Welcome to your Business Computing course - University of Staffordshire

Hi and welcome to Staffordshire University if you are joining us on the start of your postgraduate course, and welcome back if you are continuing in your studies, in the Department of Computing within the school of Digital, Technology, Innovation and Business (DTIB). We have over 50 years of experience delivering computing degree courses and our staff are enthusiastic, highly qualified academically and professional qualifications with a commercial and research background.

We are here to help you learn and gain an excellent education so that you have a successful and rewarding future career.

Your staff team

We want to make sure you know some of our team before you arrive. Hopefully this will help you recognise us and ensure you know who you can contact if you need any additional help and guidance.

Dr Rakan Aldmour

Senior Lecturer

Rakan is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for MSc Business Computing. He teaches Enterprise Systems, Project and Change Management, Managing Emerging Technologies, Research methods and other modules. Rakan also supervises PhD and MSc students.

Rakan's profile

Course delivery

If you are a full-time on campus student, the lectures will be delivered live on campus/streamed, practical tutorial sessions will be live on campus. We offer students access to state-of-the-art laboratories, fully equipped with the industry graded equipment.

For distance learning students the material will be pre-recorded and hosted on our VLE, the tutorial material will also be hosted on our VLE.

Semester one activities

Introduction

Course Overview: Introduction to the course objectives, modules, and expectations.

Developing Skills

Group Work: Collaborative projects to develop teamwork and communication skills.
Practical Sessions: Opportunities to practice skills in a controlled environment.
Research Skills: Workshop on how to conduct research and use academic resources.

Assessment Preparation

Assignments Briefing: Explanation of the assignments and assessment marking criteria.

Finally, you’ll have the opportunities to meet your instructors and familiarise yourself with the campus facilities and the available resources. These various activities are designed to build a strong foundation for your studies and help you incorporate into university life.

Pre-learning

We advise to start looking at research methods, Saunders Research onion is a good start point. If you have been out of education for a while it may be worth looking at academic writing and cite-me-rite referencing.

Our library services offer some excellent guides to help you with your studies and workshops sessions can be booked for individual support. Please take a look at these additional resources that may be of use during your studies: https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/study-skills

Please have a look at the following items as well.

Staffordshire University, Stoke Campus map - https://www.staffs.ac.uk/about/how-to-find-us/pdf/stoke-campus-map.pdf
Staffordshire University, Stoke Campus - https://www.staffs.ac.uk/student-life/campus-and-facilities/stoke-on-trent
Plagiarism and Turnitin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bjnVRVIdJA

Equipment and software

A suitable PC preferably Windows OS, ideally Intel i7 or equivalent with a minimum of 16GB memory.

Alternatively, a Mac or Linux based machine, warning the new Macs (M1 based) are not recommended at present due to virtualisation issues.

Download software

Trips and activities

There may be an opportunity for us to run a number of visits, these will be optional and communicated out to you closer to the time.

Groups and societies

You can get involved with several groups and societies throughout your time at university.

Groups and societies

Course hoodies

As a new student you will be eligible for a free hoodie that you can wear to show that you are part of the wider Computing community within the University. We will send out links after your arrival to allow you to log on and state what size hoodie you require.

Industry certifications

Beyond practical and theoretical training, we aim to prepare you to gain well recognised industry certifications, enhancing your credentials in the competitive job market. The Academic Alliance between Staffordshire University and industry vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, Microsoft, WMware or AWS allow us to provide students with the official certification learning material, latest tools and most current professional practice within the field of cloud and network computing.

Academic skills

Whether you're joining us from school or college, or you're returning to education after some time away, everyone can benefit from the Academic Study Skills resources provided by the University library.

The Academic Skills team is here to support you throughout your academic journey and to help you gain the skills you need to reach your full potential. They can assist with academic reading and writing skills, give advice on how best to plan assignments, and help improve your time management.

The library's Academic Skills Guides offer the key information to make studying easier and give a comprehensive guide to the learning resources and services we offer.

Staffs CampusConnect

Staffs CampusConnect is our student-led community app for new students. Connect with other people from your course, hometown or country, and even those with similar interests.

To register, please ensure you use your Applicant ID (Student Number) that you received in your offer letter, and the email address you used in your application to us.

Register for CampusConnect

Welcome website

Our welcome website will provide you the link to your new student life. It's all about how you find your place at university, including everything from how to meet friends, feel confident in doing your academic work, being a member of your Student Union and getting involved in Union Societies, Academic Societies, Sports, Volunteering or representing your peers in your School.

Part of this Welcome Week - we have an exciting program of University and course level activities planned for you for your first week in September. We are also building an extended program for you to join a series of events throughout the first half of the autumn term. Further details will be shared with you via the Welcome website and Students' Union pages over the coming weeks.

Welcome website

Campus map

Use our campus map to familiarise yourself with our campus before you arrive.

Campus map (PDF)

Check your email

Please make sure you check your personal email account regularly over the next few weeks. We will be sending you lots of information about Welcome Week.