Computing guide 2015

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.ac.u www.beds

* Excellent equipment * Meet staff and students * Successful graduates

WELCOME

www.beds.ac.uk

The University of Bedfordshire has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2011, the most prestigious corporate award that any UK business can win.

con t e n t s 3

NEWS

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Welcome. Stand by your terminals and THE TEAM 4 MEET upgrade your future by taking a tour of our Department of Computer Science and Technology. 8 CAMPUS FACILITIES Meet the inspirational people who have turned their talent for all 10 COURSE LISTINGS things techie into tangible results.

We’ve invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in our facilities. So, from animation and robotics to online security and database management tools, our dedicated computer labs will stand up to the most rigorous of tests.

Students, staff and graduates whose intelligence is not artificial

The data on our cutting-edge labs

Choose your Computing degree

© University of Bedfordshire, 2014. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part strictly prohibited without the permission of the publishers. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the University of Bedfordshire. Information correct at date of publication, but subject to change.

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Subject Guide Computer Science, Engineering & Technology

Working with business

Outward bound Computing at Bedfordshire isn’t just about sitting in front of a PC all day. Students have been out enjoying visits to forensic labs and magistrates’ courts as part of their courses.

At Luton and South Bedfordshire Magistrates’ Court, Computer Security and Forensics students (pictured above) were briefed on the function of the court and also attended some of its morning sessions.

Students also went on a tour of the forensic laboratories at 7Safe in Cambridge

and had training on forensic investigation and security testing.

Student Ayo Omotade said: “It was rewarding to witness the operational side of forensic activities and to see what a real forensic laboratory looks like and how evidence is preserved. The highlight was when we did sample hands-on exercises.”

Cambridge-based 7Safe is a partner of the University of Bedfordshire’s Department of Computer Science and Technology.

Our computing and electronics students undertake commercial projects with travel companies, charities, sports organisations, the police… in fact just about anyone who deals with products or people. Students go through employability and transferable skills training so you understand business needs, project control and effective negotiation, as well as the technical side of computing and technology.

Student Zachary Cohen, who developed a mobile phone switch controller working with Axis Electronics, said: “Seeing how they run a business in the real world was amazing. We learnt so much about the demands of quality control that you just wouldn’t understand in a purely classroom-based course.”

It’s up to you to volunteer for the projects on offer – you get tangible experience on your CV, and the chance to impress potential employers. The whole point is to help you into better employment after graduation.

The University ire of Bedfordsh for st fir ed nk ra is ent ud st improving the l na io at (N e experienc ey rv Su t en Stud 2014)

Be our guest Students on Computer Science and Technology courses benefit from the expertise of staff with years of practical industry experience.

We are well supported by two visiting lecturers who are veterans of the computer games industry.

Tony Bickley, former Head of European Development for Konami games, has provided our students with an insight into the

publisher-developer relationship and has helped coach students in how to pitch their game ideas in a commercially realistic environment.

Steve Goodwin, who has had a 20 year career in the industry, and who has worked for numerous games companies including Playfish, helps students to understand how to polish their games to a professional, publishable standard.

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meet the team

GRADUATES IN DEMAND

Let us put you on the path to a career in IT Our Department of Computer Science and Technology is proud of its reputation for preparing students for real-world careers, topped by accolades and accreditation from professional bodies.

The Department was nominated for the European Electronics Industry’s University Department of the Year Award. Our degrees in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Computer Games Development, Computer Networking and Software Engineering gained Chartered Information Technology Professional status from the British Computing Society (BCS). Some of our courses are also accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Our students benefit from highly qualified staff at the forefront of their fields, as well as advanced facilities, links

with business, and cutting-edge research. The Government’s Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008 rated our Computing and Informatics research as “internationally excellent”. What’s more, the department maintains close relationships with world-leading companies such as National Instruments and 7Safe.

