Business information, and using it to increase profitability, is becoming an ever more essential part of running any organisation. This course will train you to design and develop information management systems and make the best use of them in the workplace – a highly sought-after skill in today's competitive market.
From revenue reports and customer data to figures used to forecast sales and analyse trends, the useful knowledge which organisations can gain from information systems is virtually limitless. Experts who can use the technology intelligently and creatively to add value to a business, combining technical ability with an understanding of an organisation's needs, are in high demand. This course is designed to meet that demand.
The university's close links with industry have allowed us to develop a highly practical course, focusing on the skills employers tell us they want. We work with companies such as Microsoft and Siemens, and we are a Cisco local academy and a Xilinx university partner – meaning you will have access to the latest equipment, and can make use of specialist teaching materials and workshops. You will be encouraged to learn, explore and work within our award-winning technology centre and its specialist network, software, digital and wireless laboratories equipped with industry-standard software and hardware. All sessions will be delivered online.
Sign up now to receive more information about studying at Middlesex University London.
This course will furnish you with the technical skills you’ll need to introduce, manage and improve information systems and knowledge management programmes within an organisation to increase its profitability. You’ll look at how information systems benefit an organisation, how to assess a company’s IT needs and choose appropriate technologies and methods for setting up a system. You’ll also explore business, management and decision-making theory, recent developments in information systems, and the legal, regulatory, ethical and professional issues surrounding the sector such as consumer protection, privacy, and intellectual property, copyright and trademarks.
In addition to an in-depth understanding of the subject, you will also gain the knowledge required to evaluate and manage information systems and strategies, including quality management and the use of models to evaluate processes and products, and assess their impact on an organisation. You’ll also be competent in analysing, designing, developing and building web-based applications.
This module focuses on the regulation of electronic commerce activities and associated technologies.
It gives you an understanding of regulatory frameworks for electronic technologies and the underlying legal principles that govern electronic commerce.
The module critically examines the role of regulation in the commercial context of electronic transactions and how such regulation applies to these transactions.
Legal and regulatory issues related to intellectual property, conducting business online, privacy, jurisdiction, taxation, cyber crime, dispute resolution are among many topics covered.
In addition to the above, the module covers regulation in the broader context of professional and ethical issues relevant to the use of information technology.
This module will give you an opportunity to:
On completion of this module, the you will be able to:
The main aim of this module is to provide you with the knowledge and skills to better understand the quality management of information systems within organisations.
Once successfully completing the module, you should have an excellent grounding to support further development within industry in information systems quality management, or in job roles such as business systems analyst.
The module covers the different approaches to the software development lifecycle and also overviews the project management lifecycle.
It considers operational business processes within organisations and the impact of change, discussing organisational structures. It includes teaching business process modelling.
The development and key theories of quality management within organisations is presented showing how quality management has evolved since the 1980s.
Various different quality management methods are introduced and their cost-effectiveness is assessed. The quality evaluation and certification of products and processes are also covered.
This module covers the concepts and theories of managing large data, i.e. data warehouse and data mining.
It also explores technologies and algorithms for handling a large amount of data, i.e. data modelling, data projection and data transformation to discover knowledge from large data sets.
The module is designed to apply the theories of decision-making and data analytics using some of the most widely used contemporary methods enabling modern decision support systems.
In particular, the module applies theories and practices of enterprise decision making, for example, statistical modelling, forecasting and trend analysis to tackle the challenges of uncertainty.
It is widely recognised that knowledge has become one of the most important resources in modern economy. However, understanding of how to measure and manage this resource is not straightforward.
Knowledge management is a quickly evolving multidisciplinary field of research combining elements of organisational science, information technology and even artificial intelligence aimed at developing new strategies for management and fostering knowledge in organisations.
To maintain competitive advantage in the knowledge economy, organisations have to invest into these knowledge management strategies.
The aim of this module is to enable you to draw upon the latest theory and practice in knowledge management to be able to assist organisations in developing knowledge management systems that nurture and exploit business, social and technological aspects of the organisation.
See the course specification for more information:
Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.
We are regularly reviewing and updating our programmes to ensure you have the best learning experience. We are taking what we have learnt during the pandemic and enhancing our teaching methods with new and innovative ways of learning.
We aim to model a wide range of teaching strategies and approaches on the course which you can adapt to your own setting.
As well as doing practical work in our laboratories, you’ll attend interactive lectures, where your teachers will introduce you to concepts and principles and demonstrate models and tools. You’ll also attend seminars, workshops and tutorials, where you’ll analyse systems, work on real-life case studies and problem-solving exercises, take part in discussions and give presentations. You’ll supplement all this with your own independent study and research.
You will be assessed through exams, your research project and other coursework, including research papers and extended abstracts, essays, reports, critical analyses of research issues, database exercises, posters, presentations and case study assignments. Some assessed work will be done in groups and you’ll receive regular feedback on all work. All assessment will take place online during the 2020/21 academic year and all module leaders have a wealth of experience in setting, moderating, supporting and assessing e-assessment.
For your independent computing project you will plan, conduct and produce an original piece of research relevant to the industry. You will be assessed on your written report and possibly via an oral examination. All supervisory sessions will be held online during the 2020/21 academic year and there will be no need for face to face meetings.
We are regularly reviewing and updating our programmes to ensure you have the best learning experience. We are taking what we have learnt during the pandemic and enhancing our teaching methods with new and innovative ways of learning.
We are currently reviewing our approach to teaching and learning for 2023 entry and beyond. We've learned a lot about how to give you a quality education - we aim to combine the best of our pre-pandemic teaching and learning with access to online learning and digital resources which put you more in charge of when and how you study. We will keep you updated on this throughout the application process.
Your timetable will be built around on campus sessions using our professional facilities, with online sessions for some activities where we know being virtual will add value. We’ll use technology to enhance all of your learning and give you access to online resources to use in your own time.
The table below gives you an idea of what learning looks like across a typical week. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on campus sessions.
This information is likely to change slightly for 2023 entry as our plans evolve. You'll receive full information on your teaching before you start your course.
Learning structure: typical hourly breakdown in 2021/22 | ||
Live in-person on campus learning | Contact hours per week, per level: | 8 hours |
Live online learning | Average hours per week, per level: | 4 hours |
This information is likely to change slightly for 2024/25 entry as our plans evolve. You'll receive full information on your teaching before you start your course.
Definitions of terms
Support
You have a strong support network available to you to make sure you develop all the necessary academic skills you need to do well on your course.
Our support services will be delivered online and on campus and you have access to a range of different resources so you can get the help you need, whether you’re studying at home or have the opportunity to come to campus.
You have access to one to one and group sessions for personal learning and academic support from our library and IT teams, and our network of learning experts. Our teams will also be here to offer financial advice, and personal wellbeing, mental health and disability support.
Well-qualified IT professionals are in high demand and your career prospects on graduating this course will be excellent, leaving you ideally placed for a role as IT manager or project manager, business analyst, quality assurance engineer, information systems auditor or web developer.
Recent graduates have gone on to hold such positions as:
You could also start your own business.
We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.
Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.
Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.
At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.
Start: January 2024, September 2024
Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Code: PGG404
Start: September 2024
Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Code: PGG42G
