Computer Science with a Foundation Year - BSc (Hons)

Within the module of Computer Programming you will learn the key skills of Programming and how this relates to technology and communications. Programming is an engineering tool that plays a vital role to drive most of the modern technologies surrounding us, including the technological devices for communication, transportation and entertainment. In other words, it can be said that our modern lifestyles are heavily dependent on programming. Moreover, businesses increasingly rely on computers and the software run on them. Programming skills and a broader and deeper understanding of programming are therefore becoming increasingly important to the jobs market.

This introductory computer programming module provides the underpinning knowledge and practice for computing students to design, build and test software components. The module will make use of practical sessions primarily to allow you to apply programming principles and constructs in order to creatively solve problems by means of developing small programs. Module content and assessment enables learners to acquire programming skills in a modern imperative language. 

This fundamental computer systems module puts into practice the learning done through reading, video lecturers, skills building labs and problem based learning for the acquisition of new knowledge and core practical competencies. Module content and assessment encourages realisation of multi-disciplinary computing, it challenges students to interface with the environment by configuring Internet of Things devices and systems for collecting data for the proposed solution. 

This module provides the underpinning skills necessary to develop an effective web based information system based around a clear understanding of the visual requirements of an interface, a structured design approach and the technical skills necessary to implement a solution.

Data structures and algorithms are essential in computer science, software engineering, and computer games and graphics programming. Data structures are structured representations of data; the design of a data structure determines how operations (such as reading to, writing from, modifying, or computing with the data) can be achieved. An algorithm is a set of instructions which can be followed in order to solve a computational problem.

This module will equip you with the necessary background knowledge about common data structures and algorithms. It will develop your skills for writing them, and analysing their efficiency and correctness. You will cover topics such as how computers represent and operate on arrays, lists, sets, queues, stacks, graphs and networks, as well as how to write and analyse algorithms.

The module provides the opportunity to learn and critically reflect the skills required in building and designing basic networks and their requirements within a network infrastructure. This module builds on the underpinning knowledge and theory of networking systems.

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.

Programming is an engineering tool that plays a vital role to drive most of the modern technologies surrounding us, including the technological devices for communication, transportation and entertainment. In other words it can be said that our modern lifestyles are heavily dependent on programming. Moreover, businesses increasingly rely on computers and the software run on them. Programming skills and a broader and deeper understanding of programming are therefore becoming increasingly important to the jobs market.

This module will provide an introduction to fundamental concepts associated with operating systems and will lay the foundations for other Computer Science modules that will require a broad understanding of operating systems principles. A good understanding of operating systems is very important for computer scientists in order to design efficient solutions to a wide range of programming problems including concurrent programming, resource management and performance analysis.

This module will initially introduce the key components of operating systems, their role and purpose, and historical background. The module will also cover core themes such as concurrency, scheduling, memory management, security, virtual machines, device management, file systems, and real time and embedded systems. It will combine theoretical concepts and fundamentals with practical exercises that will provide hands-on experience in understanding, managing, and manipulating operating systems.

This module embeds core discrete mathematics concepts relevant to programmers, within the context of programming. We will use sound abstract reasoning techniques to design and produce computer programs within the declarative paradigm. Finally, these solutions will be tested and evaluated against their functional requirements using a number of testing and verification techniques.

The vast majority of web applications are connected to databases for the purpose of storing and retrieving information. On this module you will be introduced to relevant concepts and technologies, applying them to the development of such applications.

You will gain knowledge and skills concerning data modelling (entity-relationship models) and relational database implementation and administration (using SQL). You will also acquire new programming skills (e.g., writing server-side scripts in PHP) in order to produce applications that provide useful functionality. You will also gain practical experience in the use of web frameworks to develop web applications to enhance your employability skills.

Computer Scientists need to address the realities of the application of their field within an environment where cyber security threats present unique challenges to application and system developers, in relation to the requirement for secure design and operation. This module provides a foundation for security consideration as required in the design of software expected to perform within a networked and data sharing environment. This module has been designed to provide the necessary theoretical framework, foundations and practical support for effectively pursuing security solutions with reference to the requirement for secure application development. 

This module is about software engineering with a focus on software design. It covers three stages of the software engineering life-cycle, requirements, design and implementation, but with a focal point on design and an emphasis on the design theme. The module provides the necessary skills to: (i) construct models of requirements and designs, (ii) synthesise implementations from design models, (iii) and apply software design patterns. The standard UML is used as the modelling language, the vehicle through which important design concepts are explored to convey a software engineering ethos based on getting it right by adequately studying the problem and mindfully constructing designs of software solutions. 

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.

At this level, you will be expected to work independently but you will receive additional one-to-one support from your supervisor, who will be familiar with your chosen topic area. As you progress on the module, extra support will be available and this may take the form of group seminars, workshops and online materials that will help to develop your project. 

This module will focus on combining theoretical concepts around user experience design with practical “hands-on” approaches used widely in industry and academia to create effective interactive experiences.

You will learn about the user-centred design process that places a core emphasis on designing products, applications, and software for “people”. In particular, you will learn techniques for gathering and understanding a target audience’s requirements, the importance of universal design and accessibility, and methods for undertaking rapid prototyping.

An emphasis will also be placed on gaining practical experience in designing and conducting usability studies, as well as how to incorporate key findings back into the design process. You will apply this knowledge to design and evaluate an innovative digital prototype using industry standard tools.

One of the major objective of the computer science course is to introduce the theory, principles and technologies underlying the construction of modern computing systems. This module introduces Cloud Computing, which is the technology that enables on-demand computing resources (everything from applications to data centres) over the Internet.

This technology has revolutionized modern computing by allowing users to access infinite pool of computing services and resources on a pay-per-use basis. This module introduces the fundamental concepts and technologies related to cloud computing architecture, platforms and services. The module follows a practical approach to equip the students with hands-on experience of cloud computing by using a public Cloud service, such as Amazon Web Services.

Mobile technologies, particularly in the form of smart phones, are now the de-facto mode for us to communicate and navigate information. Building on this success, wearables have the potential to make computer technology ubiquitous. Although encompassing many forms, probably the most prevalent example of wearables is seen in the emergence of powerful ‘smart watches’.

This module explores the direction mobile and wearable technologies are taking and aims to equip students with the essential design and programming skills to develop their own robust, usable and ubiquitous applications for at least one of the most popular mobile and smart watch platforms (such as Google’s Android / Wear and Apple’s iOS / watchOS).

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a core component of computer science, aiming at developing intelligent agents that mimic human’s cognitive capability in learning, reasoning, and problem solving. As a branch of AI, machine learning (ML) allows to create software that adapts and learns (from examples), rather than being explicitly programmed for a particular outcome. Both AI and ML rely on managing, processing and analysis of large datasets, something that Data Science (DS) is concerned with. Many services provided by technology giants such as Google, Microsoft, IBM, Facebook, Amazon, etc. are powered by DS, ML and AI. The recent advances in these subjects have already led to significant industrial applications such as self-driving cars and Industry 4.0.