International Foundation Programme - Computing drafted

Program Overview

What will I study?

The International Foundation Programme supports your integration to UK study by providing you with an opportunity to explore the style and strengths of the British approach to teaching and learning. For example, you will learn to how to engage critically with a range of academic texts to enrichen your understanding of the subject area along with its application to professional practice and behaviour.

In addition, the teaching of Computing modules means you will deepen your English language, academic listening and reading capabilities, your ability to interpret your findings and present to your peers and tutor, in appropriate written and oral format – specific to the requirements of undergraduate degrees in Computing.

You will develop your academic skills, techniques and processes with an emphasis on building your personal capacity for creativity, critical and independent thinking. You will also learn how to demonstrate effective academic writing, analysis skills, interpersonal communication and the ability to work in multi-cultural teams.

Study plan

How will I be taught and assessed?

Contact hours

Self-study hours

Guidance tutor

Assessment

Formative and summative assessments which are made up of portfolio tasks, written coursework, project planning, group and individual presentations, self and peer reflections, learning journals and examinations.

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Program Outline

All modules are core and worth 20 credits unless specified.

12 and 9 month IFP students only

Term of study will depend on entry point. Students on the 12 month IFP will have 2 periods of this module. 9 month IPF students will have 1 period.

This module provides you with the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the skills needed to study in a UK university. You will learn about UK Higher Education culture, and acquaint yourself with the many university support mechanisms to develop your skills and thrive at university. This will be learnt through a number of ways including onsite communicative and task-based learning. This will engage you in the active use of the English language and encourage you to study at university more proactively and independently. In addition, you will also be introduced to your subject specialisms and the International Foundation Programme as a whole.

Students on the 12-month International Foundation Programme will study 2-terms of this module.

All students will study the following modules:

This module is designed to help you to meet the English level needed for both the International Foundation Programme and your undergraduate degree, and to give you the tools you need to become an independent language learner. It will teach you how to learn language for academic study, take responsibility for your own language learning, and gain the habits of continuous learning which you will need on your undergraduate program.

You will learn to develop your:

You will develop your skills in this area and improve your ability to apply them in the subject of your undergraduate degree

The aim of this module is to equip you with some of the skills that are necessary for preparing you for studying at university and starting your journey into employment. The module comprises several skill areas. The aim of the module is to create a friendly, interactive, and inclusive learning environment. Personal skills will support the identification of your skills and abilities through targeted activities whilst looking at ways to maximise your presence within both a university context and the wider workplace.

Project management skills include working with others, delegation, participation and reflecting on approaches taken.

The Academic Practice module has a series of practical sessions that link with your other pathway modules to prepare you for your undergraduate degree. These sessions feature the broad range of essential study skills such as research and working with sources, use of digital tools, writing and presentation skills, and reflection and action planning.

Developing and improving study skills is a gradual process. It is also an individual process. If you are new to higher education or have not studied for some time, you may feel worried about tackling your first assignment; taking an exam; or juggling study with other commitments. Here, this module is designed to help you to acquire the academic literacy and language skills you need to succeed at university.

In the first section of this module, you will study the basics of web technologies and you will learn how they support the needs of modern organisations. Moreover, you will study the security related problems that information systems can create for organisations. You will engage in analysing case studies to enhance your understanding of the benefits and problems of information systems for organisations.

In the second section of this module, you will study the basics of web design and web evaluation. Effective and efficient implementation of information systems within an organisation needs careful consideration of end users. Using computer labs, you will be able to implement a web evaluation technique on ecommerce websites. This section of the module will develop your design skills and website development.

The continued and ever changing digital landscape requires you to be open, flexible and adaptable to meet the needs of a rich digital environment. This module is designed to prepare you with the fundamentals of a range of industry standard software to practically navigate your way in this ever expanding digital world.

Embracing new technology and concepts to communicate your message enables you to reach potential clients, businesses and organisations regardless of where they may be located. The digital skills developed on this module offer the opportunity for you to increase your capacity for creative, innovative and original thought.

This hands-on module aims to broaden your digital literacy and uncover your digital potential, ensuring you are ready, not only for further study but for the wider digital economy.

This module will equip you with vital knowledge of computing that will enable you to succeed in your studies at Northumbria University. Computing and information technology has changed and is changing society and how we work and life. But what is information? How is information created, stored, and processed? Using many hands-on practical sessions you will be exposed to some of the latest technologies underlying the Internet of things. You will be challenged to find your own solutions to some of the classic problems of computing and develop your key problem-solving skills.

Using some of the latest educational tools you wrangle your own code. While your future might not be the creation of code, seeing the basics of how it is done will equip you for a world where code creates your future.

Managing projects that produce a final outcome/artefact are an everyday part of working and academic life. Learning the skills of how to organise your time, find resources and use your personal strengths is essential for your future career. This module is designed to support you to carry out a project in your subject-specific area and will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to complete your project successfully.

You will gain an understanding of the essential steps in the project life cycle and have the opportunity to evaluate and reflect on your (and your fellow students’) progress throughout the project work, to the project completion stage.

This module will also introduce you to academic research skills and develop your ability to critically appraise and organise material. This module takes a holistic and reflective approach to your learning, with you developing a portfolio of your improved project planning, research and evaluation skills, and production of an artefact.

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The course information displayed on this page is correct for the academic year 2022/23. We aim to run the course as advertised however, changes may be necessary due to updates to the curriculum (due to academic or industry developments), student demand or UK compliance reasons.