Faculty
of
Computing, Engineering and Technology - Open Day Resource
When representing the faculty at Open Days, it can be helpful to have
some
background information about different aspects of studying and living
here.
This page seeks to provide some of this information in a form that has
been
(and is) used by some staff who have some specialist knowledge and
some
experience of doing this.
This is in no way intended to be a standard 'Spiel’ that everyone must
wheel
out, but rather information from a variety of sources that may inform
others
who are involved. It is in its early stages of development and is
currently
focuses almost exclusively on computing things. Hopefully this will
change in
time.
If you wish to read the information' all in one go,
click here,
but should you wish to absorb the information in chunks rather than
all in
one go, it is divided into the following sections:
Information about the labs
in the Beacon Building (to be updated soon) and a tour of the
Octagon (also to follow soon).
More general things include:
- Coming here for interview
- The
family
of
computing awards (in the CDS)
- The
nature of awards here – practical scholarship
-
Campuses of the university
-
Stafford
-
Stoke
-
Lichfield
-
SURF
-
The
nature
of study here
- As
real as possible
- Independent
learning
- Group
work
- Assignment
deadlines
-
Hours
of study
- Contact
time and independent study time
- Studying
something
the student LOVES to do
- Then
getting paid to
do it after they graduate
- Employment
rates (and types)
- Stories
of
specific students
Three
years of study, one placement year
-
First year
-
Second year
-
Final Year (and Final Year Project)
- Placement
Year (and how
it
works here (for computing and wider) – Maria’s placement team)
-
Interesting opportunities – especially with Hewlett Packard in
Böblingen
-
Difference it makes to employment chances
-
Directly
(with
placement company)
- Indirectly
as twelve months real experience
-
How it is different to studying – quality matters – differently
Coming
here for interview
There is no cause to worry about the interview for which you have been
invited. The main reason that we invite everyone who applies to us for
an interview is simply to get you here. Thirty percent of the thousands
of people that we invite do come so we have a busy few weeks.
Choosing a place to study is not an easy decison - after all, you will
be spending three years or more of your life here and be spending a lot
of your money for the pleasure. Simply by being here you will acquire a
'feel' for the place that cannnot be gained from UCAS websites,
university websites or prospectus's. We believe that we have something
fabulous for people who want to learn BUT it is something that has to
be experienced to be believed. If we were to describe in words the
supportive, friendly, informal yet serious atmosphere of the faculty in
particular and the University in general it would simply sound naff and
incredible. If you like the 'feel' of the place then come and study
here, if not, then go somewhere else. We would rather have a cohort of
students who want to study here and be here because they are coming
with no false impressions and because they want to than people who come
here because they have been taken in by marketing hype and then don't
like it when they arrive.
If we like the look of you and your attitude, we will reduce your UCAS
points offer by up to 40 points. Even if you are expecting grades that
will meet the UCAS tariff easily, this will confirm to you that we
think you would do well here and would like you to become one of our
students.
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Computing
There are a
significant
number of different computing-related degrees that exist within the
faculty.
All of these have a strong underpinning of general computing concepts
which are
relevant to all computing degrees. For
this reason, all the degrees belong to a 'Computing
Degree
Scheme' that recognises the similarity of the underpinning knowledge
and
ensures that all computing students study virtually the same
modules in their
first year.
This meant that the choice of which particular degree to study
could be
taken (or confirmed) at the end of this year when you really knew
what the
different aspects of computing were. This has recently changed slightly
so
that
similar degrees (within computing) are now grouped together but the
principle
of much common ground still remains.
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The nature of awards here –
practical scholarship
In
line with the University’s touchstone of ‘practical scholarship’, all
awards
have a strong practical focus. It is our aim to produce graduates who
can do
useful things, want to do them and also take pleasure in doing
them well.
Modules are arranged so that subjects are understood in principle, with
a view
of being able to be applied in practice. The companies that take our
placement
students rate this aspect of the ability of our students highly. Even
though
they are only at the end of their second year of studies when they do
their
placement year. The students are useful and capable in a commercial
computing
environment within a very short space of time.
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Campuses
of the university
The University has two main and some minor campuses. More to follow.
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Stafford
The Stafford Campus is the home of computing and technology awards as
well as
business and nursing. The main site is at Beaconside where the halls of
residence and bars are also to be found. The nature of computing and
technology
is that it is studied predominantly by males, so there is a large
gender
imbalance at the campus. This is somewhat alleviated by the Stoke campus that is predominantly female
and the
X1 bus
that shuttles between the campuses every hour, even at weekends,
for a very
reasonable fare..
