Andrew's Degree

My degree is in Computer Science with Business Management and is from the University of Birmingham.

During the course of the degree a large number of modules were undertaken and several of these involved substantial coursework projects. Details of the modules undertaken and various courseworks completed are presented below.

Year 1

Modules:

• Software Workshop 1
• Introduction to Software Engineering
• Foundations of Computer Science
• Design and Media Team
• Introduction to AI (Artificial Intelligence)
• International Economy
• Introduction to Economics
• Business Organisation & Management
• Introduction to Financial Analysis for Science and Engineers

Coursework:

• Various coding projects in Java.
• Group report on motivation with the title "How might organisations be advised to effectively motivate their employees?"
• Group multimedia project of our choice with a written report and presentation of the result to the entire class.
  Our project was Nooz, a dynamic website which gave you the news you wanted from around the web in a newspaper format.

Year 2

Modules:

• Software System Components 1
• Software System Components 2
• Computer Systems and Architecture
• Software Engineering
• Communication Skills and Professional Issues
• Introduction to Marketing
• Global Marketing
• Human Resource Management
• Financial Decision Making

Coursework:

• Various coding projects in Java encompassing a wide range of key programming areas such as IO, Graphics, XML, Grammars & Parsing, Database interaction & SQL, Servlets and sockets/RMI.
• Preparing a project plan for a Software Engineering task, including vital stages such as identifiying objectives, planning timescales, stakeholder analysis, quality issues and risk analysis.
• Writing a requirements document for a proposed new system.
• UML modelling and analysis of another software engineering project.
• Writing a CV and covering letter in application to a job of my choice.
• Group presentation on a particular topic, in our case Privacy on the Internet, involving a large amount of research into the topic and reporting our findings back.
• Written report on a particular topic, in my case Piracy and Restrictions on Use. This led to researching various aspects of piracy in the digital age as well as methods to restrict it, such as DRM.
• Group report on a potential national marketing plan for a new online business for their first year of operation.
• Group report on a potential global marketing plan for British Airways, including comming up with a number of potential new strategies for success.

Year 3

Modules:

• Software Project
• Systems Programming in C/C++
• Operating Systems
• Computer Networks
• Distributed Systems
• Supply Chain Management
• Corporate Finance
• Strategic Management A
• Strategic Management B

Coursework:

• Yearlong software development project to make a multiplayer Blackjack game in Java. See more on the Blackjack Project page.
• Various coding projects in C, mainly related to developing Systems Programs with tight integration into the Linux Kernel. The largest being to write an extension to the Linux Firewall in the form of a Kernel Module.
• Group report on the financial health of a given PLC, in our case Barratt Developments PLC. Looking at financial data such as borrowings, profitability and ratio analysis to asses how financially healthy the company was.
• Group report on the strategic management of Virgin Mobile based on Five Forces and Five Sources analysis of the industry. We won the Accenture Strategy Award for Scientists and Engineers for the report.
• Report on the effects of power in a buyer supplier relationship, entitled "How and why are the concepts of power and surplus value relevant to an understanding of buyer-supplier exchange relationships?".