Course Detail

Introduction to the Programme

This applied course will give students an in-depth understanding of network management, providing them with a systematic understanding of the concepts and standards for network management, network management protocols and network management tools. The course looks at virtualisation and cloud computing, exploring and understanding modern data centres, virtualisation, distributed storage, MapReduce, NoSQL, platform services, web services and caching. Students will study online security risks, the steps needed to ensure that data is transmitted and stored securely and measures that can be taken not only to prevent breaches but to minimise damage if they do occur.

Why Study MSc Network Management and Cloud Computing?

The MSc programme will provide you with:

An awareness and understanding of the increasing values that information management provides to the business objectives of all organisations
The ability to involve both the management and the user in the process of awareness, decision and implementation of a computer network.
The ability to prepare a project budget and implementation strategy appropriate for the management of a major IT project.
The ability to evaluate the technical organisational and economic aspects of developments as new opportunities for business process redesign and/or expansion.
The ability to make a functional and technical design of an information system based on project goals and company’s standards and quality systems.
The ability to evaluate the performance of a communication system using analytical and/or simulation tools and manage the implementation of a complete communication design project.
Students have an edge as the University works with companies such as Microsoft, Dell EMC, IBM, Oracle and SAP in addition to being Cisco Net Academy – meaning the student will have access to the latest equipment and can make use of specialist teaching materials and workshops.
Programme content is enriched by providing industry engagement opportunities to students through industry speakers and field trips.

Course Fees : AED 63,000

Benefits

Opportunity for professional certifications e.g. CCNA, Dell EMC Associate certificate in Cloud Infrastructure and Services, Dell EMC Associate certificate in Data Science
ESD compliant Computer Engineering Lab with state-of-the-art National Instruments equipment
Opportunity to work on industry projects as part of final year projects and coursework
Opportunity to engage with high profile professionals at invited guest talks and field trips
Opportunity to participate at various IT competitions and Hackathons under faculty mentorship
Gain leadership experience by joining the MDX Computing Society
Entry to various events and talks open only to Universities that have MoU with the British Computer Society – Middle East section

Programme Content

The MSc Network Management & Cloud Computing programme is normally studied over two years on a part time basis or one year on a full time basis. The programme is divided into study units called modules. A module is a unit of study with credits according to the subject and nature of learning. Students take 180 credits, with each 30 credit module representing approximately 300 hours of student learning, endeavour and assessment.

Please refer to our Academic Calendar for further information: http://www.mdx.ac.ae/life-at-university/academic-calendar

Module and programme information is indicative and may be subject to change.

Year 1
- Postgraduate Project in Computer and Communications Engineering (60 Credits) - Compulsory
  
  Your final module is a large project on a topic you are a passionate about which is worth one third of the total masters. The project gives you the chance to combine your general and specialist computer and communications engineering knowledge and understanding, applying an existing or emerging technology to the solution of a practical problem. You could instead choose to carry out research to contribute and extend the theoretical understanding of new and advancing technology and its application. Through your project will also be able to demonstrate a personal commitment to professional standards, recognising obligations to society, the profession and the environment, while also becoming a specialist in a particular area of computer and communications engineering.
  
  Recent areas students have chosen to investigate have included evaluating WSNs, VANETs and open queueing networks with unreliable servers.
- Project Research and Communication Skills ( Credits) - Compulsory
  
  This zero-credit module is designed to develop your understanding of the process behind designing, planning and conducting applied research – which is essential before embarking upon your final 60-credit project. The research methods module covers research techniques, data collection and analysis, academic writing, referencing and citation, and how to develop a research proposal before you present your project through a written thesis and an oral exam. The module encourages you to apply and test theory and contribute to applications. It will also enhance your ability to handle data for problem solving and evaluation, and to test theory using analysis and simulations – integrating the learning from other modules. The module will also give you the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the legal, social, ethical and professional issues in the context of computer communications.
- Enterprise Network Troubleshooting (15 Credits) - Compulsory
  
