利物浦霍普大学颁发全英唯一 Microsoft.NET Technologies证书

A LIVERPOOL university is to record a UK first with the country’s only degree in the technology of computing giant Microsoft.

The BSc Honours degree in Microsoft.NET Technologies is being launched by Liverpool Hope University to give students skills in desktop, server and mobile technologies.

The course will take its first intake of about 25 students in September 2008 and will give them cutting edge technology expertise in the world’s most widely used computer software.

Head of computing science Tony Fleet, who oversees the course, said its development was a direct response to the dominance of Microsoft in the world of commerce and business.

Undergraduates on the course are prepared for a career in any area of information technology but are given additional depth of expertise in Microsoft.NET technology.

Mr Fleet said: “Microsoft technologies continue to re-shape the landscape of information technology across the world with innovations that will dictate the future of business and other management systems in this fast-developing sector.

“We believe graduates with skills in Microsoft.NET will have a distinct advantage in terms of their employment prospects and their readiness for work.

“Students will gain skills in advanced web development, e-commerce and mobile technology, as well as in business application tools, and we know that such skills are invaluable and directly applicable to the world of work and business.”

Hope’s Vice-Chancellor and Rector Professor Gerald Pillay said the university, which has traditional strengths in teacher training and liberal arts, was keen to build up its profile as a centre of educational business excellence.

He added: “We are working hard to strengthen our links with the business community in Merseyside and believe this degree is indicative of our responsive approach to what businesses are telling us.”

Hope’s School of Computing is part of its Business Deanery, which was founded just five years ago and now has some 900 students and 65 staff at the university’s Childwall campus.

Dean of Business and Computer Science, Dr John Brinkman said: “The Microsoft.NET degree is an example of our strategy to deliver courses and, by extension, students who not only have a sound understanding of the core principles of their discipline, also have skills which are directly relevant to the world of work.

“We have worked hard to increase our links with the Merseyside business community and courses like this are a direct result of our understanding of the world outside academia.

“We believe a particular strength of the Deanery is the breadth and depth of industrial and commercial experience which the staff brings to bear, with many of them having spent considerable time in industry before entering the field of research and teaching.

“This has a direct impact on the quality and kind of teaching we offer, with courses which offer real utilitarian value to both students and employers.”