The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
t: +6(03) 8924 8000
f: +6(03) 8924 8002
e: [email protected] (Malaysians)
[email protected] (Non-Malaysians)
July 2011 printed
Applications:
[email protected] (Malaysians)
[email protected] (Non-Malaysians)
School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
http://www.nottingham.edu.my/ComputerScience
KPT/JPT/DFT/US/B19
Disclaimer :
The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this brochure at the time of
publication. The University reserves the right to alter any information without prior notice should the need arise.
School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
Contents
Message from the Director
02 Message from the Director
03 Computer Science at the University
of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
04 Careers
05 Course structures
06 Computer Science Degree Courses
07 Student case studies
09 Applications and Fees
10 Visiting and contacting us
Computers are now a fundamental part of the
information-rich world that we now live in, although
paradoxically they are starting to disappear from view.
The traditional desktop computer is still with us, but
increasingly computers are becoming a part of the fabric
of our high-tech environment. They are in our phones, our
cars, our televisions. They make decisions every time we
apply for a loan, they help doctors to monitor our health,
artists use them to create visual images and special
effects in movies, and they are a standard tool of
musicians. It is hard to think of an area of human
endeavour in which computers don't now play an integral
role.
Computing professionals are the architects of this new
information age, and degrees in areas such as computer
science, software engineering and IT not only produce
highly employable graduates, but they are also the basis
for rewarding and lucrative careers.
In Nottingham we are excited to be able to offer a really
interesting portfolio of computing degrees, which are
designed and delivered by experts. Most of these courses
are available at our beautiful purpose built campus in
Malaysia, where we go to great lengths to ensure that
both the syllabus and quality assurance are identical to
those in the UK.
Timothy Brailsford
Director of Computer Science,
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.
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School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
Computer Science at the University
of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
Careers
Computer science is intimately concerned with
knowing, in detail, how computers and computer
systems work. Building on that knowledge helps us
understand how we can build computer systems and
program them to do what we want them to do. It's
also about the way computers store and process
information and how humans and computers
interact with each other.
Computer scientists need to look at down-to-earth
engineering issues of building tools that help us create
large-scale software systems. But, at the other end of
the scale, there are profound philosophical issues about
what can, or can't be computed. This leads us to ask
profound questions about the fundamental nature of the
‘computation’ process.
Nowadays, we are all surrounded by pervasive
computer technology. This might lake the form of a
traditional desktop or notebook computer, or it might be
a less obvious computer embedded inside a digital TV
or mobile phone.
A computer science degree from The University of
Nottingham will leave you well placed to understand
how to program today's computers and also how to
design and implement the systems of the future whether they are a traditional computer system, a
smart-phone, a tablet device or something completely
new.
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The School
The School of Computer Science has over 30 members
of academic staff in the UK, and 11 at our Malaysia
campus. Their interests cover all aspects of computer
science, and they are all actively engaged with
undergraduate teaching.
In Malaysia, at our purpose built 125-acre campus at
Semenyih, 30km south of Kuala Lumpur city centre, we
are providing a genuine British education in an ASEAN
setting. Our teaching staff consists of both local
Malaysians and international academics, and they are
lead by experienced staff seconded from the UK
campus.
We are committed to excellence and innovation in both
teaching and research, and as such are constantly
reviewing our courses’ content to make sure they are
with the latest developments in the field, and to ensure
our graduates are well placed to pursue their chosen
careers.
Our graduates can look forward to a wide variety of
future opportunities. In the past, some of our
graduates have gone on to work for traditional
computer companies such as Adobe, Google,
Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Microsoft. Others have
gone on to find employment with employers such as
Accenture, Experian, and Ocado, all of whom rely on
computer scientists to develop the systems that
drive their businesses.
Many of our graduates continue with their studies, in
subjects such as machine learning, e-commerce,
information security and psychology. The School of
Computer Science has a good record for recruiting
PhD students from its own graduates and also runs
MSc degrees in IT, Management of IT and Computer
Science with Entrepreneurship.
While many computer science graduates do become
programmers, others employment in a wide variety of
jobs. These include computer analysts, IT consultants
and planners, network/systems designers and
engineers, researchers, software designers and
engineers, web designers, web developers and
producers as well as advertising and marketing
executives, business analysts, chartered accountants,
financial analysts, investment/merchant bankers,
directors and chief executives of major organisations,
legal professionals, officers in armed forces, quality
assurance managers and sales managers.
