|
|
Frequently Asked Questions
-
I've heard there is strong demand for IT graduates now. Is the
situation sustainable?
The economy moves through employment
cycles and the message that employers and government
organisations are sending is that there
is a shortage
of people with advanced knowledge in
the different areas of computing, and that demand is expected to remain strong.
According to a report published in July 2006 by the British Computer Society on the challenges and opportunities facing the UK Software Development Industry:
"There is a significant skills gap in the UK that is especially marked in
IT and software development. Research estimates that 150,000 extra
employees are needed in IT each year, but only 20,000 graduates in
computer science and STEM subjects graduate from UK universities."
According to the UK Software and IT services sector review 2005/06 (UKTI):
"The UK software and computer services sector is
Europe’s largest. It generated sales of £33 billion in
2003, accounting for eight per cent of the global
market and three per cent of national GDP.
Computer services – systems integration and
consulting, computer services outsourcing and
business process outsourcing – generated £25.6
billion, and software £7.2 billion.
The sector employs about 600,000 people and
includes all the major global players. It is dominated
by foreign companies: in the UK market, only four of
the top 20 software companies and seven of the top
20 computer services providers are British. Four of the
top six US computer services companies have their
European HQs in the UK.
After two subdued years the market returned to growth
in 2004. With estimated growth of 5.4 per cent, the
UK continued to increase its share of the European
market. As the industry matures, demand is moving
more closely in line with economic growth and
consolidation continues both globally and in the UK.
High public spending has helped keep the UK market
relatively buoyant. The National Health Service is
currently implementing the world’s largest public sector
IT programme, involving contracts worth £5.6 billion
over ten years for an infrastructure that will support
high quality diagnosis, treatment and care nationwide.
Many more projects planned and proposed, at both
national and local government level, will sustain public
sector demand over the next few years."
Read also "Firms struggle to fill IT graduate positions" (Computer Weekly, December 13, 2007).
UP
-
How will my career evolve in the future?
In a fast evolving sector like IT, professions also change pretty quickly. More than a cause for concern, this offers excellent opportunities if you have a degree that has given you the background knowledge and skills that allow you to adjust to (if not drive) changes in business and technology.
Another important aspect is the choice of career.
Quoting from the British Computer Society report on the challenges and opportunities facing the UK Software Development Industry, developed countries are more likely to retain the development skills close to end user requirements,
the creative processes of designing software to fix particular business
or consumer needs. The software development jobs currently being off-shored are generally the lower end programming and coding skills, that is the sort
of skills that naturally move to low cost centres such as developing
countries. Hence the importance of taking a degree at a good university that will develop your skills at the higher end of the process where your capacity to "think computationally" is important.
Mike Rodd of the BCS draws a useful parallel
between how the engineering profession has developed and what is
currently happening in software development in the UK:
"As a young engineer some 30 years ago I was designing printed circuit
boards. But soon it became a routine technician’s job, and not what
professional engineers should be doing. It was also an easy thing to
send over
to Taiwan, it was an easy thing to outsource. I believe the real intellectual
level in the application of technology lies in the conceptual design, it’s in
the understanding of applications, it’s dreaming up the next generation
applications, it’s targeting the real users needs and, not the perceived
needs. Software design and the vetting and validation of that design is
where the real value is being added in the UK."
UP
-
What is the demand for graduates in Computing with Management?
Today, IT is very much at the core of any company or organisation and you will often hear that systems need to be aligned with the business and management structures in place. This means that companies and organisations need people who can combine a solid training in computing with knowledge of how businesses and organisations operate. This is the training that our BSc in Computing with Management will give you.
The following excerpt of an article that appeared on the Financial Times of November 1 2004 makes the point very clearly:
"[...] Mr Wooding [managing director of Grey Matter, a Devon-based software distribution and services company] himself has an unfilled vacancy among his team of 48 and says it could take him three months - or longer - to fill it. [...] Part of the challenge, he
says, is finding people with the right combination of skills. While many university IT graduates are skilled in
programming or development, they do not necessarily have the business or management skills increasingly needed in IT roles."
This is confirmed in a report from the influential Gartner group of December 2007 "The Quest for Talent: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet":
"The rising demand for business growth and business change will be poorly met by the
traditional supply of IT professionals. People who are prepared, willing, and able to lead
and understand business challenges and business change will be in short supply."
UP
-
What additional support for my future career do you provide during the degree?
Please see our careers page for information on how we can support the planning of your career both in the Department and the University in general. We also run an Industrial Advisory Board with successful computer scientists who help us ensure that your training is industrially relevant.
UP
-
Why is innovation so important?
In the knowledge economy in which we live, it is people who have developed the capacity to innovate that are most likely to succeed. Businesses need to keep innovating to remain competitive and profitable. IT systems play a pivotal role in supporting innovation whether that relates to the development of internal processes or to the creation of new products and services. This applies in virtually every area of activity (from banking to film making, or Formula 1, or even football!). Your future as an innovator is much brighter than as a user, i.e. your capacity to bring added-value to your profession by "thinking computationally" is much more important than your level of "computational literacy".
