Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - Doug Hickok took his role seriously as the first University of Wisconsin-Platteville student to attend James Cook University (JCU) in Australia. He kept a five-month long blog in hopes of encouraging other students to participate in the UWP Joint International Master's Program (JIM).

"During my quick walk tonight, I saw another cane toad. I tapped it ... with my boot and watched it hop away (off the road). Nearer to my dorm, I saw one of these strange things and couldn't figure out what it was. Was it a rat? An anteater thing? A strange wombat?" he mused in his blog towards the end of his trip.

Hickok is completing his master's degree in computer science through JIM. UWP is one of three schools in the program in which students take classes from at least two schools: their home school and one of the partner institutions. The program at Hochschule Darmstadt, Germany has been in place for a number of years, but Hickok is the first student to complete the program at JCU in Townsville, Australia.

So what was this "strange thing" Hickok was studying? "... I had decided on 'anteater' when one of the female RA's biked up to me and said, 'what are you doing?' (Since I was standing in the driveway looking at the grass in the dark.) I said 'I'm trying to figure out what that thing is - is it an anteater?' She looked and said, 'ohhh! It's a Bilby! They're like an Australian rabbit ... Instead of celebrating Easter with a bunny, we celebrate it with the Easter Bilby ...' " Hickok continued.

Hickok detailed both his academic experiences and general impression of the country, culture and language. In addition to learning about "Thongs, text book and gum boot throwing, dunk a lecturer, cane toad races and bocce," he made a point to see the country as a long term visitor rather than a passing tourist. Thongs, by the way, are beach footwear, and it's only permissible to engage in gum boot throwing and lecturer dunking during student orientation week at JCU. Bocce is a bowling game which can be played anywhere, socially or competitively.

"I am one of the lucky ones who got to experience Australia. Swimming at the bottom of the waterfall with the locals is much more fun than taking a picture of the falls from the viewing platform," he said.

As an educational experience, the semester at Cook was excellent, Hickok said.

"The unique requirement of the JIM program is that it temporarily strips away everything you are familiar with and drops you into another continent and into a new culture. If you can adapt to this new way of life and do well, then you have acquired a skill unlike any other," he explained.

He took courses in grid computing, algorithms and complexity, special projects and Australian culture. Juggling software engineering design with a study of aboriginal Australians was not the greatest challenge, however.

"The real challenge in the JIM program isn't the academics, but is instead keeping your eyes on the books while in paradise," he said in an interview.

JCU is a multi-campus university with the main sites located in the tropical Queensland cities of Townsville and Cairns. Over 170 undergraduate and 140 postgraduate courses are offered at JCU, and all degree programs emphasize the skills of critical thinking and problem solving, effective communication and familiarity with information technologies.

Depending on the student, the JIM program through UWP can be completed in three or four semesters. Courses include traditional computer science subjects such as databases, artificial intelligence, object-oriented software development and compiler construction. There are also more applied courses such as mobile computing, robotics, enterprise computing, and computer security.

Anyone interested in learning more about Hickok's experiences may contact him at hickokd@uwplatt.edu

Contact: Rob Hasker, professor, UWP Department of Computer Science, (608) 342-1401, hasker@uwplatt.edu Prepared by: Evelyn Martens, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, martense@uwplatt.edu