Information Technology BSc Honours

Course content

What will you study on the BSc Information Technology?

Core modules such as Web Development, Information Systems Foundations, and IT Infrastructure are thoroughly covered in this course. You will learn how a modern enterprise works and how to use a wide range of technologies to support its operation.

What will you gain?

You will have the opportunity to put what you've learned to practical use and make valuable industry contacts, especially if you decide to complete a work experience placement in your second year.

Modules

The aim of this module is to develop your knowledge and enthusiasm for current and future technologies that are and can be deployed in the modern, creative business setting, taking in current and future developments. This module will adopt a practical lab based case study approach to enable you to develop your knowledge of the design and use of technology in real world settings and to be aware of likely future developments in computing and IT, and of the possible social impacts of those developments. It will draw in current and future computing systems including pervasive, mobile and robotic systems, smart homes, smart cities and will consider both the drivers for technological development and the constraints on that development.

This module will provide you with an understanding of the diverse types of information systems that underpin the global business environment, and their respective capabilities and functions. You will appreciate the value of aligning these information systems with business needs at strategic and operational levels. Through practical tasks and assignments, you will also gain an understanding of data and process modelling, and system development methodologies. The module aims to give you the knowledge and skills to develop and manage information systems effectively, in order to support business processes, improve management decision-making and gain competitive advantage.

This module will provide you with knowledge to be able to differentiate between data, information and knowledge in an organisation. You will investigate efficient ways of storing, preserving, searching, retrieving and displaying information in an organisation, and you will be able to visualise and conceptualise information in organisations through knowledge of modelling techniques. You will gain the skills to design and implement a database system, to utilise a mark-up language, and to reflect the information in an organisation. You will also be proficient in SQL in an Oracle 11g environment in particular be able to complete the Oracle Database 11g SQL Fundamentals exam necessary to pass Oracle Database PL/SQL Certified Associate ODCA.

This module introduces computer programming techniques, with an emphasis on concepts that are relevant to a wide range of programming languages. There is a strong focus on practical work and you will be working together in pairs and small groups. You will learn how to solve problems by the design, enhancement and implementation of computer programs. You will develop the ability to document, test and debug your programs. You will also be introduced to fundamental concepts of programming, data structures and algorithms, and will be encouraged to work individually and in groups in a series of highly interactive and progressive activities.

The course provides the technical background to working with servers accessed through networks, their setup, maintenance and security aspects. Supporting language technologies, operating system utilisation and appreciation of protocols involved in data transfer are explored. Firewalls, viruses, malware and other security concerns are also covered in detail.

This module explores a range of IT issues, with a focus on developing a professional attitude and understanding of current practice. Starting with a very practical exploration of packet and file analysis at bit level, this module will lead you through the need for effective Disaster Recovery Planning and the development of policies and compliance with standards. You will then take a step back to look at a more general business viewpoint and explore the concepts of company culture and look at the aims and goals of businesses and the need to align IT strategy with these.

This module will help you understand the concepts, design principles, and programming paradigms of the development of modern and interactive websites, and guides you in becoming proficient in website development with modern development environment. It also leads you through the use of web design concepts and strategies, and provides grounding in appropriate user-experience evaluation techniques.

This module aims to provide a firm grounding in business systems analysis and design using the Unified Modelling Language (UML) to model information systems, and the Unified Process (a disciplined approach to assigning and managing tasks and responsibilities in a development environment). On satisfactory completion of the module, students will have an understanding of information systems modelling and associated development lifecycle issues, and the skills to apply these techniques to real-life scenarios.

This module gives you the opportunity to demonstrate the theoretical knowledge and practical skills achieved whilst studying by undertaking a substantial piece of individual project work culminating in a report and a software artefact or other appropriate agreed deliverable. You will be able to exhibit your competencies and abilities to solve a practical real problem, meeting a real need in an industrial or research context, as Information Technology practitioners.

The aim of the module is to introduce you to a range of AI theories and techniques, including the most commonly used. This will extend to the ability to implement these techniques, and you will extend your own development skills.

This module aims to provide you with the underlying concepts and theory in interactive media manipulation. Starting with an exploration of digital signal processing approaches to multimedia, covering key areas such as compression and the relationship between cognitive psychology and our mathematical treatment of media data. You will then develop an understanding of commonly used formats, protocols and the contexts in which you have evolved, through using a wide range of software to apply your knowledge and develop new skills. Finally, the module aims to facilitate the development of interactive multimedia artefacts, allowing you to also explore the relationship between the creative aspects of interactive multimedia and engineering principles.

This module will allow you to gain understanding of underpinning concepts and practical techniques relevant when considering humans, both in the organisation of design and design processes, and as a way of incorporating a user perspective in the design of products and services.

