CAS Regional Community: Northern Ireland
Welcome to your CAS Regional Community!
Keep an eye out here for upcoming regional events and opportunities.
Got a question or suggestion? The community leaders listed at the top of the page are ready to help!
We also encourage you to join the conversation: post your thoughts, ideas, resources, or any local teaching vacancies on the Discussion Board at the bottom of the page to share with the community.
Regional Communities bring together local groups from across a wider area, creating opportunities to connect, collaborate, and share ideas beyond your immediate network. These overarching communities are designed to support and strengthen Local Communities by hosting regional events and encouraging cross-community connections.
Dr Matthew Collins is a Senior Lecturer in QUB and head of the EEECS VR lab in the Computer Science department there. He has recently taken on the role as the new Chair of CAS Northern Ireland, a position held admirably by Dr Irene Bell for many years.
CAS Regional Community
Regional Communities bring together local groups from across a wider area, creating opportunities to connect, collaborate, and share ideas beyond your immediate network. These overarching communities are designed to support and strengthen Local Communities by hosting regional events and encouraging cross-community connections.
Cyberfirst
CyberFirst is a government-backed outreach and education programme designed to create opportunities for talented young people in future-focused tech careers. CyberFirst supports students from all backgrounds to consider a career in tech – including cyber security, AI, quantum computing, software, data and more. Over the next few months readers will notice an increase in the use of TechFirst as CyberFirst remit is expanded.
BCS Branches
As part of its commitment to building a strong professional community, BCS supports a network of regional member branches across the UK. These local groups provide opportunities for members to connect, share knowledge, and get involved in events and activities relevant to their area. Whether you're looking to expand your professional network, attend local talks and workshops, or contribute to the wider digital community, your nearest BCS branch is a great place to start. You can find more information and explore the full list of BCS member communities here.
Upcoming Events
25 Jun 2026
CAS NI Summer Conference on AI, Computing & Digital Skills
21 Jun 2023
Transitioning from Scratch to HTML & CSS
19 Jun 2023
Create a game and learn coding using Roblox
14 Jun 2023
Code a Joke-Telling Talkbot Using Apps Script
12 Jun 2023
Barefoot Early Years Workshop
08 Jun 2023
Influencing the influential: Children and Social Media
06 Jun 2023
Using Micro:bits with Bit:Bot Robots
01 May 2023
Using Micro:bits with Bit:Bot Robots
01 Dec 2022
Computing Parents' Evening 2022, Queen's University Belfast
23 Jun 2022
VR for problem solving and teamwork
22 Jun 2022
CAS(NI) Barefoot Workshop Event
16 Jun 2022
Cyber Security - Impact on educational delivery
14 Jun 2022
Programming without computers
08 Jun 2022
Sorting Wizardry using the Micro:bit
07 Jun 2022
Teacher professional learning with Micro:bit
06 Jun 2022
Experience the DSH approach of computing through play
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Community Notice Board: CAS Belfast Mixed
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A quick reminder that the Northern Ireland Curriculum 2028 consultation is now open and runs until 30 September 2026 (11:59pm). The Department of Education is seeking feedback on the proposed curriculum framework, including the new Digital Technology subject framework.
For the computing education community, this is a particularly important consultation. The proposed Digital Technology framework sets out the statutory content and progression that pupils will learn, making this a valuable opportunity to review the proposals and share your views as a classroom practitioner.
The consultation documents include:
• An overview of the proposed curriculum
• Individual subject frameworks, including Digital Technology
• The proposed capabilities that learners will develop through the curriculum [education-ni.gov.uk]
If you’ve not yet had the chance to look through the Digital Technology framework, I’d encourage you to do so and feed back your thoughts. Opportunities to influence curriculum design at this stage are rare, and the voices of teachers working in computing and digital technology must be heard.
Do you use commercial video games when teaching programming? Could you participate in some research?
Neil Rickus, Kings College London, has asked for the following message to be sent to Northern Ireland teachers. He is researching how commercial video games, such as Pac-Man or Frogger, can be used to support the teaching of coding within primary schools. For example, maybe you ask students to animate a Sonic sprite within Scratch, or perhaps you demonstrate Mario’s movement when introducing keyboard input. In particular, rather than games produced for learning coding, he is interested in the use of games developed for entertainment purposes.
Therefore, if you use commercial video games during the teaching of programming, it would be great if you could get in touch by emailing Neil - neil.rickus@kcl.ac.uk
At this stage, he is looking to make initial contact, rather than formally inviting you to participate in the study.
Thanks for your help!
Kind regards,
Neil
Neil Rickus
PhD student
School of Education, Communication and Society
King’s College London
neil.rickus@kcl.ac.uk
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all enjoying the sun!
We have a vacancy for a Computer Science teacher at Belfast Royal Academy – it’s a permanent post starting this September.
Please can you pass this on to anyone who might be interested?
Thank you
Ann
Ann O’Neill
Subject Lead Computer Science
Belfast Royal Academy