The campus seems quiet and rural - which it is. There is a vibrant
social scene
that revolves around, and is organised by, the students in the halls
(and in
close student housing). There is however, very little 'laid on'. For
people who
have discovered that the social scene is so 'vibrant' that they have to
go
elsewhere to get any sleep at all (or work done) especially in the
first few weeks of term, this can be a relief.
The town of Stafford
itself, but a short bus ride away (90p on the number 9 that runs every
12 minutes), is a market town that has, for many
years,
been the administrative centre of Staffordshire. As such, it too tends
to be
quiet, even dull, apart from on a Tuesday when both night clubs in town
hold their
student
night.
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Stoke
The Stoke campus is the home of awards that are more 'arts' based than
the
awards in Stafford. These include
Law, Art and
Design, Sociology and a number of similar 'softer' subjects. The
university and
the city of Stoke-on-Trent
have worked well together to establish the 'University Quarter' to help
regenerate a segment of the city. The campus is modern and smart and
has a
buzzing social scene. There is always something happening at the LRV
(Leek Road Venue) and it often has name bands
performing.
The nature of the degrees studied at Stoke does tend to lead to a grave
gender
imbalance in the student population - there is only a small percentage
of
males. This problem is addressed by the Stafford
campus (where the awards lead to a majority of male students) and the
X1 bus
that shuttles between the campuses every hour, even at weekends,
for a very
reasonable fare.
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Lichfield
More to follow
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SURF
The Staffordshire University Regional Federation (SURF - run by the
SURF
Board!) is a confederation of regional FE colleges who collaborate with
the
University to, on the one hand, provide a guaranteed and (almost)
seamless
progression from local FE study to HE study in the University and on
the other
to enable students to study some of the University's genuine HE courses
at
their local FE college. This collaboration has enabled many more
students to
become graduates than might otherwise have been the case. It also fits
well
with the University's stated mission of removing barriers to learning.
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Nature
of
study
The nature of study here is different to the nature of study in school
and at
college. We are very good at supporting students who want to learn. The
vast
majority of staff are committed and are delighted and hugely supportive
when
students want to learn and progress. We consider it success when we
light a
student up with their chosen subject of study. If, however, a student
chooses
not to work and tries to scrape along by doing the minimum amount of
work and
thus learning little, we consider it a failure on our part and try to
engage
the student in their learning. If the student still chooses to scrape
along,
then we accept that that is their choice and, most likely, will fail
them (and
possibly throw them out) when they demonstrate to us that they have not
learned
enough. We are disappointed when this happens but respect their choice
not to
pursue a graduate career in computing and we are happy to retain our
academic
integrity.
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As
real as possible
Almost every element of the studies here is designed to produce
graduates who
appreciate quality, can work to deadlines and are capable of working
independently and responsibly. Uncompromising assignment
hand in
deadlines,
group work, independent
learning, fabulous support for those who want
to learn,
substantial, independent final year projects - all of these contribute
to your learning and ability to function well in the 'real' world.
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Independent
learning
Throughout your studies here, the onus is very much on you
wanting to
learn and to be prepared to organise yourself to do so. This
expectation of
motivation for independent learning equips you well for their studies
and for
life after graduation, particularly in computing. In the computer
industry, change is a fact
of life,
so the ability and willingness to keep learning is necessary and
valuable. Our
graduates have this.
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Group
work
Developing computer systems in the industry invariably involves working
with
other people; in groups, in teams or as clients and suppliers.
The
ability to work with other people is critical to successful systems, so
we
nurture this in our students by 'encouraging' group work many times.
This
normally takes the form of one piece of work that is to be completed
and
submitted for marking by a group of people. As most students know from
their
earlier studies and experiences, working in a group of students is
often a
significant challenge. There is always at least one member of the group
who
does nothing, stops turning up and is incommunicado. If, as a student,
you can
come to terms with this and find a way of making group work really
work, it seems so much easier when working in a commercial
environment,
where at least you can sack (or threaten to sack) a member of the team
that
isn't pulling their weight!
It is not uncommon here to find that the individual marks derived from
a piece
of group work are deduced by multiplying the mark for the piece of
work
submitted by the group by an estimate of the contribution made to the
work by that individual
member
of the team, made by the other members of the team. That means, if
one team member has done nothing and the other members of the team
all say
that he has done nothing, that is the factor that is used to deduce
that
individual's mark and that is the mark he receives - nothing - no
matter how good the piece of work is itself.
It does not take many of these painful experiences before people learn
that
working in a team here is not just an easy ride but an opportunity to
learn a
new way of working that will serve them in good stead in the future.
And get
them some marks in their modules.
