Results of this year’s National Student Survey (NSS) show excellent satisfaction levels for Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton. In both Computer Science category and the Electronic and Electrical Engineering category, final year students from ECS ranked fourth among the prestigious Russell Group Universities.

The results reflect a continuing improving experience for students in ECS with 93 per cent of Computer Science students and 92 per cent of Electronic and Electrical Engineering students saying they were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall quality of their course.

Recent improvements for students include outstanding the new £4m computing and teaching laboratories, opened by the Minister of State for Universities and Science in autumn last year – 93 per cent of Computer Science students were satisfied or very satisfied with the learning resources on their course.

Our Electronic and Electrical Engineering degrees have been ranked first in the UK by the Guardian university Guide 2017 and standards on these programmes are reflected in student responses through this survey: 90 per cent of students agreed that the course was intellectually stimulating and 96 per cent agreed that staff are good at explaining things.

Head of ECS, Professor Paul Lewin was pleased with the results. “Within the team we work hard to listen to students’ feedback and identify how we can continue to improve the quality of experience and outcomes. It is pleasing to see these developments reflected in our students’ responses; their feedback will help us work to remain one of the best places in the UK to study electronics and computer science.â€?

The National Student Survey has been conducted annually since 2005 by HEFCE and IpsosMori and asks final year undergraduates for feedback on their universities and courses. Core questions in the survey cover the student learning experience including: teaching on my course; assessment and feedback; academic support; organisation and management; learning resources; personal development; students’ union and overall satisfaction.

Examples of success – NSS 2016

BSc IT in Organisations

• 100% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall quality of their course
• 98% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the personal development offered by their course
• 90% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the learning resources available on their course

• 92% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the organisation and management of their course
• 91% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the learning resources available on their course
• 96% of students agreed that they have been able to access general IT resources when they needed to

• 93% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the learning resources available on their course
• 93% of students agreed that they have been able to access general IT resources when they needed to
• 94% of students agreed that they have been able to access specialised equipment, facilities or rooms when they needed to

• 95% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall quality of their course
• 96% of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the teaching of their course
• 95% of students agreed that the course is intellectually stimulating and 100% agreed that staff are good at explaining things
• 95% of students agreed that they have been able to access general IT resources when they needed to

Dr Sarvapali (Gopal) Ramchurn is an Associate Professor in Electronics and Computer Science (ECS). He is an expert in artificial intelligence and member of the Agents, Interaction and Complexity research group. And a seasoned Fantasy Football competitor. This year he thinks he's got the ultimate dream team for the 2016 Premier League Season:

"There’s hardly a moment to catch a breath in this exciting summer of sport," he says. "With Euro 2016 already a distant (and dismal) memory and Olympic fever now sweeping the nation, it’s already time for fans to turn their minds back to dramatic twists and turns of the Premier League.

"And what a season it promises to be. The Manchester clubs look rejuvenated under two of the most sought-after managers in world football, Chelsea are tipped to bounce back after an astonishing fall from grace last season and Leicester are ready to defend their title while entering a historic first Champions League campaign. Will this be Arsene Wenger’s final season at Arsenal? Could Liverpool or Tottenham be the dark horses in an unexpected a title charge?

"Millions of players are readying their fantasy football squads ahead of the big kick-off this weekend, and I’m tapping into a (not-so) secret weapon that will optimise my chances of topping my leagues next May. Together with ECS postgraduate Tim Matthews, I’ve created a predictive system that uses Bayesian Machine Learning techniques and a combinatorial optimisation algorithm to bolster my team and transfer selection.

"The tool has been tested on player data in previous seasons and produced teams that would have consistently ranked in the top one per cent of the Fantasy Premier League.

"The system’s continuously crunching through the numbers and new signings from the summer transfer window, and I’ve got a treat for all the fantasy football players out there this week."

To discover the 15-man squad that Gopal's system recommends for a storming season, visit his blog post for the University's Future Worlds team.