Students reject plagiarism, Xerox rebels against copying

A GROUP OF STUDENTS has invented a system that supposedly prevents scolars from copying work. Plagiarism Alert was developed by Ching Hui-Wang, Jackie Leaver and James Tuck, three undergraduates at Sheffield Hallam University. The motivation was a Xerox-sponsored competition (University Challenge [there's an original name! - ed]), aimed at encouraging the next generation of creatives to, er, develop applications for a more socially inclusive, collaborative society.

Hang on a second, there's already something about this story that doesn't add up.

Students coming out against plagiarism? Isn't that like Turkeys voting for Christmas? Xerox, coming out against copying? Whatever next?

On closer inspection it emerges that Plagiarism Alert is a routine that students can run before they hand their work in. It highlights the passages most obviously copied (by matching them on the interweb). They need to know this because their tutors already have access to systems like Turn It In, which checks for dodgy dossiers.

Plagiarism Alert tells the students which passages they need to attribute to sources, in order to get their hastily prepared homework in under the radar. Or indeed, which they need to re-write, in order to pass the work off as their own.

Which do you think it will be?

Jon Reardon, group director of global analysts Infotrends, and one of the judges of the competition, was impressed by the standard of the entrants. "Some of these guys should be working in development. If they fleshed out the plagiarism concept, it could be licensable software."

Apparently, Xerox doesn't mind people copying. It's cutting and pasting they don't like. Maybe Alistair -Weapons of Mass Destruction - Campbell could have used their help when doing his homework on the infamous dossier. Oh well, too late now.

Xerox says it intends to extend its University Challenge across Europe.