'Connor is joined by podcast regulars Siobhan Drohan and Eamonn De Leastar  along with Jason Blood and Padraig Howlin of Distilled (DoneDeal, Daft.ie and Adverts.ie) to discuss how developing apps for mobile has changed from the early 2000s up to the present day. WAP and J2ME, evolving to iOS and Android platforms, eventually getting to the newer languages

Tech Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future Dec 7, 2018 00:45:41 We have a festive themed episode today! Rob is joined by Mairead Meagher, Siobhan Drohan, Brenda Mullally and Colm Dunphy to reminisce about tech gifts from years gone by, make some recommendations for tech gift for this Christmas and even predict some trends for the future. Ho Ho Ho!

Efficiency Nov 30, 2018 00:42:04 This podcast is all about efficiency! The panel (Mairead Meagher, Siobhan Drohan, Peter Carew and Rob O'Connor) discuss the concept of efficiency, how it relates to computing and writing elegant algorithms. This is also the longest episode of The Machine so far, so they weren't very efficient with their chat in the studio ...

BONUS! HDip in Computer Science/ICT Skills Nov 16, 2018 00:16:22 A special bonus edition of The Machine! Colm Dunphy, Eamonn de Leastar, Joan Mangan and Rob O'Connor discuss the part-time HDip in Computer Science/ICT Skills currently on offer at WIT. This follows on from the previous episode in which the panel discussed how adult learners can approach IT. You can learn more about the HDip on offer at https://www.wit.ie/ictskills

Approaching IT as an Adult Learner Nov 16, 2018 00:36:50 Eamonn de Leastar and Colm Dunphy join Rob for this podcast episode in which they discuss how someone might get into ICT from another industry. They discuss what skills an individual could bring from another industry into IT, whether programming is the only game in town (it's not!) and the importance of "soft" skills.

Beginner's Guide To Web Development Nov 9, 2018 00:34:29 Eamonn de Leastar and Brenda Mullally join Rob on this episode of the podcast to discuss Web Development. They contrast the difference between the Web and the Internet, then look at static sites built using HTML/CSS before moving onto Content Management Systems. Finally they introduce the world of Scripting (Client Side and Server Side) and discuss Web Apps. They also give advice on how to start d

Data & Big Data Oct 25, 2018 00:39:10 Everything you wanted to know about Data but were afraid to ask! Rob is joined by Brenda Mullally and Siobhan Drohan for a chat about Data. What is it? How is stored? What's Big Data and what does it mean for you? They also explore some ethical dilemmas. So this episode includes maths, programming, science, ethics and philosophy!

Advice On How To Start Coding Oct 12, 2018 00:36:42 Following on from the last podcast in which the panel attempted to describe what programming is, this time the same group (Siobhan Drohan, Eamon De Leastar, Mairead Meagher and Rob O’Connor) talk about how a complete beginner can dip their toe in the world of coding. During the discussion, they mention a number of (mostly) free tools that you can find at the links below, presented in the order in

What Is Computer Programming? Oct 1, 2018 00:28:04 In our first episode, Rob O’Connor chats with Mairead Meagher, Siobhan Drohan and Eamonn de Leastar about Computer Programming. They approach it from the perspective of an absolute beginner, looking at algorithms, languages, tools and eventually DevOps. The conversation also wanders into the gender divide in computing.

Trailer Sep 27, 2018 00:01:17 A trailer for the new podcast 'The Machine' in which lecturers and students from Waterford Institute of Technology will discuss issues surrounding computing and technology.

The Machine: A computer science education podcast

Episodes

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