Our reputation
Our single honours Computer Science degree is
accredited by the British Computer Society (BCS). This
is not only an external recognition of the excellence of
our teaching but also recognition that the skills you learn
while studying the degree are of relevance to industry.
Graduates from this degree qualify for exemption from
the BCS Professional Examination and the degree also
counts as partial fulfilment of the requirements for UK
Chartered Engineer status.
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School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
Course structures
Computer Science Degree Courses
Our degrees are built around a three-year structure.
The first year is considered a qualifying year and is
designed to provide the basic foundations of
knowledge that are required for the later parts of the
course. The second and third years will count
towards your final degree classification.
Every module is worth a set number of credits (typically
10) and you will be expected to complete 120 credits of
modules in each year of study. Each year is divided into
two semesters with exams at the end of each semester,
so you will be expected to take 60 credits of modules in
each semester. Each module will typically have two or
three lectures per week, and many also have associated
lab sessions and tutorials to give you chance to practise
what is taught in the lectures. Some modules make use
of modern approaches to teaching, including e-learning
and social media.
First year
All our single honours degrees have a common first
year, allowing you to easily move between our degrees
at the end of the first year should you wish. The first
year of the Computer Science and Software
Engineering degrees consists of modules that feed in to
the major themes of: Operating Systems and
Architecture; Programming; Mathematical Foundations;
Software Engineering; Net-Centric Computing;
Intelligent Systems and Human-Computer Interaction.
The first year of our joint honours course in Computer
Science and Management is formed from a subset of
these modules, combined with modules provided by the
Business School. You can, should you wish, pick up
the remaining modules as options in later years before
studying the more advanced modules in that theme.
Second year
The second year of our degree revolves around a
20-credit software engineering group project in a
relevant area that is designed to simulate what it is like
to work on a real software project. There is more
advanced study of core computer science (including
programming, networks. data structures, logic and
concurrency) and further specialist modules depending
on the exact degree. In addition you will be able to
choose up to 30 credits from a selection of optional
modules.
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Third year
The third year is centred around a 40-credit individual
project (20 credits for Computer Science and
Management students). You will agree the topic of the
project with a member of staff. Students often propose
their own projects, which allow them great freedom to
specialise in areas of particular interest (for example, in
computer forensics. web security. correct program
construction or intelligent agents). The topic of the
project must be relevant to the degree being studied.
Four further specialist modules are also studied.
Another compulsory module will give you an
understanding of how a modem operating system
works. The remaining credits can be made up from any
high-level optional modules available within the School
with up lo 20 credits allowed for modules from other
schools.
Which course is right for me?
Our straight Computer Science degree focuses upon
how computers work, and how they may be used to
solve real-world problems. If you enjoy problem-solving
and puzzles, then this course might well be the right one
for you. Our Software Engineering degree uses many of
the same modules as used on our computer science
degree, but it is tailored to focus rather more on the
design and implementation of large software systems.
If you enjoy building things, and want to learn to
construct software systems (and that includes
considering people as well as machines), then this
course is likely to be appropriate. Our Computer
Science with Artificial Intelligence degree provides a
general understanding of computer science with
specialist knowledge of the domain of artificial
intelligence, and this course requires you to spend your
final year in the UK – studying advanced AI techniques
with specialist staff we have there. You may wish to
combine computer science with management studies,
and the Computer Science with Management degree
offers half computer science modules and half
management modules, which are taught by the
University’s Business School.
BSc Computer Science
BSc Software Engineering
G400 (3 years)
The Computer Science degree forms the core of our
teaching programme. Within the three years of this
course, you will develop a sound knowledge of the
fundamentals of computer science, including
appreciations of the interaction between hardware and
software; and understanding of human-computer
interaction and the sociological impact of information
technology; and knowledge of the professional
standards and ethics of the computer industry, together
with the skills and confidence to react to its
ever-increasing rate of change.
G601 (3 years)
The software engineering degree is practically oriented,
and focuses on the design and implementation of large
software systems, particularly those with interactive or
multimedia components. It is built around four themes:
the design and implementation of software systems; the
use and development of networked and distributed
systems; user interface principles; and evaluation and
testing.
