Artificial Intelligence MSc
1 Year Full Time | September Start

In this module you will learn about methods of analysing and designing information systems using object-oriented methods. You will gain an understanding of the general IT system development lifecycle and the activities and personnel roles applicable at each lifecycle stage, and of the concepts of professional standards and codes for systems analysis and design projects. This will include learning how to specify system requirements and use systems analysis and design techniques to develop workable solutions to business information system problems. You will be learn and apply an object-oriented approach to develop information systems projects using the techniques of the Unified Modelling Language (UML) - the leading notation used for specifying systems. This will include advanced modelling concepts and techniques that are used to build complex object models. In particular, the syllabus of the module will cover topics such as:
• Information systems: information systems to support organisational types and objectives; strategic, tactical, operational and control systems
• Systems development activities and lifecycles: the systems development lifecycle, rationale for 'staged' system development and the key stages, roles and deliverables; the role of prototyping and iterative development; Unified System Development Process (USDP) or another lifecycle for object-oriented development
• Systems investigation techniques: the key areas of system investigation and applicable fact-finding techniques - interviewing, document examination, observation etc.
• Systems specification techniques using an object-oriented approach: defining the problem statement and structuring it through Use Case Modelling; going from Use Cases to a first-cut behavioural model (communication diagrams) with associated class diagrams; basic modelling syntax.
• Object oriented design: object model-objects, classes, inheritance, generalisation, links and associations; purpose of design; interaction modelling (sequence diagrams) and state machines in design; specifying operations with activity diagrams; design patterns.
• Class and method design: classes, objects, and messages
• Data Management Layer Design: relationship database, object-oriented database design, data access design and manipulation classes
• Human-Computer Interaction Layer Design: including principles for user interface design, content awareness, user experience, etc
• Physical layer design: including elements of the physical architecture layer, architectural components, infrastructure design, etc
• Construction: including programming management, documentation, and testing



• Professional codes of practice: the need for professional standards within analysis and design; British Computer Society, the Chartered Institute for IT codes.

In this module you will learn about research and the processes involved in carrying out research in the area of computer and information sciences. The module will encompass the full research cycle from development of the initial concept through to final evaluation and reflection on your research. You will learn how to search, find and evaluate the literature and how to use this to construct a critical literature review. You will also be able to gain an understanding of different research methods and techniques and how to apply them in practice. You will be given the opportunity to gain expertise in data and information analysis, from data collection through to the analysis, presentation and interpretation of results. You will be able to critically evaluate and reflect on the research process. You will also learn about ethics and professional conduct whilst undertaking research and consider and manage risk (including health and safety) and legal, societal and sustainability issues with respect to a research project.

Alongside this you will be provided with the skills and techniques to effectively manage a project from start to finish, including the planning and monitoring aspects.

The aim of this module is to enable you to undertake a substantial academic research project at Masters level, record your progress though this, and present the results from your research in both written and oral forms. Your research project will be a major piece of independent and original research centred at the forefront of your programme discipline within the wider sphere of computer and information sciences.

You will experience the full life cycle of a research project from initial conception and development of a research proposal, through a critical review of the literature, planning, design, implementation and analysis of your main research project, to final evaluation, reflection and dissemination. You will be expected to conduct your research in an ethical and professional manner, and manage risk and consideration of the legal, societal and sustainability issues applicable, to this academic research project. You will also be expected to apply your expertise, project management and practical skills within your particular domain of computer and information sciences and demonstrate critical and innovative thinking and problem solving within a research environment.

In this module you will learn various digital technologies that will work with AI for various real-world applications, and investigate how these technologies can transform the business, finance, manufacturing, etc. The module will cover the following key topics, such as:
• Digital transformation technology
• Artificial intelligence
• Machine learning
• Big data
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Blockchain
• Robotics
• Clouds
• Cyber security and privacy
• Industry 4.0

The aim of the module is to provide you with knowledge and understanding of artificial intelligence techniques and digital signal and image processing systems, including how to solving problems in these areas. In particular, you will cover topics such as:
• Introduction to artificial intelligence
• Supervised machine learning techniques and classifiers
• Shallow learning and Deep learning neural network techniques
• Optimisation algorithms for general neural networks
• Unsupervised machine learning techniques
• Introduction to digital signal, image and computer vision fundamentals
• Applications of state-of-the-art supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques with real datasets

In this module you will learn the tools and techniques required to build software systems using a programming language such as Python. You will be introduced to core programming concepts, master their use and get practical experience of how to apply them in appropriate contexts. Specifically, this will comprise developing a working knowledge of variables and types, operators and conditional statements, looping structures and functions, as well as more sophisticated data structures (e.g. lists and classes) and working with files. Using a modern Integrated Development Environment (IDE) you will be exploring fundamental programming principles applicable to modern programming languages including, debugging, testing and error-handling, modularity and code reuse, and discover programming paradigms, for example Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). Overall, you will develop and apply your skills using contemporary development libraries and hone your professional practice through learning industry standard software design principles.

Computing technologies have a range of effects on society, which will be explored in this module. Drawing on relevant theory and research, key issues will be introduced and critically evaluated. Seminars provide the opportunity to critically reflect, and develop skills in verbal communication, around the role of computing professionals in the development and application of technology within society. This module considers topics such as the commercial contexts and drivers which shape computing products, the types of harms and exclusion which arise in an increasingly digital society, the use of technology by governments to provide civic services, and debates around the effects of technology on children and young people. The presentation, potential moral panic and hyperbole around emergent technologies such as AI, and the social media landscape will also be contextualised theoretically. This module presents a holistic view of ethical and responsible computing which not only identifies harms, but also a diverse range of opportunities to create new economic markets, empower individuals, and provide a forum for the sharing of information to challenge existing power structures, e.g. the Panama papers, whistleblowing and ethical hacking. You learn how to identify and use evidence to construct argument, and identify the possible risks, exclusions and harms your work as a computing professional may potentially give rise too, and how to mitigate these.