Department of Computer Science

Department of Computer Science

Higher Diploma in Information Technology (HDipIT)

Course Information for New Applicants Academic Year 2012/2013

Start Date
Monday 27th August 2012 The course begins on Monday 27th August with a three week introductory course in computer programming. Note this course is delivered prior to the normal semester start date on 17th September and runs concurrently with orientation week beginning 10th September.. Participation in this foundation course is essential for understanding material presented in subsequent modules during the term.

Introduction
The Higher Diploma in Information Technology is an intensive postgraduate conversion course intended for a graduate whose primary degree is not in the field of Computing. The course blends traditional elements of computer science theory and practice with modern areas of application in an Internet context. A feature of the course is an emphasis on practical work and experience with modern tools for developing and managing software and web based digital content. On completion of the course participants would be expected to reach a level of competence equivalent to that of a 3-year computer science graduate programme.

Entrance Requirements
Applicants for the course are required to hold a university degree, or its equivalent, in non-computing discipline(s) recognised by the Senate of the University. Applicants who have taken substantial computing units previously may not be admitted.

Costs & Registration
Fee for full-time EU applicants is €2,750 for 2012/13 with the Higher Education Authority subsidising the remainder. The fee for non-EU applicants is €15,000.

All registrations are handled in the first instance through the Postgraduate Application Centre(PAC) at http://www.pac.ie. A €25 fee is required on application and a €200 non refundable deposit is required to secure your place when offered.

The Information and Communication Technology Industry in Ireland
The information and communication technology (ICT) sector generally employs about 70,000 people and is responsible for about one third of Ireland’s total exports. The trend in the subsectoral employment mix is currently away from electronic manufacturing where many of the lower skilled jobs in the sector were concentrated and towards software which predominantly employs people with high-level ICT skills, according to the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs 2008. Most top international companies in the world have significant bases of operations here. For example, Microsoft, Lotus/IBM, Novell, Oracle, Symantec, Ebay, Google, HP and Intel.

The software industry in Ireland is worth about €12 Billion in exports with about €2 Billion of this accounted for by 600 indigenous Irish companies, the rest from multinationals. It has particular strengths in systems software and middleware; insurance and banking applications; telecommunications software; e-learning; and healthcare and employment levels in the sector are approaching 50,000. One of the major needs identified by software companies is for more people with expertise in computing and with other domain specific knowledge such as a business qualification.

A desperate shortage of Irish computing graduates is forcing high-tech firms to recruit from overseas. Ernst & Young has said that 70pc of technology firms here in Ireland believe there is a real and very genuine skills shortage: While we need to be good at attracting and retaining foreign nationals to fill these jobs, we need to be up skilling local nationals to compete for these jobs too.

The Third Level Computing Forum is a representative body from Universities, Government Agencies and Business set up by the National Software Directorate and supported by the Department of Enterprise. The Forum suggests in 2009 that as other parts of the Irish economy suffer, the software sector continues to prosper, with demand for graduates with computing and related skills greater than the supply.

Recruitment websites are currently showing significant numbers of job vacancies in the I.T. sector and we are certainly looking at a huge number of unfilled posts. Given the jobs crisis that we are in, it will come as a huge shock to people to think that there are still thousands of jobs available in a sector that provides secure and well paid employment.

Many “lost” jobs are simply moving to service providers as businesses use outsourced IT solutions, Virtualization and Cloud computing services. There are various job opportunities in areas such as Help Desk and general IT support and admin, Web and mobile application development, Datacenter maintenance and operations, Project Management and Service Integration skills.

As well as the job opportunities, computing as an interesting area of study with a broad educational value that opens many doors. The flexibility of career paths, and the wide range of business, social, medical and artistic areas with which computing interacts can make it particularly attractive to women.

What is the difference between Computer Science and Information Technology?
Computer Science concerns itself with the representation and processing of information using algorithmic techniques. Computer Science theory centres about evolution and development of models of computation, programming methodologies and the expression of computation, commonly through programming languages. Computer Science defines what is meant by computation, it defines the boundaries of what can and cannot be computed and the means to determine how easy or difficult it might be using different computational models and programming tools.