We also have our University Campus Milton Keynes (UCMK), which has a dedicated portfolio of courses in engineering, computing and technology and runs courses which are tailored to the local market. The campus offers great facilities including two purpose-built electronics and telecommunications laboratories and a large general purpose computer lab giving hands-on experience to IT students.

Within six months of graduating, more than 92 per cent of our graduates are in work and/or in further study (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education 2014 ).

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Subject Guide Computer Science, Engineering & Technology

name

Kirsty Pullinger course

BSc (Hons) Building Technology Q W hy did you choose this course?

A It’s relevant to my job as a trainee timber frame designer.

Q H ow does this course prepare you for employment?

A Assignments simulate professional projects and we take on different roles such as project managers, surveyors and designers.

That has broadened my knowledge of the construction industry, improved my confidence, and helped me to become more involved in work projects.

Q W hat aspects of the course have you enjoyed the most?

A Researching new technologies in environmental construction and applying them to assignments and design proposals.

PHOTOGRAPHY: LAURIE FLETCHER

Q A ny advice for people thinking of studying at the University of Bedfordshire?

A You don’t have to take the typical route straight from school. Most people in my class work full-time. We use this course to improve our career chances and enhance the knowledge base of our jobs.

Q W hat are your future career aspirations?

A I found the course focus on environmental policies particularly interesting and it made me want to pursue a specialist environmental role in construction.

Q A ny advice for new students?

A Make sure you understand what’s being said clearly before moving on. www.beds.ac.uk 5

meet the team

Name

Lyzgeo Koshy GRADUATED

BSc (Hons) Software Engineering (2014) JOB

Capacity Planning and Performance Analyst

Name

Q W hy did you choose the course?

A I grew to love working with computers through work experience while at school. I loved the challenge of this course.

BSc (Hons) Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

Q W hat was the best thing about your course?

A The majority of the work was done in groups, which enhanced everyone’s interpersonal skills and developed teamwork.

Q H ow would you rate the facilities?

A The University provides good facilities which helped me to accomplish my aims.

Q H ow would you rate the staff?

A I rate them 10/10. They worked very hard to help us achieve our goals.

Q H ow did your course prepare you for your job?

A It gave me the knowledge and skills to work in the real world.

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Timothy Gentle course

Q Why did you choose this course?

A I ’ve always been interested in automation and efficiency. The University of Bedfordshire is one of the few universities covering the right topics in a way I wanted.

Q How about the University’s location?

A I t’s an ideal base with a large town, but it’s also close to London.

Q What’s the best thing about your course?

A T he social aspect. Being able to talk to lecturers in a friendly way is a great help.

Q What support does the University of Bedfordshire offer to students?

A It’s tremendous. I can email any member of staff for support with any kind of problem. If they can’t help me, they’ll tell me who can.

Q Have you undertaken any work placements?

A Yes, a week of coding scripts for the European Commission’s IT department in Brussels.

Q Would you recommend this course?

A Yes. It gives you the base to target a number of industries, such as advertising, through adaptive and predictive thinking, or engineering due to the robotics side, and of course the entire computer science world is open to you.

Q Are you enjoying life at the University?

A I’ve been having fun exploring computers and spending time with a wide circle – wait, make that a polygon – of friends I’ve made.

Q Three words to describe your course?

A Suited for all.

Subject Guide Computer Science, Engineering & Technology Name

Laura Collins course

BSc (Hons) Computer Security & Forensics

to the company’s investigators. It’s great to see forensic investigations in action and to work with powerful software that recovers deleted files. I’ve picked up a huge amount of information.

Q W hy did you choose this course?

A Computer Security and Forensics is a fascinating subject. As a branch of digital science, it calls for hard skills, but intuition comes into it too when you have to get into the mindset of a hacker or someone who is trying to exploit the vulnerabilities of an operating system.

Q H ow did the Department help you in securing the work placement?

A I was encouraged to apply for it after my successful course assignment which involved creating a legal audit trail of evidence from a breached computer system. The department also gave me lots of advice on my CV and my covering letter.

