Digital and Technology Solutions Professional Degree Apprenticeship Software Engineering drafted

Program Overview

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Introduction

Our BSc (Hons) Digital and Technology Solutions degree programmes adhere to the Degree Apprenticeship Standard for Digital and Technology Solutions Professionals.

Our Software Engineering pathway covers the learning outcomes for Software Engineer, Cyber Security Analyst and Data Analyst specialisms, because we believe  that this career path requires its practitioners to be as highly skilled and expert in all three areas as possible.

The rules for the Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship mandate that students may only undertake one end-point assessment and this must be in their named pathway.

Graduates will gain a range of skills, knowledge and understanding across six core job role areas: business analyst, cyber security analyst, data analyst, IT consultant, network engineer and software engineer. Graduates of this degree will have expertise in programming (procedural, object-oriented, functional, and parallel), software engineering, web and mobile app development, relational databases, Big Data, machine learning, cloud computing, and cyber security. We also offer a Network Engineering pathway.

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Program Outline

Course modules

This is a degree apprenticeship delivered according to the Digital and Technology Solutions Professional standard. It is delivered over a minimum of three years and one semester, as part of an integrated degree apprenticeship. It consists of six modules at each of Level 4, 5 and 6.

Full downloadable information regarding all University of Suffolk courses, including Key Facts, Course Aims, Course Structure and Assessment, is available in the Definitive Course Record

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3 and 4

Platforms

This covers the principles of computer systems, hardware components, the essence of operating systems, and relevant computing-related mathematics. This module will provide the foundational underpinning to enable students to progress deeper into the disciplines of computing and networking, and a grasp of the history of computing, recent developments and its possible future.

Introduction to Networking

This module introduces the concepts of communications and networking. It explores the Open Systems Interconnectivity (OSI) 7-layer reference model and TCP/IP Routing Suite (the 5-layer Internet reference model). TCP/IP is the model which is most commonly deployed in the majority of modern-day networks.

Personal and Professional Development

This module covers the concepts of personal development, effective study, and self-awareness. It also explores the professional, legal and ethical standards and guidelines that influence commercial and technical operation, and to give opportunities for students to reflect on them, and apply them, within their own working environment.

Foundations of Management

This module offers an introduction to the most important business functions. It examines how organisations create value through their functional operations and the people they employ, and covers organisational culture, structure, marketing and various elements of management.

Operating Systems

This module will introduce the concepts of operating systems, including their structure, memory and storage management, protection and security. Designed with software developers in mind, it will look closely at real-world operating systems such as Windows and UNIX.

Introduction to Programming

This module introduces the concepts of programming and a modern programming language. Through programming practicals, students will become fluent in structured programming constructs, procedural programming and object-oriented programming.

Relational Databases

Database systems, particularly those based on the Relational Database Model, play a significant role in the world of Information Technology. This module provides essential knowledge and appreciation of the role of relational database systems, including basic principles and practice of design, implementation and development for both system designers and software engineers. It will include practical exercises in Structured Query Language.

Research Skills

Research skills are an essential set of capabilities in the toolkit of a computing professional. In this module, students will develop knowledge and understanding of the purpose, processes, methods (surveys, experiments, interviews, case studies, etc.), analysis (qualitative and quantitative), and outputs of research and will be able to apply them.

Software Design Development and Engineering

This module focuses on all phases of the modern software engineering lifecycle and advanced software engineering topics, including critical software, secure software, formal methods and project management from the practitioner’s perspective. This will be put into practice through the requirements gathering, design, implementation and testing of an extensive project that meets the needs of a particular enterprise.

Multimedia, Mobile and Internet

This module covers multimedia, mobile and web technologies such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and PHP. Students will learn design and development skills particular to the world of mobile-first and response web design, as well as covering web and app vulnerabilities, attack techniques and defensive countermeasures to protect software, services and data.

Advanced Networking Concepts

This module provides software engineers with a more in-depth and hands-on understanding of networking concepts, technologies and protocols. The module will cover a number of specific switching and routing techniques and technologies, including those that are intended to provide a measure of security to such networking devices and how these are configured using scripting languages and/or graphical user interfaces (GUIs).

Data Structures Algorithms and Advanced Programming

This module focuses on data structures (e.g. linked lists, trees, heaps, hash tables, etc), algorithms (sorting, searching, dynamic programming, greedy, graph, geometric, cryptographic, string matching and compression algorithms, etc), and advanced programming techniques and other language paradigms.

Cyber Security (Attack)

This provides insights into the mindset of cyber attackers, a secure understanding of the ethics and legal issues in this area, and knowledge and skills in attack technologies and techniques.

Cyber Security (Defense)

This provides a detailed knowledge and understanding of the techniques and tools available to a security professional, and the practical skills in selecting, evaluating, designing, implementing and deploying defences to protect vulnerable software, networks and systems.

Emergent Technologies

In this module, students will have the opportunity to learn about the newest technologies, trends and advances in software, networks, cyber security and data science, and to gain an understanding of the techniques of technology forecasting.

Distributed Systems

This provides a systematic understanding of distributed operating systems, software services and applications in terms of their architectures, functionality and behaviour. It includes case studies on the “Internet of Things”, blockchains, and cloud computing as well as topics on parallel programming.

Information Engineering

This covers the full range of skills and knowledge required for “Big Data” including parallel and NoSQL databases, statistical modelling and programming, machine learning, data analytics and visualisation.

Synoptic Project (Software Engineer)

This is a major project in a specialist area of software engineering, addressing a specific real-world business or research issue, suggested by the student, an employer or a staff member. A typical software engineer synoptic project could be a project to design and develop a significant piece of software or a new software product prototype to achieve defined business objectives, for a defined user group or customer group, using one of the defined languages, within defined business processes, and applying appropriate levels of security. It will include significant project planning including estimations of both time and cost to proposed solutions, include technical and commercial aspects of the proposed solution. Projects may be undertaken individually or in groups if the problem topic supports a team approach.

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Career opportunities

Typical roles Software Engineering apprentices may pursue include: Cloud Computing Specialist, Computer Programmer, Data Analysts, Database Specialist, Software Engineer, Software Security Specialist, Software Tester, Technical Project Manager, Web Designer and Web Developer.

The Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship is built on our successful Communication Technologies degrees. One of our graduates said:

"The computing degrees available at the University of Suffolk set me up for my current job. As a Software Engineer who was also studying, I got to learn best practices and skills at the university which would be used in my job the very next day. The content delivered is real-world, current, and gives you the foundation you need to jump on to any other topic in the world of computer science."