Belgium Campus - Technology learning institute

Spacerat said:
Thanks for the reply. The frustrating thing is that apart from the universities there don't seem to be great options to study IT related directions. My daughter almost made the grade to study CompSci at Stellies (was just too low in Maths). She is now at CTU 1st year but I must say I am not really impressed. The course is only a Diploma and the class setup and management very slapgat. So I am looking for alternatives. Yes there are other unis but due to some personal challenges she is in the process of overcoming, being far from home is currently not a good idea.
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Should have tried "upgrading" her maths marks perhaps?
 
Spacerat said:
Thanks for the reply. The frustrating thing is that apart from the universities there don't seem to be great options to study IT related directions. My daughter almost made the grade to study CompSci at Stellies (was just too low in Maths). She is now at CTU 1st year but I must say I am not really impressed. The course is only a Diploma and the class setup and management very slapgat. So I am looking for alternatives. Yes there are other unis but due to some personal challenges she is in the process of overcoming, being far from home is currently not a good idea.
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I will be brutal. Does she like Computer science herself or is it your wish? These days, kids see & hear IT/CS people making money and then gravitate towards it (nothing wrong though but just saying) even if they have no inclination really.

In schools, I scored decent in Maths but that is partially due to my father's training efforts at home & partly due to luck and I suspect I might have mastered academics unintentionally. In my opinion, liking for maths and being good at it is very important if you want to really be good in CS. If you want to be run of the mill coder like me, sure, she will be fine but if you want to be someone like @cguy and couple of other people here, then she would have to increase her interest in maths.
 
Spacerat said:
Thanks for the reply. The frustrating thing is that apart from the universities there don't seem to be great options to study IT related directions. My daughter almost made the grade to study CompSci at Stellies (was just too low in Maths). She is now at CTU 1st year but I must say I am not really impressed. The course is only a Diploma and the class setup and management very slapgat. So I am looking for alternatives. Yes there are other unis but due to some personal challenges she is in the process of overcoming, being far from home is currently not a good idea.
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UNISA perhaps? Also, as suggested by @ForceFate, upgrading maths marks isn’t a bad idea. I had to take a year to do that myself, and having that narrow focus on maths that year totally changed the way I thought about it (E to an A+ after the rewrite, then a degree in pure maths and eventually a PhD with a ton of postgraduate level maths in it).
 
surface said:
I will be brutal. Does she like Computer science herself or is it your wish? These days, kids see & hear IT/CS people making money and then gravitate towards it (nothing wrong though but just saying) even if they have no inclination really.

In schools, I scored decent in Maths but that is partially due to my father's training efforts at home & partly due to luck and I suspect I might have mastered academics unintentionally. In my opinion, liking for maths and being good at it is very important if you want to really be good in CS. If you want to be run of the mill coder like me, sure, she will be fine but if you want to be someone like @cguy and couple of other people here, then she would have to increase her interest in maths.
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Yes CompSci was her choice. At least it helps that I am in a related field so I can guide her. I offered her many opportunities to try something else, but she is adamant. She is interested in CyberSecurity. All these institutions just seem to offer that thin layer on top with very little depth below.
 
cguy said:
I’ve looked at it a bit due to other people asking about it before on this forum. The short version is to run like the wind in the other direction. The curriculum is not great, but admittedly better than I last looked at it. The strange thing is that most of the staff were just ex-students at the time. Looking today, there are almost no staff listed on LinkedIn, which is pretty weird. It’s mostly just students who for some reason have put their education under ”Employer” on LinkedIn.
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I did the B.IT in 2011-2013.

It wasn't great, and what they do is promise you a job, but basically have a deal with companies like Sybrin and just pump out grads.

My biggest gripe is we didn't do low level languages like C or any variants, so you go into a job basically doing high level languages without understanding what happens under the hood, which doesn't really help. No proper maths fundamentals either.

Granted, I've been there almost 10 years ago and a lot has changed, but at this point in my career I can very easily spot the difference between someone from say Tuks and someone from Belgium Campus when they join as a grad.

It took me a while to get to the same level as my peers.

My advice to someone reading this: Skip if you can. Do a proper Uni, join a dev house like Entelect, DVT or anyone really that offers a proper bootcamp. It makes all the difference, and you'll be very happy later on in your career.
 
