Module Catalogue 2025/26

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This individual work-based project is tailored to your job role and specialism within the Digital and Technology Solution Specialist Master’s Degree. It involves solving real-world problems, addressing live business scenarios, developing specialist expertise, and showcasing professional development. You will collaborate with your employer, academic supervisor, and apprenticeship skills coach.

Specifically, the module aims to equip the apprentices with the following knowledge and skills:

To deepen the core professional competencies and Data Analytics specialist Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours (KSBs) acquired in the programme through practical application.

To develop an awareness of the limitations and potential of emerging technologies for solving real-world Data Science problems.

To enhance problem-solving, critical-thinking, and stakeholder communication skills through project-based learning.

Outline Of Syllabus

Toward the end of the programme, a lead academic supervisor will agree upon a business-related project with the apprentice’s employer and the apprentices based on the apprentice’s job role and specialism that they are undertaking as part of the Digital and Technology Solution Specialist Master’s Degree. The independent assessor of the EPA (End Point Assessment) should present the meeting for finalising the topic for the capstone project. If the apprentice or their employer needs to change the capstone project scope, they must resubmit a project proposal for the EPA Assessor to approve.

The agreed project will present a typical business task, appropriate for demonstrating the relevant KSBs outlined in the standard, with its EPA approach delivered through a Project Report (PR). In every project, there will be a research component and a strong design, programming and/or analytic element.

Project Definition and Planning: The agreed project will be comparable in terms of content and complexity for all apprentices – it is the context within which the knowledge and skills must be demonstrated that will vary.

The project is undertaken and completed on programme and pre- gateway to the EPA (End Point Assessment). The project itself is not part of the EPA.

Supervision: Each project has at least one academic supervisor from the School and one partner supervisor
from the apprentice’s employer. The apprentices and the supervisor will meet regularly throughout the period
of the project.

Research: Background research will be undertaken in the selected topic with access to the library and online
resources.

Development and Analytics Skills: The core of the project will involve carrying out the project plan largely
independently, but with guidance from the supervisors.

Dissertation: A dissertation will be prepared, describing the technical background, the work undertaken, the
analysis of results and directions for further work. Guidance on the style and content of a dissertation
will be provided by means of lectures and through the supervisor.

Project presentation: apprentices will demonstrate their ability to communicate their work to the stakeholders.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

Degree Apprenticeship Data Analytics Specialist Knowledge to be demonstrated:

• How key algorithms and models are applied in developing analytical solutions and how analytical solutions can
deliver benefits to organisations.

• The principles of data driven analysis and how to apply these. Including the approach, the
selected data, the fitted models and evaluations used to solve data problems.

• The properties of different data storage solutions, and the transmission, processing and analytics of data
from an enterprise system perspective. Including the platform choices available for designing and
implementing solutions for data storage, processing and analytics in different data scenarios.

• How relevant data hierarchies or taxonomies are identified and properly documented.

• The concepts, tools and techniques for data visualisation, including how this provides a qualitative
understanding of the information on which decisions can be based.

Intended Skill Outcomes

Degree Apprenticeship Core skills to be demonstrated:

• Identify, document, review and design complex IT enabled business processes that define
a set of activities that will accomplish specific organisational goals and provides a systematic
approach to improving those processes

• Professionally present digital and technology solution specialism plans and solutions in a
well-structured business report.

• Demonstrate self-direction and originality in solving problems, and act autonomously in
planning and implementing digital and technology solutions specialist tasks at a professional
level.

• Be competent at negotiating and closing techniques in a range of interactions and
engagements, both with senior internal and external stakeholders.

• Identify and select the business data that needs to be collected and transitioned from a range of
data systems; acquire, manage and process complex data sets, including large scale and real time data.

• Undertake analytical investigations of data to understand the nature, utility and quality of data,
and developing data quality rule sets and guidelines for database designers.

• Formulate analysis questions and hypotheses which are answerable given the data available
and come to statistically sound conclusions.

• Conduct high-quality complex investigations, employing a range of analytical software,
statistical modelling & machine learning techniques to make data driven decisions solve live
commercial problems.

• Document and describe the data architecture and structures using appropriate data modelling
tools, and select appropriate methods to present data and results that support human
understanding of complex data sets.

• Scope and deliver data analysis projects, in response to business priorities, create compelling
business opportunities reports on outcomes suitable for a variety of stakeholders including
senior clients and management.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The project is undertaken with a lead academic supervisor, working collaboratively with the apprentice's employer. There will be a designated Skill Coach to offer additional assistance or advice.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The final dissertation allows apprentices to apply their accumulative knowledge and skills in their area of speciality to an agreed upon project by themselves, their employer and university supervisors. The formative assessment of writing an interim report will help apprentices prepare their final report. A video presentation at the end of the module will provide an opportunity to showcase their projects to each-other and their employers. Overall the project, dissertation and video submission should help prepare apprentices towards the apprenticeship Gateway, Project Report and EPA.

General Notes

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