Digital & Technology Solutions (Software Engineer)

In this module, students will be introduced to the concept of Software Design and Development. Students will be discussing the software development lifecycles, design techniques, and learning the basics of procedural programming. Students will also be discussing the need to develop interfaces to ensure that they are accessible to a wide range of potential users, with consideration of the alignment to Sustainable Development Goal 10, which focusses on reducing inequalities.

Whatever a student’s future business career, there are certain basic professional skills and expertise that are required in the workplace. This module provides opportunities to acquire and apply essential skills for academic success, while also developing ‘soft skills’ that are a prerequisite for a successful career. Students will practice, and build confidence in wide ranging skills, as part of their transition into higher education. This module will help students develop basic research skills as part of individual work on a topic of their choice. They will also enhance their communication and negotiation skills; and increase awareness of the importance of evidence-based thinking and reflective practice.

The aim of the module is to introduce the application of information, information systems and information technologies within organisations and understand the impact of such systems on organisational performance. Students will develop an understanding of the project lifecycle focussing on the importance of the customer and will look at the process involved in creating information systems by learning how to investigate and define customer requirements and understand future needs. Undertaking this module gives students an introduction to information systems and organisations, giving them the skills to work effectively within an IS organisation on projects and giving them the base for understanding other IS modules within the degree programme.

This module is designed to allow flexibility of study, to enable employed students to gain credit for work-based activities, and to contribute to the continued development of academic and professional skills. The aim of this work-based learning module is to help students develop a deeper understanding of how their organisation operates including examining the relationships and dependencies that exist between different functions within an organisation, and to help them to recognise how their own contribution can form the foundations of a successful career within the company. To achieve this, students will reflect on themselves, their skills, and how they fit within their company.   With support from a work-based mentor, students will identify their development needs, manage their own development, and reflect critically on their learning.   This module provides the foundation for continuing personal and professional development building confidence to provide students with the potential to maximise both academic and career aspirations.

The aim of this module is to introduce concepts of IT security in order to understand the security threats to an IT system and the operational impact of these threats on an organisation. The module will explore different protection methods for data and develop knowledge of security policies and procedures, including risk assessments, and how these procedures can be implemented and maintained. This module will introduce topical case studies of attacks on organisational information systems, highlighting the business consequences.

The emergence of the digital economy has unlocked fresh opportunities for businesses, whilst also creating different modes of competition in both traditional and new sectors of the economy. The aim of this module is to develop an understanding of digital business together with the practices and processes required to create effective digital strategies. In order to succeed, businesses need to identify and integrate multiple technologies and develop new digital strategies. This, however, is often a complex task. This module provides insight into the key concepts, digital technologies and strategies that can directly shape businesses and processes.

Generating the right information and insight for decision-makers is a major challenge for many organisations. The challenge lies in coping with a burgeoning amount of multifarious data, analysing data and ensuring it reaches decision-makers in a timely and meaningful manner. Information Management and Data Analytics encapsulate the challenges faced in deriving insights from data to underpin fact-based decisions. This module examines the different types of systems and data that can flow into organisations. It evaluates the characteristics and value of these different data sources. With an awareness of the nature of data, a model of how data may be creatively integrated and analysed to deliver insights will be explored. Data analytics will then be explored given the demands of decision makers to: segment and target markets, predict the development of markets, assess customer profitability and the lifetime value of customers, and understand corresponding relationships.

This module will explore both technical and client management. Students will explore how to plan, design and manage IT infrastructure with an overall focus on the services and capabilities that infrastructure solutions enable in an organisational context including (but not limited to): identification of network security risks and their resolution; software development tools and techniques. Students will also understand concepts of technology and client management and recognise any inter-relationships between them. The module is also aimed at helping students to develop some of the skills involved in managing and leading people and projects, thereby further cultivating the self-awareness that characterises outstanding managers and leaders.

The aim of this module is to further develop student understanding of IS Security.  The main focus of this module will be to explore key themes, trends and issues in cyber-security, policing and governance of the internet and business vulnerabilities.  The module provides students with an opportunity to analyse risk management, information risk assessment, risk mitigation, management standards and methodologies, implementing a risk management strategy and business continuity planning.

This module introduces key aspects involved in project management of IT projects. The range of perspectives in project management studies are analysed both in theory and in practice. Students will explore roles and responsibilities of those involved in project management and explore documentation from planning to reporting used and how to deliver a successful project. The module will look at the management of projects including lifecycles and investigate the importance of relationship management focussing on stakeholders and teams.

This module will build on the knowledge obtained in the Introduction to Software Design and Development module from the first year of studies. This module presents a systematic approach to software testing as an extension to Software Design and a core element of all software development methodologies.  This module will consider the Seven Principles of Software Testing and their integration with testing processes.  Students will be introduced to various methods for planning and conducting tests.  As part of this module, students will be encouraged to reflect on how the software testing techniques they encounter can support the development of resilient infrastructure and the development of systems which are safety critical.

The module develops theoretical and practical skills in software engineering principles including abstraction, encapsulation, aggregation and inheritance.  Students will learn the processes from analysis to design, implementation, testing and documentation together with software quality principles. 

Human Computer Interaction is a key consideration when developing interfaces. In a world where people are living longer, the result is that more people are experiencing impairments which can impact their ability to interact with systems. This module will aim to consider how interfaces can be designed and developed to take this into account. With a particular focus on Universal Design, students will be designing interfaces which are both accessible and usable. In addition, students will be considering the experience provided to the users, and its impact on their acceptance of technology.

This synoptic project demonstrates the application of the core and specialism knowledge and skills to meet the outcomes in the standard.  Evidence of appropriate project planning and research methodologies will be shown together with the application of behaviours.

This module will provide students with an understanding of the insight management function of an organisation and will equip them with key skills in insight generation and delivery for business decision-making.  The module will develop students’ ability to critically evaluate approaches to generating ideas and insight through creative thinking techniques, within both divergent and convergent thinking processes.   It will provide them with the knowledge and skills to identify and evaluate an organisational problem, and then to effectively draw and interpret insights so that they have an impact at both managerial and board levels of organisations. The ethical implications of the use of insight management techniques will recur throughout the module.

This module considers the different forms of intellectual properties created in the software development and information technology sectors, and how these might be utilised for commercial purposes.  Particular emphasis is given to the protection and utilisation of intellectual property rights in computer software programmes by copyright.  The module considers how an understanding of intellectual properties is vital to knowledge-based businesses, and needs to be incorporated into the conceptualisation, design and implementation of new information technologies.  Emerging information technologies create challenges in terms of information rights such as data protection and privacy, access to public information, and information sharing through social media.  Students will be introduced to information rights laws and the trends shaping real-time development of protections in this area.

The overall aim of this module is to introduce students to a range of advanced, near-research level topics in contemporary software development. The module considers issues from a technology-driven perspective and a user-driven perspective. Students will develop advanced skills in modern software development languages and methodologies such as Java, Swift, C# and C++ and Agile.

This module aims to provide students with an overview of the cloud including: business migration to cloud based systems, cloud security, and cloud-based application design and development. Students will be encouraged to explore the transition of business systems to the cloud, using multiple case studies as exemplars. This exploration will focus the value to businesses, as well as the potential risks involved in cloud migration. In addition, students will gain experience in developing applications which are used within the cloud. This development will focus on ensuring applications are scalable, secure, usable, and maintainable. Students will also be expected to develop and conduct cloud-based application testing.

Parallel programming involves the running of computations simultaneously. During this module, students will learn how to exploit the abilities of modern computers to execute instructions in parallel. Using a variety of frameworks, students will learn how to design, develop, and test systems which utilise parallelism.