Welcome 2025 Students

Start Date

Welcome Week will take place between Monday 15 September and Friday 19 September 2025. During Welcome Week your course team will schedule activities for you to find out important information about your course, meet your lecturers and other students, and find your way around.

Teaching on your course begins from Monday 22 September 2025. Please check your timetable for details.

You will be able to see your timetable on iCity using your BCU login details as soon as they are released. You should have received your BCU login details when you were invited to enrol.

You can also download the University Assistant app and sign up with your course details for updates on Welcome Week.

• Download app on iOS
• Download app on Google Play

International Students

We expect all international students to engage with the University from Monday 15 September 2025.

The final deadline to arrive in the UK to complete enrolment will be week 4 (w/c 13 October 2025).

Please check the guidelines on entering the UK from your country or territory before planning your journey.

Timetables

Course Leader

Syed Attique Shah

Welcome Message

Welcome to your MSc Advanced Computer Science! We have planned a range of activities for you to enjoy and to have fun meeting new people and engaging with our talks, workshops and union activities. These activities will help you find your way around the campus and also to enable you to meet your peers and tutors. The Advanced Computer Science MSc course provides its graduates with practical experience with models, techniques and tools from the forefront of the discipline that drive innovation in the design of software-based systems within this domain.

On the course, academic members of staff will teach topics and supervise projects according to their personal research interests. This gives students a cutting-edge experience, one that opens up new opportunities for career advancement in industry. For students who show aptitude for research, there is also the possibility of continuing their studies on a PhD course.

The philosophy of the course is to promote lifelong self-learning by providing a curriculum that promotes a variety of approaches to study. The curriculum is designed to develop not only the academic knowledge, but also the engineering ethos and practical skills required by the modern Computer Science professional.

To successfully complete the MSc Advanced Computer Science, students will need to demonstrate that they can:

• Discriminate and interpret the underlying principles on which computer systems are based and apply these principles to current and emerging technological trends.
• Apply relevant Computer Science theory and mathematical techniques.
• Compare and evaluate principles of Web engineering that support the development of mobile and Web systems.
• Collect, analyse and critique existing research materials in a systematic and comprehensive manner.
• Gather and evaluate qualitative and quantitative data using modern Computer Science research methodologies.
• Design and develop usable systems that exploit machine-to-machine connectivity.
• Document work in a professional manner, demonstrating ethical awareness and inter-personal skills.

Course Location

Your course will mainly be taught in:

STEAMhouse, City Centre Campus (Room numbers start with CST)

Supporting your transition

During Welcome Week, you’ll get to meet our Student Ambassadors as soon as you walk onto campus. They’ll be there to support you with finding your Student Support Centre, collecting your ID card and guiding you in the right direction, and for a friendly hello!

First day on Campus

We look forward to welcoming you to Birmingham City University!

You must have your ID card visible at all times when on campus, so if you have received yours before your first day, ensure you bring this with you. If you enrolled late you will need to collect one on campus during your first few days. Please remember that your ID card is for your use only. You must never let anyone else use it.

To complete your enrolment, you will need the following:

• Passport (or other form of photo ID if you are a UK/EU student)
• Original qualification documents if applicable (you will be emailed a list of the documents we need to see once you have completed your online enrolment)
• Visa (international students only)

What else? The rest is up to you! You will find a shop, café, pub, computer access and water fountains on campus, but we do recommend you bring the following on the first day:

• Laptop, if you have one
• Notepad and pen
• Reusable water bottle
• Snack
• Money

And remember, the weather in Birmingham can be changeable!