What will I learn

This course includes the Professional Development module. Each of the participating postgraduate courses have an individually tailored version of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Professional Development module.

Modules

Semester 1

• E-Commerce and Business Continuity: We examine the relationship between technology and business, in terms of the drivers, critical success factors and barriers to the uptake of digital technology in business and how technology can be deployed to leverage strategic competitive advantage. We examine legal and ethical issues, as well as business continuity to ensure sustainable operation of e-commerce activities.
• Usability: A sub-discipline of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) studies, usability provides a pragmatic and action-oriented approach to the resolution of interface design problems. You’ll be exposed to appropriate methods of applied research and approaches to practical computer interface design, factoring in the importance of user involvement, iteration and research-based design in contemporary, rapid systems development, with a focus on e-commerce and internet systems.
• Professional Development – Consultancy: January intake.

Semester 2

• IS/IT strategy and project management: We explore the theoretical and practical aspects of IS/IT strategy in the context of a global business environment. A robust IS/IT strategy is constructed as part of the strategic business planning cycle; we will consider the drivers, critical success factors and barriers to project management. You’ll be introduced to the tools and techniques associated with constructing and implementing an IS/IT strategy and for evaluative decision-making.
• Internet Systems Development: Aims to provide the theoretical knowledge and significant practical experience of modern component-based application development. We cover the entire process of building and deploying such applications, including development for smart devices, component security, delivering functionality through rich Internet clients and XML Web Services. We focus on the Microsoft .NET framework and VS.NET development environment.
• Advanced DB Systems: Covers the theoretical and the technological underpinnings of database management systems. The Entity-Relationship data model and the relational model will be used as foundation material for the practical investigation of database development, whereas topics such as transaction management and concurrency control should provide a sound basis for an understanding of the theoretical underpinning of database management.
• Professional Development – Consultancy: September intake.

Semester 3

• Research Methods in Computing
• Project dissertation

In your final semester, you will demonstrate the knowledge and skills you should have learned by undertaking an in-depth individual project. Guided by an expert tutor and after receiving training in study skills and research methods, this project helps you to gain an experience matching that of an IT professional. Recent projects have covered topics as diverse as network security for SMEs and digital marketing strategies for a local community centre.