Informatics BSc (Hons) top-up

Learn how to design and build mobile apps using modern tools and frameworks. Discover what makes mobile development unique, like working with device limitations and creating smooth, user-friendly interfaces, and gain the skills to build fully functional apps for today’s mobile platforms.

Get hands-on experience with tools such as Xamarin and .NET MAUI, while learning key software design patterns used by professionals to make apps scalable and efficient. As you progress, integrate databases and RESTful APIs to manage and connect data, and use analytics tools and Crashlytics to track performance, understand user behaviour and keep your apps running smoothly.

Compulsory

Learn how Web APIs connect websites, apps and online services, powering everything from social media to complex web systems. Gain the practical skills to design, build and deploy your own API-driven web applications.

Start by exploring how APIs work and the key technologies behind them, including REST, JSON, YAML, XML and AJAX, using these to create secure and efficient communication between web applications. Develop a strong understanding of front-end and back-end development, learning how they interact, and which modern tools and frameworks are used to build scalable, professional web solutions.

Enhance your JavaScript skills through hands-on coding, covering topics like modules, promises, functional programming and asynchronous callbacks. By the end, you should be able to design, test and implement reliable APIs that bring dynamic, interactive websites and apps to life.

Compulsory

Choose one from the following two modules:

• Neural Networks and Deep Learning – 30 credits
  Explore deep learning, an exciting part of artificial intelligence that helps computers recognise patterns, make decisions and even create new content. Study how deep learning systems are designed, trained and tested, while building your own models from scratch.
  Discover how neural networks work and how they’re inspired by the human brain. See how layers of connected nodes process information, make predictions and improve through learning. Dive into the techniques that teach these networks, like backpropagation, gradient descent and activation functions, to understand complex data.
  Apply deep learning to real-world problems. Use convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for image recognition, recurrent neural networks (RNNs) for text and speech and experiment with generative and reinforcement learning models used in advanced AI systems, from game-playing bots to creative tools.
• Natural Language Processing and Generative AI – 30 credits
  Dive into the exciting world of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). Learn how computers understand, process and create human language, developing both your technical skills and theoretical understanding using contemporary AI tools and techniques.
  Explore the basics of NLP, including how to clean and prepare text data, break it into tokens and perform tasks like identifying parts of speech or named entities. Explore language models and transformer architectures, such as BERT, applying them to real-world projects like text classification and sentiment analysis.
  Experiment with generative AI models, including GANs, VAEs and GPT-based systems, learning how to build and evaluate tools that can create text or other content. Discuss the ethical and social impacts of AI, exploring topics such as bias, fairness and responsible innovation.
  By the end, you should understand how NLP and generative AI are transforming industries from healthcare to entertainment and you’ll be ready to apply your skills to cutting-edge challenges in the field.

Please note that availability of optional modules is dependent on reaching minimum student numbers required to enable viability. Should you select a module that falls below the minimum number required you will be informed of the options that are running.

Optional

In this module, you’ll bring together everything you’ve learned during your degree to complete a major individual project. Take on a real-world challenge in your chosen area, using your creativity, problem-solving and technical skills to design and develop a practical solution.

You’ll get support through sessions on project planning, time management, research methods, literature reviews and system design to help you manage your work effectively. Explore data collection, analysis and validation, along with the ethical and professional responsibilities that guide sustainable and responsible development.

Compulsory