Business Information Technology with a Foundation Year - BSc (Hons)

This module focuses on the social and technical factors which underpin the business context of organisations and drive the need for information. You will explore how these factors influence each other and the design of business information systems. You will apply systems concepts to interrogate the dynamic relationship between people, technology, organisational structure and business process to understand the relationship between business information requirements and IT. The module establishes the systems engineering view of business systems developed throughout the rest of the programme. 

In this module you will be given an extended induction into the academic life at university as well as start to develop key academic, professional, mathematical and cognitive skills needed to be successful at university and in a computing career. Skills such as critical thinking, mathematics, time management, and a computational approach to problem-solving will be developed through a variety of hands-on activities. This module will be supported in normal class time and during group tutorial sessions.

This first-year project allows you to develop and cultivate a creative mind-set through collaborative innovative practice, allowing you to bring together knowledge and imagination to construct a viable product. It is an opportunity to express your ideas, skills and talent to the wider community of innovative practice.

The project provides you with an opportunity to be part of a thriving community of innovators that practices connected learning. This is facilitated by putting you into inter-disciplinary project teams supported by innovation mentors, advisers and academics; culminating in you exhibiting your work to an international panel of experts.

This module focuses on the challenge, what are the information needs of organisations that information technology needs to support in the changing international business context? Information technology (IT) is ubiquitous in organisations capturing, creating and communicating data between internal business systems and enabling global communication between external parties such as suppliers and customers.

The module starts by focusing on two fundamental questions that underpin IT: What is information? And Why do organisations need information? The specific information that an organisation needs is then explored in this module together with the source and characteristics of the data needed to provide the information identified. Structured approaches to analysing and designing information systems are outlined, introducing different ways of modelling and communicating the business information needs.

In this module you will develop your understanding of communication over networks and how devices send and receive data over their connected networks. We will use two of the standard referencing models, OSI and TCP/IP, that will help break down all the steps involved in data transmission and devices’ communication over networks using their layered approach. We will discuss the function of each layer in details and some of the protocols at each of these layers and how they help get data delivered from sender to receiver over the network.

Programming is a core skill for any career within the IT industry, even if you are working in a nontechnical role (such as consultant or business analyst). As more businesses incorporate digital technologies into their operations, a basic understanding of computer programming as a minimum requirement is now essential. Future roles in IT will focus on being a creator of digital systems (rather than just a passive consumer).

Business processes re-engineering play a fundamental role in promoting products and services, improving customer satisfaction levels, and supporting operational efficiency. This module will help you understand the fundamental concepts of business process re-engineering by introducing you to multiple methodologies and process modelling techniques. The focus will be on industry-standard languages and tools, e.g., Business Process Modelling and Notation using industry standard tools such as ARIS, CAWEMO, and Bonita. 

The shift in operating conditions and the ever-changing business environments has led many organisations to adopt Enterprise Systems (ES) as a mechanism to gain competitive advantage, improve productivity, and facilitate real-time decision-making.

The primary objective of implementing these systems was to address the maintenance issues of legacy systems, reduce development risk, provide timely access to information, and improve business efficiency. However, there are a number of instances, where organisations have failed to realise these benefits and end up running into costly implementation, increased maintenance, and operational challenges. This module will develop your core skills and knowledge to support organisations in the management of ES and redesigning of the business processes...

This module aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to a vitally important core IT topic (database technology) found in almost every IT installation in the world. The module will provide theoretical and practical knowledge and skills in developing a database system, including reflecting database systems development from understanding the needs through designing and developing database systems. This module allows students to investigate ways to create a robust, secure database that meets the organisation's needs, which complement other skills and knowledge gained from other modules on the course.  In addition, the module introduces the student to transferable skills in database design, implementation, optimisation, security and database administration. Once mastered, these database skills will provide a firm understanding of designing and managing databases in organisations. 

In this module you will gain the underpinning knowledge for developing software applications. The focus is on software development, including requirements gathering, software design, programming and testing. All of the topics covered in the module will form the basis of the design, implementation and evaluation of a functional software application. 

In this module will you will focus on combining theoretical concepts around user experience design with practical “hands-on” approaches widely used in industry and academia to create effective interactive experiences. Current technology developments involve humans using information centred applications, both physically and cognitively. With the advent of ubiquitous computing and connected products, digitalisation has enabled information architectures that are not solely focused in software based applications, but also in tangible computing devices. In this context, you will learn about the user-centred design process that places a core emphasis on designing products and applications for “people”. In particular, you will learn techniques for gathering and understanding a target audience’s requirements, the importance of universal design and accessibility, methods for undertaking rapid prototyping, core principles around aesthetics and visual design, and a range of techniques for designing, running, and analysing user evaluations.

This module forms part of the Research and Enterprise strand that runs through each programme curriculum from level 4 to 7. It builds on the core concepts, which were introduced to you at level 4 in the practice based computing related modules and the underpinning role innovation plays in this.  

This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to undertake a credit bearing, 40-week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Undergraduate Degree.

The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.

This module enables you to gain an understanding of the processes, scope and role when providing guidance or advice in a professional consulting capacity. It will also assist you if you join a larger organisation with the aspiration to become a leader and manager. The module provides awareness on the wider consulting profession and practice, the consulting role in computing and the management of client relationships. The focus will be to analyse and evaluate the frameworks, processes and techniques applied by computing consultants, managers and leaders.

The module focuses on applying analytical methods for processing the data generated by organisations to gain insights that inform decisions. The module will introduce you to business intelligence techniques and methodologies to describe, predict and inform decision-making in all aspects of the business. You will have hands-on experience applying tools and techniques, providing knowledge and an analytical mindset to interpret the results generated from the analysis undertaken.  

This module focuses on the challenge, how can information systems align with business strategies to enable organisations to successfully sustain and develop their positions in the global digital economy? Information, information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) are valuable organisational resources that must be effectively managed to help the organisation achieve its objectives.

Strategic alignment directs the development of IS and the deployment of IT to provide continued support to the attainment of business objectives. This module explores how to formulate a robust IS strategy that enables an organisation to harness the value of its information resource to support attainment of the organisation's strategy

The rapidly changing nature of business operations and working conditions means that the ability to respond digitally to business needs is vitally important. Every company must deal with necessary, but repetitive business processes that consume time and energy. Automation is a critical factor for successful businesses, but both the time and monetary cost to develop automated solutions can often be too great. Low code/no-code development platforms help developers and businesses move faster when creating custom business applications.  As such, it is estimated that, of the number of new enterprise applications developed by 2025, 70% will be developed via ‘low code’ or ‘no code’ technologies (Garner, 2021).  

The purpose of the module is to enable you to undertake a sustained, in-depth and research-informed project exploring an area that is of personal interest to you. In agreement with your supervisor, you will decide upon your topic which will take the form of a practical outcome (artefact) with accompanying contextual material. The main consideration when choosing your topic is that it must be aligned to the programme you are studying, and you should consider the relevance of this topic to your future academic or professional development.