Artificial Intelligence MSc
1 Year Full Time | September Start

This module is designed to develop your knowledge, understanding and skills in object oriented programming and program design concepts, using an object first approach. Specifically, you will learn how to design, implement, test and document programs and will gain practical programming experience by solving small scale problems. In addition, you will cover the need for standards and the principles of quality. In particular, the syllabus of the module will cover topics such as:

• Programming: simple data types and calculations; classes, objects, inheritance, interfaces, polymorphism; methods, constructors; parameter passing; arrays and strings; simple collection classes; statements for selection and iteration; exception handling; file and stream handling; APIs
• GUI programming : event driven programming, GUI components
• Tools: use of a compiler and associated Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Documentation tools.
• Program testing: purpose of testing, black box and white box testing. Use of tool support.

Since the module is intended for graduates from disciplines other than Computing, no previous programming experience is assumed.

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 and project management, and you will apply them to develop a master’s project proposal. This will include research approaches and methods of research, including literature searching, evaluation and review and risk management within project management tools and techniques. You will also consider relevant legal, ethical and social issues and good professional practice.

By the end of this module you will have constructed a project proposal which can be executed in a master’s project. This will contain a brief literature review justifying a research question, establish aims and objectives, carry out a risk evaluation and provide a plan of execution, using tools and techniques in project management, including an outline of deliverables (both artefacts and products).

The aim of this module is to enable you to undertake a substantial academic research project at Masters level and present the results from this work in both written and oral forms. Your project itself will be a major piece of independent and original research centred at the forefront of your programme discipline within the wider sphere of the computer science and digital technologies field.

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 consider and address the professional, ethical, legal and social issues related 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 science and digital technologies and demonstrate critical and innovative thinking and problem solving within a research environment.

Your research proposal will normally have been produced as part of an earlier module on research and project planning but should be reviewed again at the start of the project phase to ensure it is still valid and appropriate.

Academic skills when studying away from your home institution can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject area in the Department of Architecture and Built Environment. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.

The topics you will cover on the module include:

• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’.
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Speed reading techniques.
• Discussing ethical issues in research, and analysing results.
• Describing bias and limitations of research.
• Developing self-reflection skills.

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

At the cutting edge of interactive technologies we find intelligent systems. Artificial Intelligence (AI) increasingly allows interactive systems to work with autonomy, making decisions for users, carrying out tasks for them, and prompting input. As systems become increasingly intelligent, the challenges of designing interfaces that are transparent, understandable and accountable to the users become harder. In this module you will study the human factors considerations of designing, using and evaluating intelligent user interfaces (IUIs). You will study a number of application areas of IUIs, and will practice the design and evaluation skills of the Human-Computer Interaction professional to specifically prototype and evaluate an IUI in class.

Taking a human-centred perspective throughout, indicative topics that will be addressed will include (but are not limited to):

IUI Design and Prototyping Techniques
Voice User Interfaces / Natural Language Systems
Agent-Based Interactions / Chatbots
Recommender Systems
Human-Robot Interaction (Industrial and Personal)
Job/Function Allocation
AI and Secure Systems
Vehicle Automation / Intelligent Transport
Home Automation
Smart Cities
IUI Ethics