Internet of Things - MSc

Overview

Summary

The Internet of Things (IoT) has become one of the most discussed technology trends of recent years mainly due to the expected impact that it will have and, as a result, how it will change the way people live, work and travel. As a discipline, it covers elements of Computing Science, Engineering, and Data Science.

The MSc in Internet of Things aims to train computing and engineering professionals to follow a career where they can apply leading-edge computing, engineering, sensor technology, networks and data science skills across a range of application domains. The course content has been informed by internationally leading research being conducted by the School of Computing and the School of Engineering. The delivery of the course is supported by a large-scale pervasive and mobile computing environment, a suite of contemporary sensing technologies and rapid prototyping facilities.

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About this course

In this section

1. About
2. Attendance
3. Start dates
4. Teaching, Learning and Assessment
5. Academic profile

About

This intensive one-year specialist master’s course on Internet of Things is aimed at highly-motivated graduates with a good honours degree in computing, engineering or a related discipline. While the course has a particular focus on the employment needs of the local economy, the skills and abilities developed are easily transferred to a more global stage.

The Internet of Things is an exciting and exponentially growing area both within industry and academic. It sits at the intersection between Computing Science, Engineering and Data Science. The proposed MSc in Internet of Things will, therefore, prepare students for both an industrial career with skills in computing, networks, sensor technologies and data analytics in addition to providing a relevant platform to embark on research studies. These types of skills are in high demand within the sector across the key verticals of Smart Cities, Industrial IoT, Connected Health and Smart Homes.

Attendance

The full-time provision offers two points of entry in each academic year: September and January. For the September intake, the degree will normally be completed in three semesters across a single academic year. For the January intake, the degree will normally be completed in three semesters but across two academic years.

Start dates

• September 2019
• January 2020

How to apply

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Teaching is delivered through a combination of lectures, directed tutorials, seminars and practical sessions. Support is also provided for project preparation and implementation.

The course is assessed by coursework.

Academic profile

The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.

Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (18%) or Lecturers (57%).

We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.

Modules

Here is a guide to the subjects studied on this course.

Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand. Please contact the course team for the most up to date module list.

In this section

1. Year one

Year one

IoT Networks & Security

Year: 1

Status: C

IOT has emerged as a significant technology that can be used for automation and empowerment. The module covers the life cycle of IoT security mechanisms, including the design, development, management and, most importantly, how they are sustained. The module provides an understanding of the IoT architecture, protocols and security considerations

Big Data & Infrastructure

Year: 1

Status: C

Within this module a variety of database and data storage paradigms will be explored, ranging from more traditional relational systems to NoSql and object stores, time series databases, semantic store and graph stores.

Consideration will be given to big data and the problem with storing and querying high volumes of highly variable data which is stored and processed at a high speed. The cloud computing paradigm will also be introduced and how to avail of its power and resources.

The core concepts of distributed computing will be examined in the context of Hadoop. Students will be taught, practically and theoretically, about the components of Hadoop, workflows, functional programming concepts, use of MapReduce, Spark, Pig, Hive and Sqoop.

Pervasive Computing

Year: 1

Status: C

The focus of this module is to provide an opportunity for students to gain an in-depth understanding of pervasive computing and to apply this understanding to a range of application domains through working with wireless sensor networks. The module surveys emerging hardware and software components associated with Pervasive Computing Systems, examining the technical and societal issues concerned with a pervasive infrastructure, wireless networks, protocols and emergent algorithms. In doing so a number of examples of innovative systems and applications are reviewed. The module includes a strong practical element where students will be asked to develop services providing support for wearable and smart home context-aware solutions.

Statistical Modelling & Data Mining

Year: 1

Status: C

This module first provides a systematic understanding of probability and statistics. It then provides an in-depth analysis of the statistical modelling process and how to answer hypothesised questions. Next, the module provides a synthesis of the concepts of data mining and methods of exploring data. The content will be delivered and experienced through lectures, seminars and practical exercises using tools, such as Python, R and Weka. Online tools, such as Blackboard will be used to facilitate blended learning approach. On completing this module, students will be able to compute conditional probabilities and use null hypothesis significance testing to test the significance of results and understand and compute statistical measures such as the p-value for these tests. Students will apply, evaluate and critically appraise this knowledge in a range of complex real-world contexts.

Masters Project

Year: 1

Status: C

The aim of the project is to allow the student to demonstrate their ability in undertaking an independent research project for developing theoretical perspectives, addressing research questions using data, or analysing and developing real-world solutions. They will be expected to utilise appropriate methodologies and demonstrate the skills gained earlier in the course when implementing the project.

As part of the project development activity, they will be required to extract and demonstrate knowledge from the literature in an analytic manner and develop ideas and appropriate hardware and software implementations. This may involve the development of a hardware sensor component or may access existing hardware to develop new/ novel software processing or data analytics. This will typically be followed by a structured analysis of needs for a realistic application or actual organisation and identification and application of tools/techniques required to deliver a well-formed solution. Through the project, the student will develop capabilities to analyse cases studies related to IoT/ Artificial Intelligence and its application in a range of domains including transport, environment, health and commerce. The project may further create improvement plans and recommendations for future implementation based on the tools/technologies experienced during the programme of study.

In summary, the Masters Project represents a piece of work performed by the student under suitable staff supervision which draws both from the practical and creative nature of a problem-solving project and the traditional, scholarly exposition of an area of study. The content of the work must be original and contain a critical appraisal of the subject area.

Digital Signal Processing

Year: 1

Status: C

This module enables the student to gain deep understanding and enable them to design, apply, and evaluate digital signal processing techniques as related to IoT.

