P.Grad.Dip. Computer Science - Future Networked Systems

Program Overview

Course Description

The new M.Sc. in Computer Science has a common set of entry criteria and leads to a Master's degree in Computing, specializing in one of four exciting areas: Data Science, Intelligent Systems, Augmented & Virtual Reality and Future Networked Systems. The course is designed and taught by staff who are leading experts in their fields, and the course content is inspired by their cutting-edge work as well as their contacts with leading industry researchers around the globe. We expect our graduates to be in high demand for high-end research and development positions within leading multi-national companies and start-up companies alike. In some cases our graduates have gone on to take up funded PhD studies at TCD.

The Future Networked Systems strand deals with how things become smart and connected as software systems are more and more embedded in our everyday environments, from mobile social networking to managing city resources such as road traffic. Dealing with such large-scale, cyber-physical and distributed systems requires novel approaches that address timeliness, safety, privacy and scale challenges. The strand builds on research activity within the CONNECT national research centre and a long history of innovation and start-up companies at the school.

Previous graduates from the strand have gone on to work in software engineering, fintech and other roles in companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, Citi and Genesys.

The course is taught over a full calendar year, with two 12-week semesters of taught modules, involving attendance at labs and lectures, followed by dedicated research work over the remaining summer months for the MSc Dissertation.

In the first term (September - December), all students gain the necessary skills in a number of Core Modules common to the M.Sc. Programme. These include Research Methods (to enable students to produce their own dissertation), Innovation (to equip students with skills in company formation or innovating within a large company) and Machine Learning (a foundational technique for each of the specializations). In addition, students will make a start on specialist modules in their chosen strand. Arising from research within the school's Smart & Sustainable cities research centre, the Urban Computing module will explore the techniques for gathering urban data, management of that data, visualization and alerts and will involve the development of a complete smart city application. The Next Generation Networks module explores future trends in fixed and wireless communications networks including next-generation access, LTE and Software-Defined network technologies. Scalable Computing looks at how applications and workloads can be serviced by warehouse-scale computing facilities. The module will explore cloud architectures, resource management and security considerations. The module in Advanced Software Engineering, running over both semesters, will explore the methods and techniques involved in large-scale software development encompassing Agile and eXtreme Programming (XP), Test-driven development and Re-factoring.

During the second term (January – March), students begin foundational work on their dissertation, and immerse themselves in further specialist modules of their chosen strand. These include Internet of Things, where we explore the technology underlying this burgeoning area including middleware, service discovery and composition and sensor and network virtualization. Practical exercises will lead you through design, implementation and deployment of an end-to-end IoT application. The Security & Privacy module will complement other modules covering topics such as Authentication, Digital Rights Management Cloud security and user privacy. Distributed Systems will deal with concurrency, the science of distributed transactions, web services and advanced application frameworks.

In addition, students choose three additional electives (one in Term 1 and two in Term 2) from a pool of modules offered in the other strands of the M.Sc. programme.

The summer term (April – August) will be exclusively focused on the Dissertations, doing experimental work, building prototypes and writing up the work. By April, students will have chosen a Dissertation topic, picked and consulted with their chosen supervisor and be ready to devote substantial time to researching and prototyping your work. We expect that the top projects should deliver publishable quality papers over this period. During the year, all projects will be showcased to an industry audience comprising indigenous, small & medium employers and multinational companies.

Please note that the course content is updated on an annual basis and some changes occur from year to year. Students accepted on the course will be given formal module descriptors before the start of term.