Computer Science practice centres about building software, systems and the specification and assessment of their properties. Computation is used to automate and solve real world problems and Computer Science defines how problems can be modelled and represented abstractly, how efficient and verifiable solutions can be derived and expressed and describes the process and methodology that is used to take a project from initial problem concept to turnkey solution.

Computer Science application and research often combines the pillars of information management, computation and system design with other domain specific areas linking aspects of engineering, science arts and mathematics. Such domain specific research includes Robotics and Control, Machine Vision and Human-Machine Interaction, Geographic Information Systems, Music Technology, Finance, Media Studies and so on. The combination of degrees and domain knowledge expertise in other disciplines with Computer Science opens a wealth of employment opportunities.

Computer Science is rigorous, like any science, in that new hypotheses, concepts and designs are subject to assessment and revision and must be shown to meet specifications, or have demonstrable added value or novelty and be repeatable under peer scrutiny. The development of frameworks for evaluation and provability of designs and various testing and correctness techniques are central to the discipline.

Information Technology is the hardware and software products and systems that result from the work of Computer Science and other disciplines associated with generation, manipulation, storage, retrieval, analysis and sharing digital information of all kinds. A computer, an iPod, a mobile phone, a camcorder, Microsoft Word, Adobe Premiere, Mozilla Firefox, Moodle, Linux, Windows Vista, a Wireless Network, a Sky TV box, a GPS unit, a social networking site, an information portal, a payment transaction service, are all examples of information technology. Exposure, experience and understanding of many such technologies is acquired during practical work associated with the course.

Generic Character Qualities for Computer Science
Affinity for Technology and interest in the application of technology for the benefit of mankind – Embrace and promote new technologies, new ways of interacting with technology or benefiting from it, for things like personal and business productivity, social networking, recreation. Interest in new ways of working, interacting, representing and digesting information. Do you have an ipod , gps, use bebo/facebook/youtube/twitter, record and edit digital media, use office applications, online banking, ebay etc?

Good Communicator – Competency using a language as a tool to achieve an objective. Essential for clear and organized explanation and expression of ideas, stating requirements and specifications, communicating results, teamwork collaboration, supporting, defending and criticising. Are you good at languages or essay writing?

A Logical mind – Do you like figuring out solutions to problems? Do you like to think about better ways of doing things? Do you pay attention to detail and get satisfaction from knowing something is done elegantly, efficiently and correctly? Are you idealistic or philosophical?

Self Discipline - Are you organized, capable of focusing and seeing something through to the end? Do you plan your time, or keep a diary. Are you dependable and timely, capable of working on your own?

Numerate – Many application areas of Computer Science involve mathematics of some kind when modelling real world situations and numbers are used to represent, reference and manipulate many abstractions in computations. Mathematics is relevant to the theoretical aspects of Computer Science and to many domain specific areas of application. Are you comfortable with mathematics? Have you encountered any statistical techniques or training?

Competency in English, Mathematics, Philosophy and/or other subjects may be an indicator of many of these qualities which serve as a guide as to your likelihood of success with Computer Science.

Indicative Programme Description for 2011 (May be subject to module substitution in any given year)
The HDipIT is a full-time programme with a high number of contact hours which generally makes other employment commitments virtually impossible. The programme consists of a twelve taught modules each comprising of lectures, laboratory hours, tutorials and self study selected from the list below. Modules are examined by a combination of written examination at the end of the semester in which they are delivered and by continuous assessment of laboratory work and assignments for each module during the semester. The modules which can be chosen are as follows:-

List of Modules:

Further Information is available on our web site at http://www.cs.nuim.ie

Contact us at:

Department of Computer Science
National University of Ireland Maynooth
Co. Kildare

Phone: (01) 7083848
Fax: (01) 7083847
Email: admin@cs.nuim.ie

Computer Science Department , NUI Maynooth
Tel: +353-1-708 3847 | Fax: +353-1-708 3848| Email: admin@cs.nuim.ie

National University of Ireland, Maynooth

Department of Computer Science