Part 1: Why Sheffield is a great place to be a Computer Science student

The Digital Sector has grown faster in the Sheffield City Region than anywhere else in the UK. This is thanks to a supportive business environment, the research and teaching of the University of Sheffield, and a large pool of talent. The University of Sheffield was also one of the very first educational institutions in the world to offer Software Engineering as an undergraduate degree. 

As a student in the Department of Computer Science there is plenty of opportunity to attend events, find relevant work experience, placements and graduate careers within the Sheffield postcode area, with over 22,000 people now employed in digital technology jobs (according to Tech Nation). Sheffield has independent companies such as Twinkl, Sumo Digital, WANdisco, Zoo Digital and the Floow, while others have been acquired by larger companies but have remained in the city, notably ARM’s acquisition of Infinite Designs in 2000, Autodesk’s acquisition of Navisworks in 2007, BT’s takeover of Plusnet in the same year, and, more recently, Siemens’ acquisition of Lightwork Design at the end of 2018 and Pendo’s acquisition of Receptive earlier this year.

The city is also increasingly attracting major digital employers to relocate to the city, with the likes of Sky Betting and Gaming, Jet2, Perkbox, TES Resources, Bossanova, MindBody and many others arriving over the last few years. There are, however, a number of domains in which Sheffield can boast of specific and unique capabilities – four “pillars” of the local tech industry, which are increasingly at the heart of Sheffield’s digital economic strategy. These are learning technologies, creative technologies, movement technologies, and advanced manufacturing.There are many firms and capabilities in areas outside these four, of course – Sheffield is a large, vibrant city after all – but there is a strong argument to be made that Sheffield has particular “unique specialisms” in these areas, and over the next few blogs we’re going to take a look at some of them.