The point of the "test" as you call it is not just to see if you've got the skills to do the job they want you to do, but also to see how well you can think on your feet, under pressure. I'm currently an analog circuit design engineer designing power systems for DRAM chips, and despite having years of previous experience, not to mention years of specific course work, I was still subject to the same rigorous technical interview as every other applicant, which consisted of, you guessed it, a test, an individual ~hour long test with each department head in the place. And this was one of many such interviews of its kind which I undertook in order to find the job I wanted. Part of the interview process for a technical position, IT or otherwise, does and should consist of a vetting process of the individual, not just of their credentials.
I'm currently in my last semester of an electrical engineering degree, and in regards to homework, I have only been required to submit homework assignments for grading in 2 out of all of the courses of my degree; this means that, regardless of whether I'd worked the problems alone, or with 500 of my closest classmates, unless I learned from the experience, it wouldn't influence my grade. This model means students are forced to sink or swim on their own merits on exams, and keeps the homework where it belongs...out of the classroom. If the Prof. doesn't like students collaborating, they should simply keep homework out of the grading scheme, as this is ultimately better for the students and the institution.
It seems to me, and I could very well be wrong, that Belgium needs Google more than Google needs Belgium. If I were at the helm of google, I'd probably just avoid the undesirable fine structure that the Belgian courts propose and just pull out of Belgium...After all, then the fine folks of Belgium can decide which is worse, google's caching, or no google at all...
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The point of the "test" as you call it is not just to see if you've got the skills to do the job they want you to do, but also to see how well you can think on your feet, under pressure. I'm currently an analog circuit design engineer designing power systems for DRAM chips, and despite having years of previous experience, not to mention years of specific course work, I was still subject to the same rigorous technical interview as every other applicant, which consisted of, you guessed it, a test, an individual ~hour long test with each department head in the place. And this was one of many such interviews of its kind which I undertook in order to find the job I wanted. Part of the interview process for a technical position, IT or otherwise, does and should consist of a vetting process of the individual, not just of their credentials.
I'm currently in my last semester of an electrical engineering degree, and in regards to homework, I have only been required to submit homework assignments for grading in 2 out of all of the courses of my degree; this means that, regardless of whether I'd worked the problems alone, or with 500 of my closest classmates, unless I learned from the experience, it wouldn't influence my grade. This model means students are forced to sink or swim on their own merits on exams, and keeps the homework where it belongs...out of the classroom. If the Prof. doesn't like students collaborating, they should simply keep homework out of the grading scheme, as this is ultimately better for the students and the institution.
It seems to me, and I could very well be wrong, that Belgium needs Google more than Google needs Belgium. If I were at the helm of google, I'd probably just avoid the undesirable fine structure that the Belgian courts propose and just pull out of Belgium...After all, then the fine folks of Belgium can decide which is worse, google's caching, or no google at all...
I think the major problem is that people are buying music...