Is a Robotics Engineering-Computer Science Merger on the Horizon?

During the first listening session in the Turner College's 2027 search for a new dean, two attendees pointed out that the computer science job market seems to have collapsed. Both suggested that the new dean have a grasp of this situation and be ready to address it on day one. It was at about this time that another attendee questioned why the search committee did not include any computer science faculty. The answer given regarding that particular decision fueled ongoing speculation that preparations are being made for computer science to move from the Turner College and into the new Center for Emergent Technology, which is part of CSU's College of Letters and Sciences and will be housed in the new $22.2 million facility at the opposite edge of CSU's main campus. Would such a move make sense? Could it be a shot in the arm that computer science needs? In discussing changes in the market for computer scientists, David Roos, a partner at Core Innovation Capital in San Francisco, recently wrote about how universities are slow to reorganize around new technologies, whereas students are not. As he points out, when computer-aided design arrived, universities still taught drafting as a distinct technical discipline even as the market was absorbing that skill into broader engineering + design workflows. The skill didn’t go away. It just stopped being the thing you had to specialize in. 

Now, as Roos writes, artificial intelligence may be doing something similar to computer science. Coding is becoming easier and more accessible, while, according to Roos, the scarce skills move toward product sense, domain expertise, and knowing what to build. In this case, falling CS enrollment, like that Roos shows for Stanford and UC Berkeley and like what attendees at the first listening session indirectly noted, may not be a move away from technology. Instead, as Roos explains, it’s just students recognizing where the value is moving before universities do. The current plan is for CSU's new Center for Emergent Technology to be home to its robotics engineering faculty and the Coca-Cola Space Science Center. Returning to our original question, would it make sense to add the Turner College's computer scientists? According to Google AI, combining robotics engineering and computer science faculty at CSU offers strong academic synergy.

 

The only potential downside, according to Google AI, involves a mixing of accreditation requirements across the two disciplines. Although the TSYS School is currently moving toward ABET accreditation, which it will attain in 2030 assuming there are no snags in the plan, it is currently not accredited. Based on its website, CSU's robotics engineering program is also currently not accredited. Again, there is no confirmation as of now that CSU is heading in this direction. It's just that several signs are pointing towards that possibility.