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Assignment deadlines
When course work is to be handed in for marking, we have a rule that,
if it is
late, it receives no marks. One minute late, without good reason, is
treated in
the same way as much later or not handed in at all. By being so
inflexible, we
are trying to foster the idea of working to a deadline and coping with
the way
things are. Our view is that the times during which assignments can be
handed
in are well publicised and it is the hand-in time that matters. Because
it
does. We make it clear to students that, on certain days, there will be
many
hundreds of assignments to be handed in and the queues will be
long. If
you have been standing in the queue for two hours, are next in line and
the
time goes past the time the assignment can be handed in, it will be
marked as
late (because it is) and you will receive no marks. This may seem
unfair and harsh, but it
is how it is. A student does not have to have the experience of
receiving no
marks for a piece of work more than once, for them to learn to hand
their work
in earlier.
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Hours
of study
When we plan the things that you should know, throughout their studies,
we plan
what you should learn each year. We also plan how it relates to the
other
things that are being studied that year and how it builds, year on
year, into
everything you should know to be able to graduate. We do this in a
particular
way.
Each year, we divide everything that they need to know that year into
eight
parts. Each of these parts becomes one of the modules that you study
each year.
When we consider the content of a module, we look for things that can
be well
understood in about 150 hours of study. This includes all study -
lectures, tutorials, assignment work, exam revision and independent
work.
If each student is studying four modules simultaneously, which you are,
each
semester this means 600 study hours in total (if you are to do well). A
semester is 12 weeks long, plus 2 revision weeks plus 2 exam weeks.
That is, 16
weeks in total. This means, on average, 37.5 study hours per week if
you are to
understand, enjoy and be able to build on the content of their studies.
This is
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm with half an hour for lunch with evenings
and
weekends free. In short, the equivalent of a full time job.
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Contact
time and independent study time
The 150 hours of study time per module pr semester is by no means all
time
that is spent in lectures and tutorials. Of the 150 hours for a given
module,
it would
be usual for 12 hours to be spent in lectures, 12 hours in tutorials
and\or
workshops and the rest to be 'independent study'. This 'rest' amounts
to 124
hours of study time! This would consist of independent (but
recommended)
reading, library work, working through additional web-based materials,
working
on assignments, revising for exams and generally discussing things with
others
- staff, students or whomsoever. The onus is very much on you to want
to learn
and to be prepared to organise yourself to do so. Doing the equivalent
of a
full-time job when you don't want to, is no fun.
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Studying something you LOVE to do
If you are studying something that you enjoy very much, the
thought of
spending many hours each week at your studies is no problem at all.
Instead of
thinking 'Oh no!, I have an assignment due in in a week, I'd better go
and do
some work on it', the thought can be much more like 'Great! I can go
and have
some fun developing this web application\game\programme' or whatever it
is you 'have' to do. This approach to learning may seem to be
completely
foreign and
naïve to most people leaving school or further education but, if
you can
find this special thing, it lights you up in a way which makes learning
and good
results
inevitable and a pleasure to achieve.
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Then
getting paid to do it after you graduate
If you have discovered the pleasure of enjoying doing things that
others
call work really well, during your studies, the hunt for gainful
employment
changes from merely being a hunt for a job that is well paid to a job
that you
will really enjoy and is also well paid (which, in the computing field,
they
almost invariably are).
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Employment
rates (and types)
The practical focus of our studies, close links with the industry at
many
levels and a recent year in industry all contribute to our
post-graduate
employment rate of better than 93%, many students gaining
employment
with their placement companies.
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Stories
of specific students
More to follow
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Three
years of study, one placement year
The vast majority of our students are with us for four years before
they
graduate. Three study years and a placement year
(after their second year of studies). Each of these years is
challenging in a
different way but the whole experience results in a graduate that we
can be
proud of. One who knows how to do things, knows how to do them well,
takes
pleasure in doing them well and is fit to work in, and succeed in, the
industry.
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First
year
In the first year, a new student has to cope with many things. Often
living
away from home for the first time, coping with the challenges and
temptations
that this offers, discovering what independent learning really means -
coping
with an expectation that you will learn things and know them for the
next
class when that knowledge will be assumed, even if you haven't been
tested on
it, or even specifically told to do it. The workload is often a shock
and many
experience the horrid feeling of getting 'off-the-pace' in the your
studies
and then, not only having to learn the things later they should have
learned
earlier, but realising that they need to know these things to be able
to
tackle, learn and succeed the next things you study.
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Second
year
When the you have succeeded in your first year studies,
having
learned to function independently in many ways, you are better
equipped to
deal with the second year of your studies. In this year it is assumed
that things that were covered in the first year have been assimilated
and
progress is rapid. The workload is high and it is
simply
assumed that the content of the first year is known. If it is not
known, it is
often necessary to revisit the content of first year modules to
be able
to succeed in the second year. All this is in addition to new
things
coming thick and fast. A compensating factor is that the modules
studied
begin to include some specialist ones, particular to the chosen
specialism.
