"Witnessing the success of students is truly uplifting."

What did you find most enjoyable about your role?

I found great pleasure in various aspects of my work, but I especially enjoyed establishing meaningful connections with diverse individuals and supporting them. I have fostered strong relationships with the teams under my supervision and the various staff groups in the department, like the communications and the department management teams. Additionally, I have built connections with the students through the VIS and VMI and got to know the other faculty members on a deeper level.

Recognising the outstanding work of our teaching assistants and faculty members through various teaching awards has been a particularly gratifying experience. Moreover, I have had the opportunity to expand my network by engaging with colleagues from other departments and representing our department in university-wide teaching-related events and discussions.

Were there any initial challenges for you?

When I took on my role as the Director of Studies in January 2022, I had to quickly familiarise myself with the intricacies of the Swiss university system. I relocated from the United States to Switzerland five years ago and was best familiar with the US education system at that point. Through dedicated efforts and support over the past two years, I have gained a better and more comprehensive understanding of how the system works. This growth journey has been very rewarding, and I consider that to be another highlight – despite initially being quite a challenge. Additionally, the department evaluation in 2022 required substantial effort from the entire department, with our former department head Timothy Roscoe taking the primary leadership and responsibility. The evaluation process involved dedicating considerable time and effort to the teaching aspect. Throughout these challenges, I could always count on the support of our entire team. That was immensely helpful for me.

At the beginning of January 2024, you handed over your role to Professor Dennis Hofheinz. What tips did you give him?

It is an incredibly gratifying role overall. Witnessing the success of our students is truly uplifting. It is also a multifaceted role with great responsibility. As Director of Studies, you are tasked with supporting both students and faculty members. Fortunately, Dennis will work alongside great team members and, whenever needed, will receive ample assistance from our predecessors and me.

Every department member is keen to support the students, but sometimes, as Director of Studies, you have to make decisions with a heavy heart. It saddens me when students struggle for whatever reason and cannot continue or complete our programme. We have to deal with this because of our system, in which every pupil with a Matura (Swiss high school diploma) can study computer science with us. In general, I think it's a great system, but it does have these challenging aspects. As the number of students grows, some may not succeed in the programmes. Despite these difficult decisions, it remains a delightful experience overall.

How do you envision the future of teaching computer science at the university level?

Besides noteworthy developments like the rise of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of AI-assisted tools, which are widely discussed in our department and elsewhere, one significant change will happen in the field of computer science in Switzerland in the coming years: The subject is becoming mandatory in Swiss secondary schools. Consequently, incoming students will have a greater proficiency in computer science, prompting us to reconsider our curriculum to accommodate these changes.

Additionally, I am delighted to see the increasing number of students joining our department each year, demonstrating their enthusiasm for studying computer science. Remarkably, the percentage of female students has reached nearly 20 percent this autumn – a considerable improvement compared to previous years. We certainly will strive for even higher representation in the future. These increasing student numbers also challenge us to provide our students with high-quality education and support, as our classes will inevitably expand and the need to supervise more students during their Bachelor's or Master's thesis will arise. Our top priority is balancing accommodating the growing number of students and delivering exceptional instruction.

If you think of good teaching, what does that mean to you personally?

In an ideal world, teaching should be personalised. Currently, regardless of class size, instruction is often delivered in a uniform manner. Even though each student has unique learning styles and needs. It is crucial to leverage technology to provide personalised education. Although we have a long way to go, the ideal scenario would be to grant every student access to individualized and tailored instruction. With the help of technology, we can strive towards this goal. Traditional teaching methods have remained largely unchanged for decades. Typically, an instructor stands before a blackboard or uses PowerPoint, resulting in largely passive learning. The future should involve active learning and personalised education, recognising our diverse learning preferences. Some excel by self-studying and reading up on a topic individually, while others thrive through instructor-led sessions and discussions.

Additionally, some grasp abstract concepts quickly, while others benefit from concrete examples. It is unrealistic to expect that everyone's needs can be met in a single classroom session lasting one to two hours. We are working to bridge this gap and offer a programme tailored to individual learning styles.

How do you want to enable active learning in your lectures in the future?

I currently teach an undergraduate-level compiler design course with around 250 students. This course follows a more traditional teaching approach, although I strive to make the material engaging and interesting for the students. However, it still needs to be personalized to individual students' needs. On the research front, we are exploring educational technologies to understand better how we can support learners. For instance, for the compilers class, my research group and I have brainstormed ideas to create a platform that enables students to learn independently and gain a hands-on learning experience of the core materials rather than solely relying on the lectures. This is ongoing and has yet to be implemented in the class.

Speaking of research, are you looking forward to spending more time working on research projects again?

Over the past two years, I could not devote much time to research, and I haven't been able to give my research group the same level of attention as I did before taking on this role. The very reason that I embarked on the journey of becoming a professor over 20 years ago was due to the excitement of working with and mentoring students. My doctoral students and postdocs hold a special place in my heart, as they are the core focus of my responsibilities. I look forward to dedicating more of my time to them in the future.

Can you share any details of upcoming projects that you will be working on?

Absolutely! My core interests and expertise lie in programming languages, compilers, and software engineering. I am passionate about software and constantly pondering how to build software better and faster; I believe the core mission of computer science is to help people transform their creative ideas into working software. To achieve this, I have four dreams I hope to go after before retirement with my research team and collaborators.

The first dream is to design that "ultimate programming language" for greater ease of use and productivity. This pursuit led me to collaborate with my students on an experimental programming language called Algot. The second dream is to build that "ultimate optimizing compiler". Imagine a hypothetical "perfect" compiler that drastically enhances software performance, reduces energy consumption, and boosts overall efficiency. The third dream is to build that "ultimate bug detector" to tackle the perennial issue of software bugs; we all know how frustrating and dangerous they can be. We strive to create this magic tool capable of identifying and eradicating deep, critical bugs to enhance software reliability. The fourth and final dream is to build that "ultimate programming assistant" that is all-powerful, amassing any relevant knowledge about software construction.

While these four dreams drive and guide my work, my ultimate goal remains to empower people to build software faster and better. However, the journey itself is just as important as the final results. We are having a lot of fun along the way, and I find great joy in mentoring my students and witnessing their growth as they graduate and embark on new roles and challenges. Ultimately, it is the people who matter the most and truly define any research group, department, or university.