Teaching stream professors Mario Badr and Diane Horton strive to keep computer science students 'In the Loop' with their new podcast. (Photo: Matt Hintsa)
A new podcast series from Department of Computer Science faculty members aims to illuminate the many pathways and opportunities available to undergraduate CS students at U of T’s St. George campus.
“In the Loop” is hosted by Mario Badr and Diane Horton, both professors in the department’s teaching stream.
They hope the podcast’s in-depth conversations offer computer science students insights into their peers’ experiences, faculty expertise and answers to common questions as they navigate their degree and career in the field.
The series takes listeners through first-year internships, undergraduate research, machine learning, and data science, offering practical advice and expert perspectives.
Although the podcast is intended for CS students, Badr says other current or future undergraduates interested in the field could also find the content useful.
As he was advising first-year computer science students in the 2021-2022 academic year, Badr found himself talking to students who had many of the same questions and aspirations, such as, “How do I land a first-year internship?,” “How do I find a research opportunity?,” and “I really want to do machine learning.”
“While I had answers to these questions, I wished I had something more concrete. And I felt the concreteness could come from students, for example, who were applying and succeeding at getting these opportunities and faculty, for example, who were accepting undergraduate applicants to their research group,” explains Badr.
So why deliver this through a podcast?
“Part of it was because of the novelty. But also, audio recordings have benefits over other mediums like video and text in that you can listen to them while walking and commuting among other activities. I felt like it would be a great format to disseminate advice, information, and the student experience. And, as a huge fan of the classics, creating an ‘oral history’ in the department was very intriguing,” explains Badr.
Badr and Horton drew on their own experiences, but also collected students’ feedback to determine the type of information they would find useful.
“We’ll be talking about things that students want to know, like how to land an internship and what it’s like to work on a research project. We’ve been interviewing experts and also talking to students who’ve been through these experiences and will share what they’ve learned,” adds Horton.
Both Badr and Horton say that co-hosting their first podcast has been a positive experience.
“I always felt like I had a voice for radio, but after listening to the audio tracks we have so far, I can say that Diane is fantastic and I am very happy she agreed to be my co-host,” says Badr.
Horton says throughout the COVID-19 pandemic she taught from a desk in her living room and her neighbours who saw her “fancy boom mic” asked her about her podcast.
“Finally, I have one!”
“When Mario invited me to co-host with him, I thought it was a great way to reach students, complementary to the many events and programs going on in the department. I was also excited to try out this medium,” she adds.
Horton says, as a longtime fan of CBC Radio, she feels podcasts have a way of creating a proximity between the host and the audience.
“Whether listening to radio or podcasts, I love how close you feel to the people coming out of your headphones, earbuds, speakers. It’s kind of magical.”
The first episode of “In the Loop” is out now and available on major streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and the online hosting platform, Simplecast.