School of Computing Science

[FATA Seminar] I gave Claude Code a hundred quid and all my constraint solver got was about six good MSci projects' worth of improvements

Group: Formal Analysis, Theory and Algorithms (FATA)
Speaker: Ciaran Mccreesh, FATA
Date: 02 June, 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 422 Seminar Room

For the past month I've been using Claude Code to help develop my constraint programming solver. With the caveat that I'm burning enough tokens that I needed to pay for a max subscription at around a hundred quid per month, I'm moderately impressed, in a way that I haven't been with earlier systems. It can carry out refactoring, code cleanup, and documentation tasks as well as a junior software engineer, and with better C++ knowledge. With the right prompts, it also identifies suspicious abnormalities as it goes (probably better than a human, because humans get bored). Given decent tests and told to improve them and evaluate and explain its work as it goes along, it generally writes good code rather than cheating the tests. But what about beyond that? I've also had Claude Code adapt and implement various proof-logging constraint propagators with moderate success, some of which would have challenged a good MSci project student. It needed a series of carefully selected instructions, and sometimes it goes down rabbit-holes and needs to be pointed in a better direction, but the end results are good. I think the technology is now worth using, so I'll share what I've learned about breaking down tasks, writing prompts that work, and structuring code to get the most out of my money.

It's not all good news, though. The biggest flaw I've noticed is that whilst Claude Code tends to come up with reasonable design ideas and solutions in general, they're often going in slightly the wrong direction, due to lacking the subtle context and bigger-picture perspectives that only come with having worked in this area for a decade. This last part is concerning from an educational perspective: if AI displaces entry-level work and students lean on it instead of learning, where do the next generation of senior engineers -- the ones with the judgement to make this work -- come from?

If people are interested, I'll do some live Clauding after the talk -- what could possibly go wrong?

TBC

Group: Networked Systems Research Laboratory (NETLAB)
Speaker: Jinming Yang
Date: 04 June, 2026
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 423 Seminar Room

[FATA Seminar] I gave Claude Code a hundred quid and all my constraint solver got was about six good MSci projects' worth of improvements

Group: Formal Analysis, Theory and Algorithms (FATA)
Speaker: Ciaran Mccreesh, FATA
Date: 02 June, 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 422 Seminar Room

For the past month I've been using Claude Code to help develop my constraint programming solver. With the caveat that I'm burning enough tokens that I needed to pay for a max subscription at around a hundred quid per month, I'm moderately impressed, in a way that I haven't been with earlier systems. It can carry out refactoring, code cleanup, and documentation tasks as well as a junior software engineer, and with better C++ knowledge. With the right prompts, it also identifies suspicious abnormalities as it goes (probably better than a human, because humans get bored). Given decent tests and told to improve them and evaluate and explain its work as it goes along, it generally writes good code rather than cheating the tests. But what about beyond that? I've also had Claude Code adapt and implement various proof-logging constraint propagators with moderate success, some of which would have challenged a good MSci project student. It needed a series of carefully selected instructions, and sometimes it goes down rabbit-holes and needs to be pointed in a better direction, but the end results are good. I think the technology is now worth using, so I'll share what I've learned about breaking down tasks, writing prompts that work, and structuring code to get the most out of my money.

It's not all good news, though. The biggest flaw I've noticed is that whilst Claude Code tends to come up with reasonable design ideas and solutions in general, they're often going in slightly the wrong direction, due to lacking the subtle context and bigger-picture perspectives that only come with having worked in this area for a decade. This last part is concerning from an educational perspective: if AI displaces entry-level work and students lean on it instead of learning, where do the next generation of senior engineers -- the ones with the judgement to make this work -- come from?

If people are interested, I'll do some live Clauding after the talk -- what could possibly go wrong?

TBC

Group: Networked Systems Research Laboratory (NETLAB)
Speaker: Jinming Yang
Date: 04 June, 2026
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 423 Seminar Room

EASE 2026: International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 09 June, 2026
Time: 01:00 - 01:00
Location: James McCune Smith Learning Hub, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW

EASE is an internationally leading venue for academics and practitioners to present and discuss their research on evidence-based software engineering, and its implications for software practice. EASE is ranked as A conference in CORE. The 30th edition of EASE will take place in Glasgow, Scotland. EASE 2026 welcomes high-quality submissions, describing original and unpublished research for the following tracks: full research papers, short papers & emerging results, industry, posters & vision, journal-first, and a doctoral symposium. There will also be co-located events, including workshops and tutorials, and a track planned for journal-first presentations. See conference website for submission tracks and deadlines. EASE 2026

SICSA Pre-EC Day 2026

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 12 June, 2026
Time: 10:00 - 15:30
Location: Robert Gordon University, United Kingdom

View programme or Register — The SICSA Pre-EC Day allows colleagues in the field of evolutionary computation the opportunity to showcase their most recent work. The conference’s primary focus is on researchers who have papers/posters accepted at upcoming 2026 conferences, giving them the chance to present their work to an expert, supportive community of EC researchers from across Scottish institutions. The event also allows colleagues who cannot attend conferences such as GECCO, CEC, PPSN, Evo* and others the opportunity to hear about the latest research being developed in Scotland. We will welcome speakers who have accepted papers across the summer 2026 conferences, as well as speakers who have field-specific or field-adjacent research that would be of interest to the EC research community that has or is targeting publication. Attendance is free for students and academics based in Scotland.

S3CIX 2026 - Symposium and Summer School on Computational Interaction

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 16 June, 2026
Time: 01:00 - 01:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, University of Glasgow, 18 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8QN, United Kingdom

Registration for the 10th Symposium and Summer School on Computational Interaction will open 1 February and close 14 March 2026. View programme, event details and registration process at S³CIX 2026. This year S³CIX is expanding from a Summer School format to also include a 4 day long academic Symposium. We anticipate about 30 students and 40 academics and invited speakers to attend. There will also be two workshops. Computational interaction often involves elements from machine learning, signal processing, information theory, optimisation, inference, control theory and formal modelling. Computational interaction would typically involve at least one of: an explicit mathematical model of user-system behaviour; a way of updating that model with observed data from users; an algorithmic element that, using this model, can directly synthesise or adapt the design; a way of automating and instrumenting the modelling and design process; the ability to simulate or synthesise elements of the expected user-system behaviour.”

10th Summer School and Symposium on Computational Interaction (S³CIX)

Group: Inference, Dynamics and Interaction (IDI)
Speaker: multiple
Date: 20 June, 2026
Time: 09:00 - 16:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 422 Seminar Room

Welcome to the Symposium and Summer School on Computational Interaction! This year we are expanding from a Summer School format to also include a 4 day long academic Symposium. We anticipate about 30 students and 40 academics and invited speakers to attend. There will also be two workshops.

SPLV’26: Scottish Programming Languages and Verification Summer School 2026

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 03 August, 2026
Time: 01:00 - 01:00
Location: TBA

The 2026 edition of SPLV will be held at the University of Glasgow, with the main courses running from within the Gilbert Scott Building. The school is aimed at PhD students in programming languages, verification and related areas. Researchers and practitioners are welcome, as are strong undergraduate and masters students with the support of a supervisor. Participants should have a background in computer science, mathematics or a related discipline. Prospective students may contact the organisers if they have any concerns about background knowledge. Registration will open March 2026. View full programme at SPLV 2026 | SPLV