![Higher Diploma in Science in Computer Science [2-year Part-time Mode]](/images/made/images/uploads/Study_at_WIT/science_header_1024_300_c1.jpg)
HDip in Computer Science: online 2-year Part-time mode aimed at people who are already employed
Government-funded - no fee payable by student
This course is a 24-month ICT conversion course designed to allow honours graduates from non-computing disciplines to acquire the industry-relevant ICT and software development skills, expertise and practical experience required to become suitable candidates for employment in the ICT domain in general and in software development in particular.
The 2-year part-time version of the course is open only to people who are not currently claiming any social welfare benefit (typically employed people). It is funded by the Higher Education Authority in order to produce skills needed in the economy - no fees apply to anyone who is accepted onto the course.
< Click on the image above to enter a sample course environment >
The course will be delivered in distance/fully online mode. Lectures will be available via Adobe Connect/Synchronous delivery – with recorded playback available. Labs and practical workshops will be fully online, with appropriate use of workflow/messaging services (e.g. Moodle + Slack), screen sharing tools and virtualisation technology (Virtual Machine made available by the programme team). This flexible mode will permit a more effective use of the calendar – with semester duration adjusted to match the learning needs.
The curriculum will cover a core programming and computer science curriculum based on an existing highly successful programme running at WIT (Diploma in Computer Science). The programme will conclude with a 6-month full time work placement / industry-led project. It includes a combination of fundamental concepts and practical exposure to problem solving, programming, and the broader software development ecosystem (“DevOps”), including system administration and security.
First Semester (8 months)
Participants will undertake a broad immersive set of modules in the fundamentals of computing including programming, networks, systems, databases and web development.
Skills Studio (2 months)
Continue programming/web development tuition via a single module delivered over a shorter interlude. Prepare a standalone programming project integrating experiences from the range of modules covered to date. This project is considered the first substantial building block for their personal skills portfolio. Mirroring the Summer School from the full-time programme, incorporate a talks series from industry representatives. A set of on-site workshops employed in this phase, with students expected to attend on campus for a 2 day workshop in each semester + 4 day summer school interleaved between year 1 and year 2.
Second Semester (8 months)
Students will explore mobile and cloud development and operations and deepen their knowledge in their choice of specialist options from amongst mobile app development, enterprise software development and security & forensics.
Third Semester (6 months): Placement
The programme is offered in close collaboration with employers both in the region and nationally. In semester 3 all students will have the opportunity to apply their skills and gain invaluable experience through a six-month work placement. The work placement element is designed to maximise industry – relevance and employability of the graduates. The placement includes a substantial project, supervised by the course team and typically agreed with the industry partner. This offers a continuation of the learning experience, generating a significant demonstrator of the student’s competence and experience.
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
|---|---|
| Programming (10 credits) | Project/Summer School (5 credits) |
| Web Development (5 credits) | Developer Operations (5 credits) |
| Database (5 credits) | Specialisms (select 2) |
| Computer Networks (5 credits) | Mobile App Development (10 credits) |
| Computer Systems (5 credits) | Security and Forensics (10 credits) |
| Semester 3 | Semester 4 |
|---|---|
| Project/Placement (30 credits) |
Funding Eligibility
For the two year part-time ICT Conversion courses you may be eligible if you are employed. If you are unemployed and in receipt of a jobseekers payment (including Farm Assist and Qualified Adults of Working Age) you are not eligible for the two year ICT Conversion courses. However, if you are in receipt of other social protection payments, e.g. One Parent Family or Disability Allowance, you may be eligible for the two year part-time Conversion programmes. Please see www.springboardcourses.ie/eligibility for full information.
Academic Eligibility
Applicants should be graduates with a minimum of a Level 8 qualification. The course includes a significant amount of Java programming. Successful applicants for this course will be existing honours graduates with the capacity and aptitude (for example numeracy skills) to complete an intensive computer science programme and work placement.
Some applicants who do not immediately meet these requirements may wish to consider using WIT's Recognition of Prior Learning mechanism in order to make application that can be considered for entry to this course.
Applicants whose first language is not English must submit evidence of competency in English, please see WIT’s English Language Requirements for details. http://www.wit.ie/about_wit/documents_and_policies/english_language_requirements
Course Graduate Maeve Carey from Wexford now working with DoneDeal
Maeve left her position as Pensions Manager for a well-known financial company, where she had worked for five years, to travel and explore other challenges. Upon her return to Ireland, she went searching for new employment, but remained unemployed for several months. Maeve had a primary BSc degree in Physics with Theoretical Physics and was interested in IT, but lacked an IT qualification required for industry consideration. Maeve was beginning to grow despondent with her options, when a friend told her about the ICT Skills Conversion Programme at WIT. The programme offered Maeve a fast-track into the IT sector with the Department of Social Protection’s ‘Back to Education Allowance’ available to those taking the course. Maeve started the programme at WIT in March 2013 and hasn’t looked back since. Maeve found the subject matter absorbing and very current, and was delighted to be learning about the most up-to-date technologies, such as Android and Cloud Computing. Meave did her six month work placement with DoneDeal, Ireland’s largest online classifieds site. Following the placement Meave was offered a full-time job with Donedeal as a Software Developer.
“ICT is a growing, multi-faceted, exciting area. I really like the timeline of the programme, short and sweet, yet super-condensed, so I can enter the job market swiftly after graduating. The lecturers are extremely knowledgeable, thorough and approachable. The whole experience was extremely rewarding. I’m now working as a software developer with DoneDeal it’s a fantastic experience working in a very dynamic team environment.”
Declan Lawlor, Chief Technical Officer at DoneDeal said “The ICT Conversion in WIT has been a great innovation. With the current demand for Software Engineers in Ireland and the South East, WIT has succeeded in developing a programme that equips graduates from other disciplines to transfer directly into IT. The fact that graduates are already equipped with excellent problem-solving, team work and communication skills from their previous disciplines makes them very attractive to employers.”
The ICTSkills course is tailored to produce the programmers and software developers that are in very high demand across multiple sectors:
- Software Development
- Financial Services
- Online retailers / publishers / services providers / customer support services
- Manufacturing / Logistics / Industrial Control and Automation
- Advertising & Media
- Enterprise Software Services
Specific skills areas:
- Programming
- Developer Operations
- IT Administration & Management
- Web Development
- Systems Administration
- Technical Support
Sample job title:
- Software Developer
- DevOps Administrator
- System Administrator
- Support Engineer
- Web Designer / Developer
- Business Systems Analyst
The dedicated ICTSkills/Springboard Work Placement Coordinator, Martina Mullally, works with ICTSkills students and employers from the outset of the course in order to match all students with productive and fulfilling work placement experience. In the ICT industry work placements frequently lead to job offers and that has very much been our experience.
Please see more information on ICTSkills Work Placement here.
Placement Coordinator: Martina Mullally
Tel: +353 51 302 849
Email: mmmullally@wit.ie
Postal Address:
Work Placement Coordinator (A03)
School of Education & Lifelong Learning
Waterford Institute of Technology
Cork Road, Waterford.
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