Expand+Overview
The Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector plays a very significant role in Ireland and other countries. In Ireland, this sector comprises more than a thousand organisations ranging from multinationals to start-up companie...

Hide-Overview
The Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector plays a very significant role in Ireland and other countries. In Ireland, this sector comprises more than a thousand organisations ranging from multinationals to start-up companies. Up to 60% of ICT activity in Ireland is communications related including wireless applications, infrastructure and telecommunications.

Recent years, however, have seen changes within these industries that could result in lower value activities moving to low cost countries. The best way to counter this, from an Irish perspective, is to create higher value-added jobs in ICT and in converged communications research in particular. The increased level of public investment in ICT research and development in recent years, mainly by Science Foundation Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, has been motivated by this strategic goal.

At the heart of the profound change in the ICT sector is the convergence of telecommunications and Internet technologies and the emergence of large-scale, open networks that can provide all kinds of services. The telephone service is becoming just one of several available, and all these services are being provided increasingly over the Internet. People want so-called ‘pervasive’ presence – the ability to be connected wherever and whenever they choose, regardless of location. To facilitate this, we will progressively see computing and communications facilities embedded into our ‘smart’ homes, cars and shared public spaces. At the same time, we will want to protect our privacy and to trust the security of communications and transactions we make using this emerging infrastructure.

Recognising these trends, Waterford Institute of Technology has offered, since September 2005, a taught MSc in Computing that specialises in Communications Software. This MSc specifically addresses the major thematic areas of the ICT sector that are perceived to offer best prospects for growth, particularly in an Irish context. These areas include communications management, service development, security and new developments in ubiquitous and pervasive computing.

TSSG
This MSc programme is very closely linked to the highly successful Telecommunications Software & Systems Group (TSSG) at WIT. The TSSG was founded in 1996 within the Department of Computing, Mathematics & Physics at WIT and has grown to be one of the largest and most successful research centres in Ireland, employing over 150 people. The TSSG is entirely self-financing and competes successfully for funding at national and international level, with total funding to date of approximately €40 million and a total of 35 currently active projects (at time of writing).

Expand+The MSc programme is delivered in a modular format, as follows.

Part-time students (24 months):
Year 1:
September - January: 2 x 10-credit modules
January - May: 2 x 10-credit modules
June - September: Dissertation

Year 2:
Septem...

Hide-The MSc programme is delivered in a modular format, as follows.

Part-time students (24 months):
Year 1:
September - January: 2 x 10-credit modules
January - May: 2 x 10-credit modules
June - September: Dissertation

Year 2:
September - January: 1 x 10-credit modules + Dissertation
January - May: 11 x 10-credit modules + Dissertation
June - September: Dissertation

Students must obtain 90 credits from a combination of six 10-credit modules and a dissertation. Certain modules are designated as mandatory for the named MSc award (i.e. Communicatons Software). Elective modules are chosen by students, subject to their availability and approval by the programme board. A combination of two 5-credit modules is considered equivalent to a 10-credit module.

Part-time students are generally released by their employers to attend classes for two mornings per week (2 hours per morning). This is supplemented with online support.

Core modules
• Agile Software Development (10 credits)
• Communications Infrastructure & Security (10 credits)
• Design Patterns (10 credits)
• Communications Services Management (10 credits)
• Dissertation (including mandatory Research Methods courses) (30 credits)

Elective modules (just some of these will be offered each semester)
• Graph Theory and Optimisation (10 credits)
• Dynamic User Interface Development (10 credits)
• Relational Persistence (10 credits)
• Enterprise Component Development (10 credits)
• Ubiquitous & Pervasive Computing (10 credits)
• Service Oriented Architecture (10 credits)
• Dynamic Languages (10 credits)
• Mobile Application Development (5 credits)
• Media Processing (5 credits)