From Lab To Land: How Hands-on Computer Science Is Building The Future

This fall, Georgia State’s incoming freshman class is one of the largest ever, with 52,000 students across the university. With more than 3,000 computer science majors, the fast-growing program is preparing students for today’s tech-driven demands.

For them, learning extends far beyond coding and keyboards. They’ll be designing and building robotics, developing apps, testing sensors and diving into cutting-edge research that prepares them for the workforce.

“In computer science, the best learning happens when students get to experiment with actual devices, troubleshoot problems and see their code come to life,” says Ashwin Ashok, an associate professor of computer science and associate director of his department’s graduate studies program. “When you come to Georgia State, you are going to have hands-on access to learning,” he says.

Ashok leads the Mobile and Robotics Systems Experiential (MORSE) Research Studio — a lab where, he says, science meets art.

“Students are not just doing technical work, they’re creating something new. I think the process of building and experimenting in robotics or systems research is very much like that of an artist. It requires not just technical knowledge but imagination and problem-solving — like an artist creating a masterpiece,” he says.

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