Q W hat’s the best thing about your degree?

A With the Department’s amazing support I was able to secure a year-long, paid work placement with CY4OR. The company specialises in uncovering digital evidence in cases of serious crime. Working as a forensic technician, I help to provide technical support

Q W ould you recommend the University of Bedfordshire?

A Absolutely!

The University has been brilliant to me. Our course is solid academically, but also oriented to job opportunities. I am hoping now that the success I’ve had will inspire more girls to go into a career in IT. Name

Thomas Dolby GRADUATED

BSc (Hons) Computer Games Development (2010) JOB

Senior Programmer and Head of Games Development Team, A.i.Solve

See: uob.cc/benallen

Name

Professor Ben Allen Name

Reason Katsangu course

PHOTOGRAPHY: LAURIE FLETCHER, ED MILLER

BSc (Hons) Business Information Systems Q W hy did you choose Bedfordshire?

A It is a commercial university focused on what employers are looking for.

Q I s your course preparing you for a job when you graduate?

A Yes, through learning, experience and the placements.

Q W hat’s the best thing about your course?

A I am confident that it will help me get the job that I want!

SUBJECT

Professor of Computer Science & Technology Q T ell us about your academic background.

A I have a background in academia. I recently finished a PhD in wireless communications, which looked at 3G mobile phones. I completed that at the University of Bristol. I also lectured at King’s College London and contributed to their Telecommunications Research Centre.

Q What was the best part of your course?

A Turning

up to University and making computer games with my friends. The environment was so supportive, I didn’t even realise how hard I was working. When I entered employment, I was able to hit the ground running.

Q H ow did the University help prepare you for employment?

A The

University has a scheme which partners students with local companies. With the University’s help I secured a three month paid internship and then a permanent job with A.i.Solve, an interactive media company specialising in game and web development. I am now involved with many of the company’s UK projects from start to finish.

Q W hat opportunities does the University offer outside the classroom?

A There

are a number of opportunities to help enhance your studies, these all go towards making you more employable. Internships are available, so that you can experience working on real-world projects. We also encourage students to use the library resources and the careers service effectively as they all give the opportunity to widen the student experience. www.beds.ac.uk 7

campus facilities

FIRST-RATE RESOURCES Take 450 workstations, plus five servers, divided between 18 labs and upgraded every three years… it all equals fantastic facilities, plus our UCMK campus, Milton Keynes, which specialises in a range of engineering courses, and has fantastic facilities Whether it’s high-tech Dell computers and webcams or humanoid robots and motion-capture suits, our Department of Computer Science and Technology at the Luton campus has everything you need to get prepared for an exciting digital future.

MILLION-POUND INVESTMENT

We’ve invested big in new engineering and computing facilities and courses. Three new labs have the latest PC and AV technology and computer systems engineering software. The Rohde and Schwarz lab has been fitted out with the best in telecommunication equipment, and the National Instruments facility has the latest Labview specialist software and hardware. total connection

You’ll never have trouble logging on – with 450 workstations the ratio of computers to students is nearly twice that recommended by the British Computer Society. We upgrade a third of the machines every year – that way no machine is more than three years old. state-of-the-art Software

We have all the latest industry-standard software and we also have partnerships with some software suppliers, so that versions can be given to students or made available at a discount. hitting the labs

During term time our 18 labs are open from 9am to 9.30pm, Monday to Thursday, and 9am to 6pm on Friday. If you’re extra keen they can be opened on Saturday, depending on demand.

Our five dedicated teaching labs seat up to 30 students and are used for programming and database and web design.

We have two specialised graphics labs for teaching the latest computer modelling and virtual reality skills for use in animation, robotics, games development, security recognition, forensics and health research. Our labs are fitted with the latest PCs and Macs, fully loaded with the same software used to create and publish games for the Wii-U, PS4, X-box, Apple and Android stores. Plus, there are webcams, VRML headsets, 3D glasses and higher-end graphics 8 www.beds.ac.uk

cards. In addition, we have a Test Network lab for the teaching of networking and system administration. The room has its own internal network independent of the University network.

