Advanced Informatics

Programme in brief

This exchange programme is the fourth semester of our informatics bachelor programme and will give you the chance to choose from a set of specialisation courses in the following areas: Business Informatics, Advanced Software Concepts, Embedded Systems / Internet of Things, Data Science and Cyber Security. Furthermore, a software development project has to be done that fits with the chosen courses.

In this programma we offer four different specialisations: Business Informatics, Software Engineering, Data Science/AI and Embedded Systems. Students choose one specialisation and each specialisation has 2 or 3 courses of 5 ECTS and a associated project of 10 ECTS. Additional, students can choose courses from one of the other specialisations or the course Introduction to Cyber Security.

This is an overview of all courses (electives) offered within the programma Advanced Informatics. The courses, including the project, belonging to the specialisation are mandatory. Decide for yourself which course(s) you would like to take to obtain your desired number of ECTS. Under the condition that not all combinations are possible because of time table clashes.

Specialisation Project (PRJ4)
The main goal of this project is that students apply concepts of their chosen specialization in a project setting. For every specialisation, there will be a project case offered. But in case students have an idea of their own (whether in connection with a company or not), they may pitch to do their project instead. Learning how to come up with a project plan and to pitch is part of the project in the beginning. Students work in duo’s and relatively on their own. 
(Entry requirement: project and programming experience of at least 1 – 1,5 years)

Intro to Cyber Security (INCS) 5 ECTS
This module, being an introduction, is about Cyber Security in a broad sense. Since information security is much more than analyzing attacks and code, this module will not focus solely on the software (code) part but also on legal and organizational and business-related issues surrounding security. The practical part is related to the more technical part, so e.g. encryption topics or monitoring/analyzing network traffic. It is obvious nowadays and learned the hard way that Cyber Security is quite important in the IT world. This module offers an overview over the legal context and means of attack and defense in both technological and organisational/process perspective. A practical part will focus on some area of attack/defense.
(Entry requirement: programming experience)

Data Warehouses (DAWA) 5 ECTS
For the decision process in companies it is of essential importance to have an integrated view on all data which are relevant for the decisions. Classical database systems cannot deliver this information, or only with high effort. A data warehouse system offers company wide integration and possibilities for data analysis. In DAWA, the architecture of data warehouses, relevant technologies and tools for design and development of a data warehouse and the analysis of data are studied.
(Entry requirement: programming experience)

Business Processes (BUPR) 5 ECTS

Students will learn the basic concepts, languages and architectures for modelling business processes and understand the task and relevance of business process management. They will gain insight into key business processes within organizations and the complexity of ERP systems. Students will have to model a business process themselves, using the tools/techniques ARIS/EPC and BPMN. 
(No entry requirement, except experience in writing)

IT Service Management (ITSM) 5 ECTS
The life-cycle of an IT system does not stop when its development is finished. It needs to be deployed as a service, must be maintained, updated etc. And before it is developed, there is a decision for the overal IT architecture, for make-or-buy, for investing money into security etc. So, many decisions around. The area of IT Service Management tackles all activities around the “pure” development of software systems. This module wants to give students an introduction into this important but often underestimated area in the IT.  
(Entry requirement: some experience in the IT)

Advanced Database Concepts (DBS2) 5 ECTS
A DBMS supports the creation, usage, and maintenance of a database. It consists of several modules, e.g. transaction management or query optimiation. In module DBS2, we focus on this internal architecture of relational DBMSs and on a classification of DBMSs along different dimensions. In addition, students are introduced to several modern DBMSs.
(Entry requirement: programming in SQL, knowledge about relational databases)

Operating Systems and Concurrency (OSCO) 5 ECTS
Operating Systems are a fundamental building block in any serious computer system. The architecture of an OS and the services provided, e.g. memory management and CPU management, influence the way applications can / should be programmed. Working with ‘low level’ API calls in the context of process control on at least one platform will give the student an understanding of and experience with applying such an API. For modern machines, one may expect some kind of parallelism to be supported in hardware. Even mobile platforms typically have multi-core CPUs, making addressing the advantages on the one hand and the complexity of concurrent operations on the other a mandatory part of a state of the art software development.
(Entry requirement: programming experience)

Front-End Development (FRED) 5 ECTS
Many software systems not only have a backend but a frontend as well. If frontends are designed badly, the software they should give access to will not be used well/at all. In this module, students will learn and apply concepts and principles of frontend development and understand the psychology behind UI/UX and human-centralized design.
(Entry requirement: programming experience)

Data Mining (DAMI) 5 ECTS
Data mining is based on statistics and machine learning. Both are heavily used in modern Data Science / Big Data / AI applications. This course offers a solid introduction in Statistics and Data Science in the first part and machine learning approaches in the second part. The module has a practical approach and uses Python.
(Entry requirement: some programming experience, not necessarily Python)

Introduction to Embedded Systems (INES) 5 ECTS
In an embedded system, hardware and software work together. Embedded systems exist within millions of products – simple and complex, e.g. as cell phone charger telling when the phone has a full charge, or modern automobiles and robots. Many of these systems are implemented using unmanaged languages C and C++. The main goal of the course is to introduce students to the field of embedded systems and to get students familiar with the programming language C as well as learning performance aspects (many core, real time).  
(Entry requirement: programming experience)

Admission requirements

For this exchange programme we have the following admission requirements:

• English level: equivalent to IELTS 6.0;

• Intermediate level of IT knowledge is required. The level of this programme is advanced.

Fontys way of studying

At Fontys you will study in various ways. There are tutorials and lectures in classrooms with about 25 other students. In these sessions you will work in small groups or independently and depending on course choices, within a project team on your assignments. The campus offers a wide array of facilities to study alone or with a group. Here at Fontys, we believe that collaborative learning stimulates a hands on, independent way of working. At Fontys we believe in interaction. We like it when you ask questions during lectures and also outside lectures we are there for you.

Recognition

How will your course programme be recognised by your home university?

Fontys will provide you with a so-called ‘Transcript of Records’, which will clarify the results that you have achieved. Depending on your results, you will receive a maximum of 30 ECTS credits. ECTS credits are recognised throughout Europe. The agreement between your home university and Fontys University of Applied Sciences will usually include a condition whereby the credits that you obtain will be recognised and transferred into the records kept by your home university.

Scholarschips

Fontys does not provide scholarships for its exchange students

Studycoach

If you encounter problems regarding a certain subject, you can either speak to your lecturer or contact your exchange coordinator.