You will graduate with: general knowledge and
understanding of computer and software systems;
specialised knowledge of the design, implementation,
This course is designed to produce high-quality
user interfaces, and evaluation of software systems;
graduates who show independent thought, flexibility and experience in using a variety of problems encountered
maturity and who command a sound technical
in the area of software engineering; and an
knowledge of the broad aspects of computer science.
understanding of the professional, legal and ethical
aspects of the discipline.
You will gain an appreciation of current computing
practice so that the skills learned can be applied
BSc Computer Science and
immediately after graduation. The course also provides
Management
an understanding of the nature of computer science as
an academic discipline.
GN42 (3 years)
This joint honours course is taught by the School of
BSc Computer Science with Artificial
Computer Science and Nottingham University Business
Intelligence
School. Its primary objective is to produce high-quality
graduates equipped to bridge the gap between
G4G7 (3 years)
leading-edge computer technology and its application in
Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence is
the management of commercial and industrial
designed to offer both a general understanding of
enterprises. The course develops skills required by
computer science as well as specialist skills in artificial
computing professional and managers alike. These
intelligence. Additionally, optional module choices offer include project management skills; the ability to
the opportunity to study computer science in the context schedule work, plan exercises and take part in and run
of robotic systems.
meetings; teamworking and delegation skills; and the
ability to combine the skills of specialists.
In addition to fundamental computer science classes
and laboratories, the course covers topics including
This degree is half computer science and half business
studies. Its core modules in each year are a subset of
expert systems, intelligent agents, the history and
philosophy of artificial intelligence, machine learning,
the core modules for the respective single honours
computer vision, neural networks, heuristic optimization degrees. Although you will be welcome to carry out a
and other intelligent systems. By following this
group project in the second year we do not make this
compulsory and you will be able to choose other
programme you will learn how to develop new
methodologies and novel computational techniques for
options should you wish. In the final year, you will
typically take a scaled-down individual project worth 20
the creation of human-like intelligence. The first two
years of this three-year degree is taught at the Malaysia credits, along with other taught modules from both
campus, but students must transfer to the UK for the
schools.
third year of their studies. There, they will be able to
take a variety of specialist courses that are supported
by the world-leading research that is undertaken within
the school.
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School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
Student case studies
Zalina Ali
Shoba Raman
BSc Computer Science and Management (2008)
BSc Computing and Information Systems (2008)
Upon graduating, Zalina joined Innovation Associates Consulting at KLCC as a
consultant in Public Sector Management focusing on change and project
management and developing the Tourism Blueprint. She has since worked on
projects with government agencies, including the Ministry of Finance and the
Economic Planning Unit, as well as government-linked companies such as Maybank,
the Iskandar Region Development Authority (IRDA) and Telekom Malaysia. She is
now an analyst working for the Chief Minister of Perak in the Research & Strategy
department - investigating into socio-economic developments aimed at improving
quality of life.
Shoba Raman is now working as an analyst/programmer for British American
Tobacco, Malaysia Bhd., developing an enterprise architecture tool, which is being
used for modelling processes. This gives her an excellent opportunity to work
closely with business people and to explore the business flow while remaining in the
field of IT.
“My three years of university experience has taught me great leadership and
management skills, that have enabled me to stand where I am now.”
Jer Lang Hong
BSc Computer Science (2005)
After graduating, Jer Lang Hong continued his studies at Monash University, and
was awarded a PhD in 2010. He is now a lecturer in the School of Information
Technology at Monash University, where is researching in areas of information
retrieval and the semantic web.
“As a Computer Science student of University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus,
I worked hard, regularly attended lectures, and read additional articles and
journals. Also, frequent discussions with lecturers outside of the class helped me
a lot in acquiring co-curricular knowledge.
“I enjoyed my life at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus a lot. The
lecturers were friendly and helpful, and the quiet environment suits the educational
life very well. I learned many positive things during my time there:
Independence
I learned to complete project independently, to live independently and this made
me do all of my daily work by myself.
Hardwork
I learned that nothing can be achieved easily without putting in your own effort –
regardless of whether it is an exam or an assignment.
Communication Skills
I learned how to deliver a good presentation confidently, and this has really helped
me to communicate with business users and superiors without fear.