Our Human Computer Interface (HCI) lab is used for experiments to improve the interactions between users and computers. The lab can be set up with a video camera to record users’ experiences of different interfaces for operating systems and applications.

We make extensive use of virtual machines to allow students to experience a multitude of operating systems and specialised environments for teaching and project work. And, not forgetting, our two general purpose computer labs at our UCMK campus, giving hands on experience to IT students.

You’ll have access to studentnet, your very own virtual space where you can set up virtual machines, websites, sandbox projects or just a blog for a bit of fun. You’ll have full set up and system privileges of your own space to use as you wish.

The department also has its own web and database servers to help in the teaching of online web services. doing the Robot

We have new high-tech robotic equipment, including humanoid robots, robotic arms and wheeled robotic platforms. These are dedicated to teaching many of the techniques used in space exploration, decommissioning nuclear plants and performing surgery. We also have kits such as Lego Mindstorms, so that you can build, program and test robots and dismantle and rebuild PC hardware. finding a solution

Our High Performance Computer Cluster (HPCC) is over six feet tall and took two days to assemble. The cluster, which is based on a model used by NASA, involves multiple processors working together on a single problem to arrive at a faster solution, making it easier to analyse data and identify patterns and trends. securing Your future

Our Biometric Security and Computer

Forensics labs give our computer security students access to a range of biometric devices, including iris scanners, 2D and 3D face recognition, palm geometry, palm vein readers, and fingerprint and signature recognition equipment.

We also offer a wide range of industrystandard and commercial software, such as ‘Encase’ and ‘FTK’, and you can work with our specially built industry-standard Forensic Recovery of Evidence Device (FRED) to ensure that you are fully prepared for your career as a security and forensics professional.

Troubleshooting

The department has its own technical support team, who are always on hand to make sure everything runs smoothly. an excellent Resource

The Learning Resources Centre (LRC) at University Square has more than 300,000 books and 35,000 journals and e-journals, and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And, if the Department’s 450 workstations aren’t enough, there are also 300 networked PCs. There are also 1,000 seats, whiteboards, overhead projectors and video-viewing rooms. Students can communicate with each other and their tutors through podcasting, voice email and voice discussion boards at the LRC using the Wimba suite of voice tools. We also have our new seven-storey library opening in 2015 at our Luton campus. going the distance

Students can access lecture notes, blogs, podcasts, discussion boards and course announcements from anywhere, at any time, by logging on to the web-based distancelearning system Bedfordshire Resources for Education Online (BREO). work and play

We know you will be studying hard but computing doesn’t have to be all work and no play, so we’ve set up a games club on Wednesday afternoons. We have all the latest consoles, including Nintendo Wii and PS3, so you can play against your peers or on your own.

Subject Guide Computer Science, Engineering & Technology

Computer animation and computer games lab

Students benefit from our engineering and computing labs (far left), significant new investments in our industry-standard computer animation equipment (above) and forensic security hardware (left).

PHOTOGRAPHY: LAURIE FLETCHER, ED MILLER

Engineering hardware

Sophisticated hardware available to animators and games and robotics developers (left) is backed by RAM-packed PCs (far left) and clustered processing power (right) that’s capable of crunching its way through the most complex calculations.

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courSe listings

ON COURSE Choose from our range of excellent courses BSc (Hons)/BEng (Hons) refers to three or four year Bachelor’s Honours degrees. FDs are two-year foundation degrees, run at one or more of our partner colleges, and intended for people already in relevant employment, or students who are looking for classroom-based learning with an employment focus. A final year can be completed at the University in order to ‘top-up’ to an Honours degree.

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES BSc (Hons)

Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Luton campus This course will equip you with a range of highly sought-after skills and the latest knowledge on robotics, computing and artificial intelligence.