  This in-depth module provides a theoretical and practical overview of troubleshooting complex enterprise networks. It will enable you to communicate advanced network concepts to both networking experts and non-experts and apply the techniques you have learned to carry out projects. With at least 36 hours spent developing your skills in our industry-standard labs, the module focuses on turning you in to a qualified network manager, administrator and engineer with both problem solving and practical skills, such as selecting and configuring appropriate protocols.
- Virtualisation and Cloud Computing (30 Credits) - Compulsory
  
  This module covers various issues relating to virtualisation and could computing, with at least 24 hours spent working in labs over the duration of the module. You will focus on exploring and understanding modern data centres, virtualisation, distributed storage, MapReduce, NoSQL, platform services, web services and caching. At the end of the module you will be able to critically assess a variety of cloud platforms, use quantitative and qualitative techniques to professionally design and implement scalable applications and services that execute in a distrusted computing environment, and evaluate the trade-offs and challenges when developing a cloud.
- Network Systems and Services (15 Credits) - Compulsory
  
  You will study the design, implementation and maintenance of network systems and services. You examine concepts such as a network operating system and explore networking paradigms including socket and thread-based programming, remote procedure calls (RPC), corba and Java RMI You will also explore the design and implementation of global services such as web servers. The course concludes by looking at new developments in networking including network processors, blade servers and grid computing.
- Network Management (30 Credits) - Compulsory
  
  This module is designed to help you develop into a network manager or engineer with advanced problem solving and practical skills, and includes at least 24 hours of lab work. It will provide you with a systematic understanding of the concepts and standards for network management, network management protocols and network management tools which are used in current and future communication infrastructures. You will complete the module with critical insight and practical experience of the essential computer network management tools, as well as their development, operation, monitoring and assessment.
- Operating Systems and Application Environments (15 Credits) - Compulsory
  
  This module focuses on the design and implementation of the modern operating systems and application environments used to build commercial, online applications. The module involves at least 12 hours of lab work and examines key operating concepts including processes and threads, memory management, scheduling, inter-process communication (IPC), device drivers, storage systems, multiprocessor systems, micro-kernels and networking interfaces. You will concentrate on Linux, Windows, Apple iOS and Android operating systems before focusing on a detailed study of key application environments including the Eclipse IDE, XCode, and Android SDK. Finally, we look at the concept of virtual machines and building applications for the cloud using the Google GAE SDK.
- Computer Networks and Internetworking (15 Credits) - Compulsory
  
  During this module you will develop a systematic understanding of the concepts, protocols and standards for computer networks and internetworking, used in current and future communication infrastructures. It is vital in today's networking market that network managers, administrators and engineers have a critical insight and practical experience of the essential tools used for monitoring, managing and evaluating computer networks. This module, which includes at least 12 hours spent working in labs, is designed to equip you with these problem solving and practical skills.

Teaching

Taught sessions are held at our Dubai Knowledge Village Park (Block 16, 17, 04 and 19) during the week (Sunday to Thursday) between 6:30pm and 9:30pm. Additional sessions might be scheduled over weekends or holiday periods and you can expect to receive plenty of notice for these. You can expect to attend one session per week per module, except where otherwise specified in the programme timetable and for the Dissertation module in which you will be working individually on your thesis with some supervised elements. Attending scheduled weekly classes is an important requirement for completion of this programme.

You will be actively involved in a range of learning, teaching and assessment approaches as part of your programme. Such active approaches aim to put you at the centre of your learning so you are involved and engaged in all aspects of your assessment and learning. Your programme will require your active participation in learning activities and engagement with your fellow students both individually and collaboratively, working and learning with other students as part of a small group. Learning activities may also occur both within and outside the classroom.

Your learning will also be supported by technology. Increasingly your tutors will be using existing and emerging learning technologies to engage you in e-learning activities. Your programme may be facilitated using a variety of media and online tools (My Learning on UniHub, podcasts, wikis, etc.) which could allow you flexible access to a diverse range of online resources, quizzes and learning materials as well as collaborative tools with which you can engage and learn with your peers.

Not confined by the time and space associated with traditional teaching methods you may take part in online discussions and learning activities from wherever you are studying. By engaging with e- learning you will also be developing skills which are essential for your learning and are also highly valued by employers. These include but are not limited to: working flexibly, communication, understanding of IT, team working and creating shared understandings based on quality resources and access to global expertise.

