Building the future….one byte at a time with this MSc in Software Solutions Architecture!

WINNER of Best Professional Development Award in the 2018 Tech Excellence Awards, this exciting part-time programme to give current and potential Software Architects the skills, theory and recognition they need to develop in their role. For the first time candidates can gain a full Masters of Science degree in this specialist area through a mixed learning process with an emphasis on practical application in the workplace.

Vendor Lock-In in PaaS Applications by Cliodhna Dempsey
This Project explores and evaluates the extent to which using different Open Source PaaS (Platform as a Service) options can avoid the problem of Vendor Lock-In in Cloud based applications. The Project also includes an evaluation of application portability, in terms of development, deployment and operation, between different PaaS solutions for a sample Microservice Use Case.

 

 

Serverless Functions: Impact of Language Runtime on Performance and Cost by David Jackson, Fidelity Investments Ireland
Serverless is a form of cloud computing that is highly scalable, event-driven and supports many programming languages. This project seeks to understand the impact of the choice of language on the performance and cost of serverless function execution. It presents the design and implementation of a new serverless performance testing framework which is applied to both AWS Lambda and Azure Functions. Test results are evaluated and compared across a range of languages.

 

 

 

Research on Models for Predictive Maintenance and Customer Churn by Rory Cawley, Qualtrics
This Project compares architectural variants of the WTTE-RNN (Weibull Time-to-Event Recurrent Neural Network) model, using a dataset of Predictive Maintenance measurements for jet engines, and comparing the variants’ prediction effectiveness and training time. Applicability of the Model in comparable domains such as Customer behaviour is also explored.

 

 

Most software architects grow or develop into their role with no formal standards, certification or training in the practice of software architecture. They are usually highly skilled, competent and high performers but many express a need for recognition of their role in the form of an accredited academic qualification with opportunities for developing and expanding their skill sets and creating the prospect for long-term progression along their career path. Equally companies are keen to retain these highly skilled employees and develop an Architecture capability pipeline as well as preparing new or prospective software engineers to be successful in an Architect’s role.

Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet analysed these challenges and its Steering Group developed a programme concept based on the outputs of a workshop session in December 2015 with representatives from four member companies, Cisco, IBM, Ericsson and Fidelity. This led to a public tendering process out of which a consortium comprising the Irish Computer Society (ICS), Technological University Dublin (Tallaght Campus) and the International Association of Software Architects (IASA) was appointed to deliver the new MSc in Applied IT Architecture.

The Programme aims to equip established and aspiring Architects with:

• An informed, common, industry-aligned understanding of their role
• A set of frameworks, approaches and tools for executing Architecture tasks
• A knowledge base of current best Architectural practice and experience
• Ability to Communicate effectively with a range of stakeholders
• The capacity to understand technology initiatives from a broad Business Perspective
• Be equipped to make strategic technical decisions
• Obtain internationally certified and validated academic recognition

The programme will have seven modules including a major research project as follows:

1 – IT Architecture Design
2 – IT Environment
3 – Business Technology Strategy
4 – Human Skills for the IT Architect
5 – IT Architecture Quality Attributes
6 – IT Architecture in Practice
7 – Research Methods
Research Project / Dissertation

The programme will be delivered part-time over two years with lectures one night per week.  Every 3/4 weeks it will be necessary to hold lectures twice in that week.

The programme will start with a 3 day workshop which will involve all participants being physically present.  This is seen as important to facilitate networking, experience sharing and group learning.

We understand that there is a strong awareness of the constraints on architects’ time, particularly time spent off-site. It is expected that lectures will be delivered two evenings per week.  There will also be a requirement to attend one on-campus day at the end of each semester. Please check the ‘Further information’ document for more information.

Lectures will be streamed live from TU Dublin (Tallaght Campus) and will be available for download and offline viewing.  The award structure will place greater emphasis on continuous assessment, practical and project work rather than on formal examinations.  In fact there are only 2 modules that carry an actual exam.

Prospective participants must either (a) be serving in the role of software architect, or (b) be aspiring to move into such a role. All participants must have substantial experience of IT software and systems development and implementation in team and technical leading roles. They must also have current competence to interact with development teams at a deep technical (i.e. specification and coding) level.

Applicants should have a primary degree (Level 8) in Computer Science or a cognate/science discipline or a degree with a high level of mathematics. Those who do not meet this requirement will be considered on their merits if they can show a particular interest or aptitude for this area of work or if they have industry experience and training which shows evidence that their education and work experience is sufficient to meet the education needs of the programme and recruitment policies of the College.

Certification

Successful completion of this two year programme will result in the award of the officially named programme  MSc in Applied IT Architecture.  This is what will be listed on the parchment.

Participants will become registered students of TU Dublin (Tallaght Campus) and be awarded free membership of IASA.

Fees

*Part funded fees are only available to eligible candidates working in private or commercial semi-state organisations in Republic of Ireland.  Fees for 2023 are €2,195 per person, per annum

How to apply

Click on the button at the top of the page to submit your CV.

 

FAQs

 

The deadline for applications is 7th December 2023