A report from the influential Gartner group of December 2007 "The Quest for Talent: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" makes this point very clearly:
"In the late 1990s, the skill shortage was just that
— a shortfall in particular technical skills. [...]
The shortage now taking hold
stretches beyond technical skills into a shortfall of people who are prepared, willing and able to
lead the charge for growth, innovation and change."
UP
-
What is "computational thinking" anyway?
"Computational Thinking" is an expression coined by Jeannette Wing from Carnegie-Mellon University (USA), which is becoming a way of calling the attention and interest of the general public for the intellectual adventure that there is in Computer Science:
"Computational thinking is a way humans solve problems; it is not trying to get humans to think like computers. Computers are dull and boring; humans are clever and imaginative. We humans make computers exciting. Equipped with computing devices, we use our cleverness to tackle problems we would not dare take on before the age of computing and build systems with functionality limited only by our imaginations".
UP
-
How will these degrees help me develop skills for innovation?
According to NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), the following skills are key for developing your potential to innovate and succeed in the most challenging (and profitable) markets: creativity, problem-solving, imagination, resourcefulness, and flexibility. These are ways in which our degrees can help you develop them:
-
creativity: Developing software is very much a creative activity as it requires something new to be produced that will "make the difference". Many stages of software production are accomplished mechanically (like compiling into machine code), but finding the best algorithm for the problem at hand, the right interface for the intended user, or the architecture that will best fit the business goals of your organisation are examples of activities that require a creative (and informed) mind. During your studies, you will be given the opportunity to exercise and learn how to channel your creativity in developing projects, both individually and in teams.
-
problem-solving: A lot of programming is about getting a computer to solve a problem (could be that of a customer or one that you set yourself!)! But there is more to IT besides learning how to program. For a start, how do you formulate the problem? How do you break the complexity of your problem and devise a plan for the development of your software (including outsourcing the development of parts of your solution)? What is the best language to program your solution (or your part of the solution)? Finally, how can you make sure that your system solves the problem (or convince others that it does)?
-
imagination: If anything, you will have to learn how to control your imagination and learn that not all that you think a computer can do is actually possible to program! You will also learn methods and techniques that will allow you to model and test solutions that you conceptualise before they are put into production.
-
resourcefulness: Software professionals are expected to be able to build, contribute to and know how to draw from libraries or repositories of algorithms or components (solutions). You will learn methods and techniques (for instance, inheritance in object-oriented programming) through which software can be reused, developed in product families, customised to different domains, or re-engineered to run on new platforms.
-
flexibility: A skill that you will acquire for a lifetime is certainly the capacity to adapt to future advances and changes in technology. The main difference between a university degree like ours and a shorter vocational training course is that you will learn far beyond the usage of a particular language or platform (which would quickly become obsolete). It is not the number of languages and systems that will make you stand out but your ability to learn and work with the ones that come into the market or that you find at your new employer.
UP
-
What are the main differences between Computer Science, Computing, and Computing with Management?
The reason we offer more than one degree is that, like in many other areas, one-size-fits-all does not really apply to our discipline! The professions in IT are multiple, reflecting the increasing role that IT is having in all the sectors of the economy and society.
We can distinguish between profiles or classes of activities that IT professionals are normally called to perform, which can be reflected in different degrees that add to a general common background training in areas that are particularly relevant for that profile. The three degrees that we are offering address three different broad profiles as explained below.
We should add that one cannot say that one degree is "easier" or "better" than another. The difference between our degrees is not one of quality or difficulty, but a mere consequence of the fact that there is more than one profession in IT and that not everyone enjoys doing or learning the same sort of things!
-
Computing with Management responds directly to the need for IT professionals that, besides having essential skills in computing, are also knowledgeable about the role that software systems play in companies and organisations, the way they need to reflect and support organisational structures (and their evolution), and the potential that they offer to innovate products, services, and business processes. This is why you will take several modules in management, and your projects will be oriented towards these aspects.
-
Computing is being offered for students who are interested in following a career in IT but not necessarily in technical areas that require a deeper understanding of the science underlying IT systems. You will become familiar with a variety of programming languages, and have a solid understanding of the use of computer systems in analysing, managing, processing and communicating information, including large organisations. You will also acquire the knowledge and expertise that will allow you to undertake a taught MSc to specialise in a given technical or application domain.
-
Computer Science comprises in addition the study of the foundations of computational phenomena (why and how do programming languages work) and of the processes and techniques through which new software systems can be built (how do we make sure that programmers will get systems implemented in the way we want them to operate?). This is why you will be offered modules that require more mathematical maturity, which will allow you to learn the underlying principles of and experiment with different programming paradigms (imperative, functional and logic), formal methods for specification, verification and validation of software, as well as dominate areas which, like cryptography, require a deeper knowledge of algorithms.
UP
-
Do you require A-level mathematics?
In short: No. Provided you have passed GCSE mathematics, we
will consider your application. We will teach you the
mathematics that you need to know during the degree
programme. Many of our students do very well, even though
they enter with only GCSE level mathematics.