This often makes things that were studied I(and are being studied)
suddenly
more relevant to what you want to achieve and thus much more
interesting.
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Placement
Year
The experience of doing a 'real' job for twelve months or more is
invaluable.
It not only significantly enhances your chances of meaningful
employment
but,
because it really is real,
it equips the student for
their final year and subsequent
employment in many ways.
We are proud that employers value our students and this positive regard
leads to some interesting
placement
oppotunities.
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Final
Year (and Final Year Project)
In
the final year, most of the modules that are studied pertain to the
student's chosen specialism AND there is a large project to be
completed that
will focus on the students specialism. This project is a very large
undertaking
that involves creating a substantial piece of software in a
professional,
reflective, responsible and informed manner and writing a 20,000
plus
word report.. The student will expect to work on it for about 500
hours. 40
hours a week for 3 months, without a break, is not 500 hours! The
project also
doesn't go away for a very long time - this year the students will have
started
thinking about it during their placement year (many months ago) and it
was not handed in until May 1st 2007. During that time the students
live it,
sleep
it, breathe it and it becomes a way of life.
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Interesting
opportunities – especially with Hewlett Packard in Böblingen
The computing part of the faculty has been managing placements
for
years and
has many, long-established, long-term relationships with employers.
Employers really value our
students because
they are 'real', up-to-date with technologies and are prepared to work
in a
professional manner. This sometimes amazes me as I've taught them! but
it is
genuinely what employers seem to think. It is not uncommon for an
employer to
have one placement student for a year and, when they have gone, take
another in
the same role. This eventually can evolve into the employer having a
permanent
vacancy on the books but simply changing the student every year. This
is how
the relationship with HP developed, now resulting in many students
going, every
year, to Böblingen, near Stuttgart,
to a number of firms who are close to HP as well as to HP themselves.
Staff of
employers who have had good experiences with placement students
tend to
keep the relationship with Staffs (and their placement students) even
when they
move on within the same firm or into different firms. One company (Intergral) is owned and managed
by two
ex-students
of ours and is staffed almost entirely by Staffs graduates, all of whom
did
their placement year there.
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The
difference a placement year makes to employment chances
Being a graduate nowadays is nothing special. So many people graduate
now that
it takes something else to set you apart. The placement year certainly
does
that. Not only do you have an honours degree in a relevant subject area
from an
institution that has a reputation for practical scholarship, but you
also have
twelve months relevant, up-to-date experience of doing a relevant, real
job in
the real world.
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Directly
(with placement company)
It is not
uncommon for an
employer to say to a (good) placement student with whom they have been
pleased
during the placement year 'Give us a ring when you graduate and we'll
see what
we can do'. There is no guarantee that this will turn into a job, but
it often
does. In a similar way, you have found out whether you like working in
that company's
environment. If you do, this almost-offer-of-something-more-permanent
is very
welcome. If you haven't enjoyed it, you simply don't give them a ring
and seek
employment somewhere else. All this secure in the knowledge of the type
of
employment you do NOT want.
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Indirectly
(as twelve months real experience)
In the modern employment market, a placement year differentiates
applicants
from those who do not have this experience. Not only do you have an
honours
degree in a relevant subject area from an institution that has a
reputation for
practical scholarship, but you also have twelve months relevant,
up-to-date
experience of doing a real job in the real world. And a credible
reference to
prove it
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How
it works here (for computing and wider) – Maria’s placement team
There is a placement team in the faculty who act like a
recruitment
agency.
Employers (who are seeking placement students) notify them of
vacancies. The
team advertise these to second year students, all of whom have
completed a type
of CV to be able to start their second year studies. If you are
interested in a
particular vacancy, you inform the placement team who send off your
'CV' to the
employer. The employer then carries out their own selection process to
select
an applicant for the post. This is a microcosm of the 'real'
recruitment
process and invaluable experience for you. The success of the placement
is
reflected in the number of employers with interesting
opportunities
for placement students who keep coming back, year after year.
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How a placement is different to
studying
– quality
matters –
differently
When you are studying, at whatever level, and you do
a piece of
poor work,
you simply receive a poor mark and move on. If you have accumulated
enough
marks to move on from whatever it is you are studying, that is fine. In
a
commercial environment, if you do a poor piece of work and it goes
wrong,
someone rings you up at three in the morning to ask you to come and
mend it. No
matter if you are in no fit state to do this or are thirty miles away,
the
company cannot function because of your poor work, so you go and fix
it. When
it works again, you are chastened and have learned an important lesson
that can
only really be learned outside a study environment - quality really
does
matter!
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Thank you for reading this. Should
you have any comments or additional
information, please do not hesitate to mail them to me at:
mailto:d.t.thomas@staffs.ac.uk