Cactus said:
I did the B.IT in 2011-2013.

It wasn't great, and what they do is promise you a job, but basically have a deal with companies like Sybrin and just pump out grads.

My biggest gripe is we didn't do low level languages like C or any variants, so you go into a job basically doing high level languages without understanding what happens under the hood, which doesn't really help. No proper maths fundamentals either.

Granted, I've been there almost 10 years ago and a lot has changed, but at this point in my career I can very easily spot the difference between someone from say Tuks and someone from Belgium Campus when they join as a grad.

It took me a while to get to the same level as my peers.

My advice to someone reading this: Skip if you can. Do a proper Uni, join a dev house like Entelect, DVT or anyone really that offers a proper bootcamp. It makes all the difference, and you'll be very happy later on in your career.
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We probably know each other then.

I agree with you. I joined with Maths Lit because they said Mathematics wasn't a requirement, turns out that not knowing the fundamentals of mathematics can really come and bit you in the arse. I had to find my own job too.

Though, without them and their bursaries, I'd not be anywhere near as successful as what I am now. I'm still grateful for the opportunity provided by them.

I've messaged SpaceRat and will have an honest chat with him in person, if he's keen.
 
Spacerat said:
How to do that?
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A little Google goes a long way

Where can I find out more about improving my matric results? | South African Government

The Department of Basic Education offers several support options if you want to improve your matric results or rewrite one or more subjects. 1. Second Chance Matric Support Programme A national, year‑round initiative that helps you rewrite up to two NSC or SC subjects in the May/June exams.
www.gov.za www.gov.za

FB_IMG_1660724115960.jpg

This if from the DBE facebook page for the previous intake. It can help see if she meets the criteria to rewrite.

There are other avenues like private collages etc that allow you to do another exam to get a matric equivalent
 
KingMikel said:
We probably know each other then.

I agree with you. I joined with Maths Lit because they said Mathematics wasn't a requirement, turns out that not knowing the fundamentals of mathematics can really come and bit you in the arse. I had to find my own job too.

Though, without them and their bursaries, I'd not be anywhere near as successful as what I am now. I'm still grateful for the opportunity provided by them.

I've messaged SpaceRat and will have an honest chat with him in person, if he's keen.
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Don't get me wrong, I didn't have the marks to get into a normal Uni at the time, being a lazy teen. At this point in my career, it doesn't matter any more, but I would have been a lot further if I had the proper fundamentals back then.

That being said, it was either this or a diploma in engineering. I'm glad I made the choice, but if I could make the choice between B Campus and a proper University, I would pick the university.
 
I studied at BC in 2006 / 7.
Too long ago for me to give any up to date input about the campus now.
I do know their curriculum has changed A LOT since I was there.

At that point in time I was a drop out form Tuks electronic engineering. So I had some 1st / 2nd year maths, which maybe helped me- but I sucked (still do, probably) at math and I was also a bit lazy if I'm honest.

Back then the top students could still go and work for a company in Belgium to complete the in-service training part of the degree, which I did in 2009. I don't know if they still do that or still require the in-service training as part of the degree or how that has changed in recent years. I also worked for the campus for a very short while afterwards, writing software but I moved on in 2011. So when they said I would have a job after I graduate - I did.

I had a couple of courses on C and data structures as part of my curriculum- though admittedly short and maybe not as detailed as some other uni's- not that I have anything to compare against for other uni's; but I've also never had the need in my day to day job for C, so I don't think it bothers me personally.
 
Also studied at Belgium Campus from 2009 (and did my internship in Belgium), so quite a long time ago. I don't think their course is University level, but think it is better than most other places (especially Eduvos). If your daughter works hard and do some little work on her own, she really won't struggle getting a job. Quite a few of my friends also studied there and all of us are doing quite well to this day.
 
Aluroth said:
Also studied at Belgium Campus from 2009 (and did my internship in Belgium), so quite a long time ago. I don't think their course is University level, but think it is better than most other places (especially Eduvos). If your daughter works hard and do some little work on her own, she really won't struggle getting a job. Quite a few of my friends also studied there and all of us are doing quite well to this day.
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OK cool tx for the feedback
 
I am pretty sure my friend's son graduated there. He even won some award one year.
 
Holy $#it! They charge >R90K per year...!!! Stellies Engineering costs R65K
 
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