Nottingham University helped me to acquire technical skills as well as soft skills and,
most importantly, communication skills – that have all helped me greatly in my
organisation.”
My final year project, on a 3D War Game, and regular discussions with my
advisor, helped me to obtain a first class honours degree. I firmly believe that it is
a great honour to be a graduate of University of Nottingham.”
N.E. Ganesh Kumar
MSc Information Technology (2004)
Since graduating Ganesh Kumar has worked for Sutherland Global Software
Services in Chennai, India, initially leading a business intelligence reporting team
and now working in as a team leader in project management.
“At the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus I acquired skills and had a great
exposure to many different areas of IT, which were previously unknown to me. This
exposure gave me good knowledge of computer security, human factors in
computers and user interface design, to name but a few. This has helped me a lot
in my career, as few people in companies here have much experience with these
advanced areas of knowledge. I have now given lectures in these areas in my
office, in order to share these skills that I have acquired with my colleagues.”
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School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
School of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study
Applications and Fees
Visiting and contacting us
Tuition Fees and Accommodation
English language
The tuition fees (2011/2012) for all undergraduate
Computer Science courses are RM 31,500 per year for
Malaysian students and RM 35,000 per year for
international students.
• IELTS: 6.0 (no less than 5.0 in any element)
• TOEFL paper-based: 550 (no less than 4.0 in TWE)
• TOEFL iBT: 79 (no less than 17 in any element)
• SPM/GCSE level: Grade 4
• UEC: Grade 2 at Senior Middle 2 level
For students who need to enhance their English
language skills before joining a degree programme, The
Centre for English Language Education offers
Pre-sessional Language Courses which are open to all
prospective students.
The cost of living in Malaysia, for a student, is typically
around RM 1,200 per month (inclusive of food, books,
entertainment, transportation, laundry, etc.). The
Malaysia Campus offers a variety of accommodation
options at various prices. Students can choose from
on-campus halls of residence to off-campus
university-arranged accommodation provided by
external developers. The accommodation office liaises
closely with external developers to ensure that all
accommodation meets acceptable standards in terms of
health and safety requirements.
Scholarships
The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus grants
scholarships to deserving and academically excellent
students in recognition of their achievements.
Applicants are selected based on their academic
achievements and the socio-economic status of their
family. There are also various options and sources
which are available to help finance your education, and
students with outstanding academic results can seek
sponsorship from various sponsoring bodies. Further
information is available on our website:
http://www.nottingham.edu.my/ProspectiveStudents/Sc
holarships/
How to Apply
You will need to complete an application form and
submit this, along with your academic reference form
and supporting documents, by post, fax or e-mail. Full
details of the procedures as well as the required forms
are on our web site. For Malaysian students this is:
http://www.nottingham.edu.my/Applications/Malays
ian/apply.aspx
We hope that this brochure has answered any
questions you may have had about studying computer
science at the University of Nottingham Malaysia
Campus. We hope that you will apply to join our
thriving undergraduate community. If you have any
individual enquiries about our courses or entry to the
school then please e-mail us at
[email protected] or telephone at +603
8924 8039. We have regular faculty open days that are
advertised on the web and through the local press.
Also, we are happy for you to drop in to see us. If you
want to do so then please make an appointment using
the e-mail address or phone number above.
The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
Jalan Broga
43500 Semenyih
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
and for international students it is:
http://www.nottingham.edu.my/Applications/Interna
tional/apply.aspx
Entry Requirements
Academic
• STPM: B+BB, including Grade B+ in Mathematics
and a Science subject, excluding General Studies
• A-Levels: BCC, including Grade B in Mathematics
and a Science subject, excluding General Studies.
• SAM/AUSMAT/HSC: ATAR 80.
• Canadian Pre-U: 75% average based on 6 subjects,
including Mathematics and Science subjects.
• IB: 28 points, including 5 points in Mathematics (SL).
• UEC: 4 A’s, including Mathematics and Grade B in 2
other academic subjects, excluding Chinese
Language and Bahasa Malaysia.
• Nottingham Foundation in Science: Average pass
marks of 40% and above, including all Computer
Science modules.
• HND and other equivalent Diploma/Advanced
Diploma with a minimum average of Grade B and
Distinction in Mathematics can be considered for
direct entry into Year 2.
• Other equivalent qualifications will be considered on
a case-by-case basis.
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