BSc (Hons)

Building Technology (stage 3 only) Luton campus Expanding on the skills learned at foundation level, you will develop skills needed for the construction industry and demonstrate a high level of understanding in building technology.

BSc (Hons)

Business Information Systems Luton campus You will benefit from the guidance of experts in business, computing and information systems as you study virtual management, finance for business, information technology project management and much more.

BSc (Hons)

Computer Games Development Luton campus This course will develop your skills to help you break into any area of computer graphics.

You will be able to create new games, write codes from scratch and much more.

BSc (Hons)

Computer Networking Luton campus The focus is on technical aspects of network design. It covers electronic communications, managing networks, e-commerce tools and techniques, and web database systems.

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Subject Guide Computer Science, Engineering & Technology

BSc (Hons)

Computer Science Luton campus In stages one and two you will be introduced to systems modelling and general computing topics. During stage three you will work on a specific project and demonstrate the skills you have acquired in the first two stages.

BSc (Hons)

Computer Science & Robotics Luton campus The course seeks to identify what intelligence is and how different intelligence machines can be constructed. It includes robotics technology, systems modelling and objectoriented programming.

BSc (Hons)

Computer Science & Software Engineering Luton campus You will study computer programming, systems modelling, systems methodologies, internet architecture and IT project management.

BSc (Hons)

Computer Security & Forensics Luton campus During this course you will study computer security and forensics. You will also benefit from specialised units in cryptography and cryptanalysis, as well as network security.

BEng (Hons)

Computer Systems Engineering UCMK campus This course covers the basic skills required of all engineers and provides knowledge of software design and implementation.

BSc (Hons)

Computing & Mathematics Luton campus You will explore computing, mathematics, statistics and operations research to develop skills to solve complex real-world problems.

BSc (Hons)

Construction Management (stage 3 only) Luton campus You will develop the skills learned at foundation level and will gain the knowledge to manage construction projects efficiently and effectively.

BSc (Hons)

We are a top 25 rsity ranked Unive ical and for our Electr neering gi Electronic En ional at (N s course ey rv Su t en ud St 2014)

Data Science* UCMK campus This course explicitly addresses the challenges coming from organisations using “Big Data�. In addition to statistics and software engineering, social media and the psychology of data, you will study professional project management and ethics. The second year includes specialist subjects such as the semantic of data, mining and interoperability strategies and information visualisation.

BEng (Hons)

Electronic Engineering UCMK campus You will develop skills in analogue and digital electronics, signal processing, sensors, control systems and embedded programming. It is a challenging and enjoyable course that could put you in a key position in the job market.

BSc (Hons)

Information Systems Luton campus You will be able to study a variety of topics, including IT systems building, IT project management, social and professional issues in computing and competitive advantages of IT. BSc (Hons)

Interactive Digital Technologies* Luton campus You will produce digital applications for entertainment, education and promotional purposes using industry standard tools.

FOUNDATION DEGREES FD

Building Services & Sustainability (Bedford College) FD

Building Technology (Luton campus) FD

Computer Networking & Systems Engineering* (UCMK campus) FD

Computer Networking & Systems Engineering (UCMK campus) FD

Construction Management (Luton campus) FD

International Foundation in Computing (Luton campus) FD

International Foundation in Engineering (UCMK campus) FD

IT Networking & Security (Bedford College) FD

Network Management (Barnfield College) FD

Sustainable Construction (Bedford College) FD

BSc (Hons)

Software Engineering Luton campus This course gives you a platform for specialist study in stages two and three. It is made up of projects, placements or sandwich years so that you can gain valuable real-world experience.

Web Design & Software Development (Barnfield College)

*Subject to approval

BEng (Hons)

Telecommunications & Network Engineering UCMK campus The course covers telecommunication systems, signal processing, mathematics, and programming. It also offers the chance to solve real-world problems and practise professional and project management skills.

Full course details can be downloaded at www.beds.ac.uk/courses

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University Campus Milton Keynes Saxon Court 502 Avebury Boulevard Milton Keynes MK9 3HS

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