Big Data and High Performance Computing with a Year in Industry MSc

Overview

This MSc programme enables students to gain a specialist qualification in an area of computing that is in great demand worldwide, and we work with various industrial partners to give authentic examples and placements.

The two-year MSc programme shares the same taught modules with its one-year equivalent. However, unlike the one-year MSc which includes an MSc project over the summer, the two-year programme includes an industrial project and placement in year two (either in the UK or overseas). The placement is typically 30 weeks from September to June.

This opportunity to work in industry will help you strengthen your career options by:

Undertaking the project work in an industrial setting
Applying theory learnt in the classroom to real-world practice
Developing communications and interpersonal skills Building networks and knowledge which will be invaluable throughout your career.

During the placement year you will spend time working in a relevant company suitable for the MSc. This is an excellent opportunity to gain practical engineering experience which will boost your CV, build networks and develop confidence in a working environment. Many placement students continue their relationship with the placement provider by undertaking relevant projects and may ultimately return to work for the company when they graduate.

The University of Liverpool has a dedicated team to help students find a suitable placement. Preparation for the placement is provided by the University’s Careers and Employability Service (CES) who assist students in finding a placement, help students produce a professional CV and prepare students for placement interviews.

The University has very good links with industry and several companies work with us to offer our MSc students competitive placements. Although industry placements are not guaranteed, the University offers you opportunities and support throughout the process to ensure that the chance to find a placement is high.

If you are unable to secure a suitable placement by the end of April during year one, you will be transferred onto the one-year MSc to undertake the MSc project over the summer and graduate after one year.

Career prospects

The MSc in Big Data and High Performance Computing (HPC) is specifically designed to fill a "skills gap" in the employment market. More specifically it is designed to provide students with the necessary skills to allow them to apply Big Data and HPC concepts to real problems. The programme has been structured to facilitate the practical application of this "cutting-edge" technology to real-world problems. The intention is that at the end of the programme students will be able to apply the knowledge gained on the programme specifically to real-world big data and HPC problems. However, the programme is also designed to furnish students with a set of transferable skills that are of particular relevance across the IT industry.

The programme has been developed, and is delivered, in close collaboration with the Hartree Centre at Daresbury which operates the UK's largest supercomputer (capable of a thousand trillion calculations per second). Hartree have close links with industry, and provide assistance with respect to the group and final individual projects, the latter conducted in partnership with commercial and/or non-commercial organisations.