This module will determine, clarify and communicate the user’s perceptions and responses resulting from the use and/or anticipated use of a product or system. You will be able to define requirements standards and quality targets for an organisation in agreement with key stakeholders. The module also includes analysis of user experience, the characteristics of users and their tasks, and the technical, organisational and physical environment in which products or systems may operate.

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the role of innovation and management of technological expansion in information sciences. The module will provide you with an understanding of the use of technical, organisational, standardisation and user knowledge as a catalyst for innovation. It will also enable you to evaluate technical innovation with respect to societal changes.

Open Source is everywhere these days from your smartphone to the big servers running the Internet. In this module, you will look at the concepts behind Open Source and Open Standards, their history, the development model and the issues involved. You will also participate in an existing Open Source project.

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the peripheral issues that impact on information development and management including consensus, strategic alignment and change management. The module provides you with an understanding of the framework within which information assets are used to enhance organisational decision making. It also enables you to distinguish between information and knowledge at the organisational level, and to understand the importance of protecting information assets especially within the outsourcing scenario.

This module aims to provide students with the underlying concepts and theory in interactive media manipulation. Starting with an exploration of digital signal processing approaches to multimedia, covering key areas such as compression and the relationship between cognitive psychology and our mathematical treatment of media data. Students will then develop an understanding of commonly used formats, protocols and the contexts in which they have evolved, through using a wide range of software to apply their knowledge and develop new skills. Finally, the module aims to facilitate the development of interactive multimedia artefacts, allowing students to also explore the relationship between the creative aspects of interactive multimedia and engineering principles.

Healthcare Business Informatics is a discipline that brings together the expertise of three different fields: Business, Computer Science, and Information Technology. The ultimate aim of healthcare systems is to efficiently manage health information. This includes the effective collection, storage and retrieval of health data. The module address several issues of healthcare systems, including ethics, systems design, data collection and analysis, methods of evaluating HI systems, management of HI systems, HCI issues and visualization of HI systems information. The module provides student with the opportunity to not only implement several key algorithms used in HI systems, but also to create a prototype Aware Home Environment.

This module aims to critically examine methodologies, techniques and tools associated with information systems development, focussing on the analysis of context, issues and real-world problems. The module explores the criteria involved in selecting and implementing suitable approaches for development projects, from traditional to current approaches, such as Agile methods. There are a number of case studies throughout the module where students will apply advanced modelling techniques and CASE tools. This module is designed to build on previous development method work at level 5.

An important criterion for the implementation of Industry 4.0 is the amalgamation of machines and industrial components in a network infrastructure, to support operational communication amongst machines and other applicable IT systems in an automated network. This will enable the optimization of conventional industrial processes in many facets.

The central theme of this module is to equip students with the skills necessary to design and implement network infrastructures to support industrial communication, and to integrate Industry 4.0 enabled machines to facilitate a Cyber-Physical Factory. In doing so, students will embrace the practice of setting up TCP/IP communication between modules, IP-address design and allocation, secure wireless LAN communication, switching and routing services to support communication, deploy VPN for remote services, and to explore the integration of the CP Factory with the Internet of Things.

This module aims to teach students software design of the sub-systems of robots and how to integrate them into a reliable and efficient robotic system. This is done via a series of closely connected projects. Students will develop the practical capability to design a robot system for real application. Within the lab sessions, students will gain experiential understanding of the effects the sub-system design could have on the whole system.

Interactive technologies are developing continually, and new devices that offer novel ways of interacting with computer-based systems are constantly finding their way into our homes, workplaces and lives. Students on this module will encounter and study a range of innovative and emerging interaction technologies. The module affords an opportunity to become familiar with the technologies and devices themselves as well as ways of analysing their applicability for particular uses and situations, and approaches evaluating their use.

By understanding how computing devices and products are used and studying the ways that usage changes over time, students will gain a critical awareness of the processes by which interactive products gain in popularity and become successful. After completing the module, students will therefore be better equipped to anticipate and select the successful interaction technologies of the future, analyse situations of use and potential users, design using the latest interaction technology, and evaluate novel and innovative designs.

Many modern websites store and process large amounts of data. Typical examples are property search websites, price comparison websites and financial websites. This module aims to give students the ability to download, store and process large quantities of data and build websites based on this data using advanced JavaScript frameworks. At the end of the module successful students will have gained advanced skills with Java, JavaScript, web development and big data, which are highly sought after in industry.

The module will focus on the teaching of computer science within the secondary school (age 11-16) setting. You will observe, analyse and prepare materials for teaching practice. You will start to apply your knowledge of computing to teaching practice. You will develop an understanding of the Teachers’ standards, thus supporting your preparation for application of initial teacher training courses. You will complete reading on education pedagogy to critically analyse practice. The module will also support your development of public speaking.

You can find more information about this course in the programme specification. Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.