The Program develops the learners’ understanding of the integration of hardware and software components. Learners will explore how hardware serves specific computer processing functions and investigate the use of various software applications.  It also uses different tools and techniques to design, implement and test programs, following the system life cycle. Learners will use appropriate programming languages and learn about the principles of good programming to enable them to create computer programs.

Students will also be able to understand the systems development life cycle and the role of systems methodologies within the life cycle. Learners will be introduced to different fact finding and problem-solving techniques and they will use these to analyse existing systems. They will recommend improvements and plan to implement these improvements for clients

Level 4 aims to provide a firm foundation to support the more advanced studies; this first level introduces knowledge in approaches and principles found across the disciplines of computing and information systems, and it starts to develop in students skills of critical analysis and self- reflection.

Level 5 aims to deepen the student’s specialist knowledge in each of the main computing areas, including programming, computing architecture and software development. At this level, students will learn about the use of structured design, analysis and troubleshooting principles for computer systems. The aim is to develop in students intellectual skills such as understanding, problem solving and to promote the students’ ability to analyse, synthesise and evaluate critically computing-related decisions.

A key aim of the program is to prepare students for a career in computer systems development and support, and to enhance life-long learning skills. The course will develop knowledge, skills and competences for individuals to develop their careers in the modern computing industry.

In particular, students will get the opportunity to engage with employers through a variety of mechanisms in core modules at levels 4, 5 and 6, including curricular and co-curricular activities taking place throughout the course. Most modules contain explicit statements concerning the practice and assessment of students reflective skills both individually and in groups. A wide range of the course modules also assess the student reflective practice through learning journals or logs contributing to personal development planning and career management. In this way, students will be encouraged to develop specific skills increasing their employability prospects by the end of the course.

The course aims to develop a good understanding and knowledge of current and emerging IT and computer technologies. The course aims to equip students with a combination of relevant technical skills and ‘client-facing’ awareness in preparation for, or in enhancement of, a career within the IT industry.

The distance learning delivery mode offers significant flexibility whereby all teaching and learning materials are provided in the most advanced Virtual Learning Environment.

Students can obtain an engaging and rewarding study experience with regular guidance, on-going support and timely feedback throughout their course from experienced academic tutors

A variety of online facilities are available for interaction between both students and tutors, as well as among students.

The course is specifically designed for career enhancement. It aims to equip students with a wide range of necessary knowledge and skills highly valued by employers and IT industry. These include mobile computing, IT security management, advanced databases and software project management.

Stage 1 topics include:
Students will attend an online Induction session

Stage 2 topics include:
Students need to complete six 20 credit taught modules

1. Database Systems with Professional Certification

2. Mobile Applications Design and Development

3. IT Security Management

4. Software Project Management

5. Communication Technologies for IT

6. Research and Development Skills

Stage 3 topics include:
Students need to take the 60-credit MSc project

Assessment:
All assessments are completed via staged coursework with a built-in oral presentation/viva where appropriate using teleconference facility.

Successful completion of this course offers wide-ranging career opportunities in the IT industry in either private or public sectors.

Graduates will be equipped to work in a variety of areas such as database administration, project management, mobile and web development, business or systems analysis, IT consultancy, support services, product management and training.

Covers –

1. Accessing and Manipulating Data

• 1.1 Preparing data for analysis and modelling
• 1.2 Developing optimal data structures
• 1.3 Transforming data into usable datasets
• 1.4 Exploratory data analysis including identification of anomalies and outliers
• 1.5 Handling missing data – imputation and other methods

Covers –

2. Data Mining and Modelling: Supervised and Unsupervised Learning Systems

• 2.1 Classification methods 2.2 Regression methods – linear, logistic and non-linear regression models
• 2.3 Time-series forecasting methods
• 2.4 Ensemble methods e.g. Boosted Decision Trees and Forests
• 2.5 Association-based data mining schemes
• 2.6 Unsupervised learning through clustering segmentation

3. Advanced AI and Machine Learning (ML) Systems

• 3.1 Designing AI and ML distributed processing architectures
• 3.2 Configuring AI/ML workflows and pipelines
• 3.3 Working with Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs)

4. Data Science Tools, Platforms and Languages

• 4.1 Developing R-language data mining systems
• 4.2 R-Studio packages for data science
• 4.3 Python-language data mining
• 4.4 Visualization tools and visual analytics

5. Commercial Applications and Productionized DS Systems

• 5.1 Matching technologies to business requirements
• 5.2 Selecting tools and toolsets to match the analysis context
• 5.3 Monitoring and tuning AI/ML system performance

Covers –

1. Managing Information and Cyber Security (ICS); role definitions, purposes and responsibilities

• 1.1 ICS threats/risks typologies and taxonomies; Strategies and policies
• 1.2 Governance, compliance and risk management methods for ICS; cost-risk trade-offs.
• 1.3 ICS cultural and organizational influences; Security awareness training

2. Designing and Implementing Secure Systems

• 2.1 Security architectures; architectural frameworks for security hardening (e.g. TOGAF framework)
• 2.2 Developing SyOps for secure systems
• 2.3 Security testing techniques (e.g. OWASP methods)
• 2.4 Vulnerability assessments and mitigation approaches
• 2.5 Business continuity planning; hot, warm and cold standby schemes
• 2.6 Addressing physical security issues & social engineering threats

Covers –

3. Managing Security Incidents

• 3.1 ICS incident management formal methods, tooling and toolsets
• 3.2 Investigative processes; Dealing with security breaches
• 3.3 Digital/Cyber Forensics techniques
• 3.4 Deploying remediation controls and solutions

Covers –

4. Managing Audit, Assurance and Review Processes

• 4.1 ICS audit processes; Cyclical continuous improvement workflows
• 4.2 Conducting effective security reviews and health checks
• 4.3 ICS support and triage models for effective security assurance & business continuity planning.