Department of Computer Science (University of Copenhagen)

DIKU

Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen (Danish: Datalogisk Institut, Københavns Universitet), commonly referred to by its acronym DIKU, is an institute of research and education in computer science at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen. DIKU offers both undergraduate, graduate and Ph. D.-programs. Students with a diploma equivalent of Danish secondary school diploma are accepted for the undergraduate program, from where they can proceed with graduate studies and eventually Ph. D.-studies.

Research Groups

Research at the department is handled by a number of research groups, labs and centres. As of September 2010, the main groups are^[1]

• The Image Group - image processing, physics based animation, robotics and artificial intelligence.
• Algorithmic and Programming Languages - optimization algorithms inspired by practical problems in bioinformatics, electronic chip design and logistics; and research on programming languages with a focus on automatic program optimization, analysis and transformation.
• Human‐centered computing - designs and implements systems, where human needs are in focus.
• Additional centres and laboratories - eScience Center, CITI - Center for IT Innovation, Performance Engineering Laboratory, Experience Lab.

History

DIKU was created in 1970, as an offshoot of the Institute for Mathematical Sciences. The first professor at DIKU was Peter Naur.

Famous DIKU researchers

• Per Brinch Hansen was a professor at the institute between 1984 and 1987.
• Peter Naur, A Turing Award recipient, was a professor at the institute between 1969 and 1998.

Location

DIKU is located at Universitetsparken in Copenhagen, which is part of the University of Copenhagen's North Campus. It occupys the former building of the Department of Anatomy. As of September 2010, The Human-Centered Computing Group is located at the South Campus on Amager, and the e-Science center in the building of the Hans Christian Ørsted Institute, also at Universitetsparken.

Student life

An important social event is the DIKU revue, which is held each year in June. The DIKU revue is always in competition with the physics revue, and never misses an opportunity to computer-animate the complete and utter destruction of the physics institute at the H. C. Ørsted Institute.

As something unique among the institutes of Copenhagen University, the DIKU cantine is entirely student driven and open 24 hours. It is the natural hub for all social events on DIKU.

The two largest social events are the DIKU revue and the Julefrokost (Christmas lunch) of the cantine.

Miscellaneous

The popular DikuMUD codebase was developed here, and derives its name from the institution's.

References

1. ^ "Department of Computer Science, DIKU". Copenhagen University. http://www.diku.dk. Retrieved 2010-09-06. 

External links

• DIKU homepage
• DIKU's history
• dikutal.dk - DIKU Student portal

Coordinates: 55°42′07″N 12°33′40″E / 55.70194°N 12.56111°E / 55.70194; 12.56111