Embedded Systems & Sensors

Year: 1

Status: C

This module enables the student to understand, design, apply, and critically evaluate embedded systems and their applications as enabling technology for the IoT.

Entry conditions

We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.

In this section

1. Entry Requirements
2. English Language Requirements
3. Exemptions and transferability

Entry Requirements

Applicants must:

(a) have gained

(i) a second class lower division honours degree or better, in the subject areas of computing, engineering or cognate area from a university of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, or from a recognised national awarding body, or from an institution of another country which has been recognised as being of an equivalent standard; or

(ii) an equivalent standard (normally 50%) in a Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma or an approved alternative qualification; and the qualification must be in the subject areas of computing, engineering or related discipline

and

(b) provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English (GCSE grade C or equivalent).

In exceptional circumstances, as an alternative to (a) (i) or (a) (ii) and/or (b), where an individual has substantial and significant experiential learning, a portfolio of written evidence demonstrating the meeting of graduate qualities (including subject-specific outcomes, as determined by the Course Committee) may be considered as an alternative entrance route. Evidence used to demonstrate graduate qualities may not be used for exemption against modules within the programme

English Language Requirements

English language requirements for international applicants
The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes.

Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores.

Exemptions and transferability

The entry requirements facilitate accreditation of prior learning.

Careers & opportunities

In this section

1. Career options
2. Work placement / study abroad

Career options

The Internet of Things is expected to have a significant impact on industry with predictions of its success and growth constantly rising. It is at the same time the most anticipated and least understood initiative within IT departments. Figures at the start of 2018 suggest that nearly 70% of organisations have developed plans to embrace IoT in their organisation within the next year. As the expectations of how IoT will redefine an organisation’s operations grow so too are the expectations to have appropriately knowledgeable and skilled staff in the areas of computing, engineering and data science in addition to having an appreciation for business processes and market potential. Taking all of this into consideration, graduates from the MSc in Internet of Things will be well placed to progress into a wide variety of careers, across a range of industrial settings and application domains.

There are also opportunities for graduates from the MSc Internet of Things to embark on further research by enrolling for PhD study affiliated with the research centres within the School of Computing and the School of Engineering. Computing related PhD studies can be perused in the areas of Pervasive Computing and Artificial Intelligence within the School of Computing whilst sensor technology, networking and RTOS research can be undertaken within the School of Computing.

Work placement / study abroad

N/A

Apply

How to apply Request a prospectus

Applications to our postgraduate courses are made through the University’s online application system.

Start dates

• September 2019
• January 2020

Fees and funding

In this section

1. Fees information
2. Scholarships, awards and prizes
3. Additional mandatory costs

Fees (total cost)

Important notice - fees information Fees illustrated are based on 19/20 entry and are subject to an annual increase. Correct at the time of publishing. Terms and conditions apply. Additional mandatory costs are highlighted where they are known in advance. There are other costs associated with university study.
Visit our Fees pages for full details of fees

Northern Ireland & EU:

£5,900.00

International:

£14,060.00  Scholarships available

Scholarships, awards and prizes

N/A

Additional mandatory costs

None

Tuition fees and costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges), and normal living are a part of university life.

Where a course has additional mandatory expenses we make every effort to highlight them. These may include residential visits, field trips, materials (e.g. art, design, engineering) inoculations, security checks, computer equipment, uniforms, professional memberships etc.

We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free wifi is also available on each of the campuses.

There will be some additional costs to being a student which cannot be itemised and these will be different for each student. You may choose to purchase your own textbooks and course materials or prefer your own computer and software. Printing and binding may also be required. There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines. Additional costs vary from course to course.

Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs as well as tuition fees.

Please contact the course team for more information.

Contact

Admissions contact for entry requirements:
Helen Gibson
T: +44 (0)28 9036 6069
E: h.gibson@ulster.ac.uk

Centralised Admissions staff:
T: +44 (0)28 9036 6305
E: admissionsjn@ulster.ac.uk

For course specific enquiries:
Dr Shuai Zhang
T: +44 28 90366367
E: s.zhang@ulster.ac.uk

For more information visit

Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment

School of Computing

Disclaimer

1. The University endeavours to deliver courses and programmes of study in accordance with the description set out in this prospectus. The University’s prospectus is produced at the earliest possible date in order to provide maximum assistance to individuals considering applying for a course of study offered by the University. The University makes every effort to ensure that the information contained in the prospectus is accurate but it is possible that some changes will occur between the date of printing and the start of the academic year to which it relates. Please note that the University’s website is the most up-to-date source of information regarding courses and facilities and we strongly recommend that you always visit the website before making any commitments.
2. Although reasonable steps are taken to provide the programmes and services described, the University cannot guarantee the provision of any course or facility and the University may make variations to the contents or methods of delivery of courses, discontinue, merge or combine courses and introduce new courses if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key staff, changes in legislation or government policy including changes, if any, resulting from the UK departing the European Union, withdrawal or reduction of funding or other circumstances beyond the University’s reasonable control.
3. If the University discontinues any courses, it will use its best endeavours to provide a suitable alternative course. In addition, courses may change during the course of study and in such circumstances the University will normally undertake a consultation process prior to any such changes being introduced and seek to ensure that no student is unreasonably prejudiced as a consequence of any such change.
4. The University does not accept responsibility (other than through the negligence of the University, its staff or agents), for the consequences of any modification or cancellation of any course, or part of a course, offered by the University but will take into consideration the effects on individual students and seek to minimise the impact of such effects where reasonably practicable.
5. The University cannot accept any liability for disruption to its provision of educational or other services caused by circumstances beyond its control, but the University will take all reasonable steps to minimise the resultant disruption to such services.