You should keep in mind that mathematics is the language of
the sciences (both traditional ones such as physics and
chemistry, as well as very new ones, such as computing). All of
the degrees run by good universities will have at least one or
two mathematics modules, and provide you with the proper
foundations with which to study and understand computing. These
foundations will stay with you during your lifetime, even though
"practical" computing will change and advance rapidly.
If you are keen on mathematics, we advise you to choose our BSc/MComp in Computer Science. There are optional modules
that will be of special interest to you, and core modules that will provide you a good background in the more fundamental aspects of computer science.
UP
-
Should I apply if I want to study
hardware?
Our programmes concentrate on all aspects of computing
software, but we do teach the fundamental principles of
hardware. If you really wish to study only hardware, electronics
and related topics, you may be better off applying for a
different degree programme. However, we will teach you all about
the structure of a modern computer, and everything that concerns
the lower levels of software and how they relate to the
hardware.
UP
-
Can I switch between the 3 different classes of degrees (Computer Science, Computing, and Computing with Management)?
The short answer is YES, but the following conditions apply (please note that, although the degrees structures and the rules for changing degrees are already fixed, the names of the modules involved may still change):
-
Once you enter on the Computer Science degree, you can change to the Computing degree after Semester 1, 2 or 3; after that, you will not be allowed to switch into Computing;
-
If you enter on the Computing degree and take Computer Systems in Semester 1, you change to Computer Science at the end of that semester; if you continue on Computing and take Logic, Problem Solving and AI in Semester 2, you will be allowed to change to Computer Science at the end of that semester; if you go into the second year, you will have to take Automata, Languages and Computation in Semester 3 in order to change to Computer Science at the end of that semester; after that, you will not be allowed to switch into Computing;
-
If you enter on the Computing degree and take Foundations of Management in Semester 1 as a supplementary, then you can change to Computing with Management at the end of that semester; if you continue on Computing and take Introduction to Marketing in Semester 2 as a supplementary, you can change to Computing with Management at the end of that semester; after that, you will not be allowed to switch into Computing with Management;
-
If you enter on the Computing with Management degree, you can change to the Computing degree after Semester 1 or 2; after that you will not be allowed to switch into Computing;
-
The same applies to changing from a variant of a degree to the same variant of another degree.
UP
-
Can I
switch between the different variants (Standard, Europe and Industry) within the same degree?
Yes, you will be able to change between the three variants until the second year without any penalty. If you enter on the MComp Computer Science degree, you can also change to the BSc degree, and vice-versa, throughout the first two years of the degree.
UP
-
How is teaching like at
Leicester?
Apart from our BCS Accreditation and excellent QAA report (which praised the
high standards of our student project work, and the overall levels of
student attainment)
there are many other reasons for studying with us.
You will find very friendly staff, who will treat you as an
individual. We try to get to know you, and hope that you
will get to know us. We feel that this helps us to deliver
high quality teaching. You will also find staff who are
very well educated, having studied at highly regarded and
internationally renowned universities. We typically admit
around 50 to 60 students per year. This means that you
will have plenty of friends taking your subject, but
classes and lectures are not so large as to be
intimidating.
You will also find that the City of Leicester is large enough
to be dynamic, providing a very good range of entertainment
opportunities, but small enough for you to easily find your
way around, and feel welcome and "at home".
UP
-
What do your students think?
Please see our student profiles.
UP
-
How do I apply?
Whether a UK student, or an international student, you
should apply through UCAS, the Universities and Colleges
Admissions System. See the
University's Applications page and also the
UCAS site where applications are actually made
(click on the "apply" link on the UCAS home page).
UP
-
What financial support can I get?
Please see our pages on the scholarships
that are available to support your studies.
UP
-
Is there a course brochure?
A soft copy of a the Undergraduage BSc brochure is available here,
and also from the main BSc Admissions page. For a Postgraduate MSc brochure click here. They contains some
photographs of the Department, campus, students and staff, plus
some additional information, but they do not (yet) include the new degrees.
UP
-
Can I be admitted to the second
year?
Yes for Computer Science and Computing (and its variants); No for Computing with
Management.
If you are sufficiently well qualified, we may be able to
grant direct admission to the second year of Computer
Science or Computing. Typical entrants are students who have passed the first
year of a BSc programme with at least 60% overall, or those with
good HND grades, covering topics similar to those taught
here.
Due to module pre-requisites, we can notallow second year
entry to Computing with Management.
UP
-
At what time of the year can I begin
study?
All of our BSc degree programmes start in October. You may apply
for 2008 or 2009 entry.
UP
|
|
![[University Home]](/images/unihome.gif){kind=small}
|![[Faculty of Science]](/images/fac_of_science.gif){kind=small}
|![[MCS Home]](/images/schhome.gif){kind=small}
|![[CS Home]](/images/depthome.gif){kind=small}
|
|![[University Index A-Z]](/images/index.gif){kind=small}
|![[University Search]](/images/search.gif){kind=small}
|![[University Help]](/images/help.gif){kind=small}
|