Taught modules are devised to ensure active learning both of the subject matter and of the skills essential to postgraduate level study. In addition to scheduled class time, students are expected to undertake independent study doing research work, preparing for lectures and seminars and working in groups.

A number of assessment methods are used at Middlesex University, and these vary depending on the content of the modules being taught.

Assessment comprises a mixture of coursework, peer review, presentations and portfolio work. For example, you may give an oral presentation, read and comment on an academic article or write an academic essay. Case studies are used extensively. In addition, each module has a comprehensive range of on-line resources available to enhance your studies with us. You will receive detailed module handbooks each year with information on teaching and learning strategies, assessment methods and reading materials.

Entry requirements

Academic and Work Experience Requirements

Minimum second class honours degree (UK) or an equivalent overseas qualification in computer science or networks, or in a field that provided significant exposure to IT, for example, management, business, mathematics, science or engineering. We also accept applicants with degrees in other fields who can demonstrate relevant industrial experience combined with extensive IT background.

English Language Requirements (Postgraduate)

All programmes at Middlesex University Dubai are taught in English and applicants with previous education outside of English-speaking countries (such as the UK, the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand), must demonstrate English language proficiency as follows:

English Language Test	Entry Requirement
IELTS Academic	6.5 (minimum 6.0 in each band)
TOEFL Internet-based	87 (21 in listening & writing, 22 in speaking and 23 in reading)
PearsonPTE Academic	58
PearsonPTE General	Level 4

For admissions related enquiries, kindly contact our admissions team on 0097143678100 / 0097143751212 alternatively you can email on admissions@mdx.ac.ae

Future Careers and Employability

The large sums invested in computer networks and services have created a global market for graduates with network skills and on completion of this course you will have excellent career prospects within this ﬁeld. Opportunities range from the design and management of local area networks (LANs) to global wide area networks (WANs).

This course will leave you rightly placed for a role as a network or information systems manager, engineer or administrator, either working for a company in-house or for a ﬁrm specialising in network management, dealing with several clients. But a wide range of other roles will also be open to you in the private, public and not-for-proﬁt sectors; or you could work freelance or move into project management, consultancy, academia or further research. You could even start your own business.

Profiles

Graduate profiles

Our graduates are employed in various areas such as network administration, network management, telecommunication engineering and programming.

Hadi Sanei

After over four years' professional experience as a computer engineer in his home country of Iran, Hadi decided to study a masters degree to deepen his knowledge of computer networking. After doing some online research, he was impressed by what the Middlesex computing department offered and he applied straight away.

"Completing my MSc course gave me a huge amount of confidence in myself and my capabilities. I learnt how to deal with complex problems, how to analyse them and how to find the best solutions. The modules on systems simulations and modelling completely changed my career plans. I found the topic so interesting that I based my final project around it, which was later published and presented as a conference paper in the UK and Italy."

Soon after graduating, Hadi went to work for a small consultancy company in London and after six months he moved into a higher position at a much larger company. Hadi started working for Halcrow Group Limited in 2007 as a systems engineer. He has been with Halcrow for four years and currently works as a Principal Project Manager in the Tail team.

"We provide consultancy services and design for a variety of rail systems globally. In the last four years, I have worked on many major rail projects in the UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar, Canada and Brazil."

Hadi is currently managing a national high profile metro line project in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in which more than 30 professional engineers from Halcrow are involved both locally and remotely.

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MSc Network Management and Cloud Computing

Introduction to the Programme

Benefits

Programme Content

Year 1

Postgraduate Project in Computer and Communications Engineering (60 Credits) - Compulsory

Project Research and Communication Skills ( Credits) - Compulsory

Enterprise Network Troubleshooting (15 Credits) - Compulsory

Virtualisation and Cloud Computing (30 Credits) - Compulsory

Network Systems and Services (15 Credits) - Compulsory

Network Management (30 Credits) - Compulsory

Operating Systems and Application Environments (15 Credits) - Compulsory

Computer Networks and Internetworking (15 Credits) - Compulsory