Matthew Hibbin introduces the new Enhanced PC Suite

We sat down with the School of Computing’s Teaching Fellow Matthew Hibbin to gain insight into the new Enhanced PC Suite (also known as Templeman PC Room 3), which is a newly developed, high-spec PC space. Conveniently located at the heart of our Canterbury campus in the Templeman Library, it features 58 seats for student use, large TV screens, immersive wall vinyl graphics and blackout blinds for improved screen visibility in all lighting conditions. He also shared some crucial tips in getting a career with a degree in Computer Science, and what it’s like being in the Computing community at the University of Kent!

Tell us about this new Enhanced PC Suite – how is it different to other PC spaces on campus? 

The Enhanced PC Suite is all about having some more powerful computers in an IT room, compared to the rest of the campus. 

The rest of the campus has very capable computers, but for certain applications in our subject, in Computing and others like Engineering, you might need more powerful hardware on the computer in order to run certain pieces of software that are specific to your course. 

These particular computers are going to offer those capabilities by having a graphics card, a powerful version of it, that being a card that slots into the computer (all computers have one) that allows it to display 3D graphics on the screen. The ones in these computers are exceptionally powerful compared to the rest of the ones on campus, which allows us in the School of Computing to do game development on these. We also get to do some more 3D software like 3D printing, like we do in our Hackspace. 

Finally, it’s an e-sports room, meaning that if students want to come here, there’s a bunch of pre-installed games on the computers that they can play that are commonly known e-sports titles. Students can enjoy that and have a bit of a social experience as well. 

 

Can this space be used by students for both academic and passion projects? 

Yes, absolutely! 

We can use it for academic purposes, so when I was last here I saw Computing students working on their video game development project. It's a group project where they’re working on a game together, so they’re using these computers in order to be able to easily do that. 

And then for passion projects, people can come in here for their own game development, if they wanted to use the 3D software for 3D printing, for example.  

I went to test out exactly what sort of games they had and what sort of games you can run, and you can run your own software as well if you want. 

But also, people can just use it for games and a social experience. It’s a nice open opportunity to use what you want and do what you want with that space with friends. 

 

Is it just Computing or STEM students that can use it, or is it open to the student body? 

It’s open to the student body. Computing students are the main target demographic, but anyone’s welcome. 

 

Now for a technical question: what are the specs? 

For the tech-y people, the specs are:  

CPU, it’s an i7 13th gen with 16 cores, 24 threads.  

It has 32 gigabytes of RAM, an RTX 4070ti, a 4 terabyte SSD and then connected to it is a 1080p 27 inch 165 hertz IPS monitor. 

 

What is your academic area of expertise? 

My current position is a full time Teaching Fellow in the School of Computing.  

I mainly teach practical classes, helping students out with different programming projects and things that they need to do for that module. Sometimes this involves teaching at the front, and other times going around and going to the person, helping individually with their own problems that they’re currently having on the module. 

I do a few lectures here and there, and we’re bringing back a module that’s going to be focused on extracurricular things. 

I've also just started a part time Master’s by Research. That area of expertise will be in 3D graphics and vision, which is the area that I’m currently researching. 

 

Are there any Computing modules that you'd like to spotlight?  

The Video Game Development module is one where we use the Unity game engine, a very popular one used in industry to make video games. This will involve practical classes where students will go and work on pre-made video games, add a bit more to it, working out different things of the engine along the way. 

That’s the first half of the module and the second half is working on a group project to create a game. It’s either expanding one of the previous projects to a full project or creating a game from scratch, which is a hard task, but it can be quite rewarding.  

Video game development is probably the most challenging industry to get into and to stay in in the computing world. But it’s one of those we want to introduce students to, as it’s a very exciting one as well. 

The main other module I want to shout out is the Internet of Things module. It’s not one I teach on, but I know that the end project is about them making an 'IoT device'. It’s going to be some sort of physical device that solves a physical problem. This could involve using 3D printed parts or maybe different wiring circuits and then using software to figure out what breadboard they need. 

 

What do you love most about the University of Kent?  

The coolest thing about being here is just how everyone talks to each other, especially for the students – there’s so many social opportunities for them to go out and meet other people here. There’s plenty of activities where I see students interacting all the time. I went to a different university, and there wasn’t that connectivity. There wasn’t that community that we have here, it wasn't nearly as big and not nearly as welcoming either, so I think that’s a huge aspect for students at the University of Kent. Even the staff are very open and willing to talk and work with you. 

 

What kinds of careers can you go into with a Computing degree? 

This is the great thing about Computing, especially if you do a standard Computer Science degree, is that it opens so many doors. Computing is such a wide aspect of a subject in terms of specialties – there are a million different kinds! 

If you work well at your Computing degree to get a good grade at the end and you build up a portfolio along the way, you'll find that in all areas of Computing (apart from video game development) it is a very highly in-demand job market. 

As long as you can stand out, because there are a lot of people doing the same degree, you can get a job aligned with the future instantly. As an example, when I did a Computer Science degree, I managed to get a top grade in it and a decent portfolio. Every graduate job I applied for, which I didn’t end up doing in the end because I came here, every one I applied for all gave me a job interview, and even with ones that went poorly, I felt, all gave me an offer for a job.  

That’s the best thing about getting a degree here – you can go into software engineering, UI design, cyber security, network manager, IT consultancy. There are so many options!  

 

What would you advise Computing students in what they can do during their degrees to help them stand out at the end?  

To stand out, they’ve got to show some extra interest in the subject outside of their degree course. That’s easily the best way, and as I say to students all the time: make a portfolio. 

On your CV, you want to link to a bunch of different programming projects that you’ve worked on in your own time that you’ve decided you want to do. It can be literally anything – I always say, if you want to look for ideas, think of a problem that you personally in your life want to solve. It can be a little one that you think you can solve with a gadget or a piece of software – and then try and solve that. It will make you learn, and it will show that you’ve got extra interest. 

As long as you follow good standards of things we’ve taught you, then you’ll come out with a quite impressive project that you can put in your CV and people go "oh, look, this person’s more interested". It shows initiative.   

Our main School of Computing student space for working on any kind of project is the newly refurbished and extended Hackspace in the Kennedy building, which is open for students to use 9-5. It's now more than double the size, it’s a lot roomier. We have all the equipment we had before, and we’ve put in more as well! 

 

What is your favourite part of Canterbury or the surrounding area? 

The highlight of Canterbury certainly is the pubs because, especially for a student town, it’s quite important! They’ve all got their own unique vibes and some are quite inexpensive as well, which is nice. 

 My highlights are ones that I’d recommend people to go to, which would always be either the Penny Theatre or the Lady Luck.  

The Penny Theatre I like because I think it’s a very nice pub with nice vibes. It’s got a big TV if you want to watch sporting events, if you’re into that. There's a good drinks selection and food as well.  

The Lady Luck is great – it’s on the high street so it’s at the centre of everything. It’s a very good vibe, rock sort of vibe, with great vegan options too I've heard. It's a very welcoming place, everyone you talk to is really friendly. 

 

Top Tip: If you’re looking for high spec tech without the gaming environment, our Kennedy and Jennison buildings are the perfect places to work on your projects using powerful machines!