Advanced Professional Skills

This module builds on the Professional Skills modules delivered in year2 . It combines two submodules in Ethics and Entrepreneurship. The Ethics module provides students with a basic theoretical grounding in the subject and applies it in a Business context with a specific emphasis on the ICT sector. The Entrepreneurship module is designed to foster the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in students and provide them with the knowledge and skills necessary to turn an idea into a Business. Students form their own groups, propose and develop Business ideas into professional Business Plans and present their work. Support lectures are provided in Intellectual Property Strategies, Business Plan Development and from guest Entrepreneurs. A primary objective of both modules is that students have to think for themselves and, in the case of Entrepreneurship, to work as a team to develop their idea.

Learning Outcomes
1.Generate and appraise the viability of Business Ideas
2.Prepare and formulate professional Business Plans
3.Understand the importance of the mix of technical and non-technical skills necessary to convert an idea into a viable Business
4.Understand importance of generating and protecting Intellectual Property
5.Apply good project management techniques and work effectively within a group
6.Have an understanding of the need for high ethical standards in business and IT
7.Understand the major ethical theories (virtue ethics, utilitarianism, deontology) and their applicability to a business environment
8.Understand and evaluate contemporary ethical issues surrounding shareholder versus stakeholder models of corporate responsibility, environmental questions, whistleblowing, privacy and policing issues with particular regard to IT
9.Show competence of the above in written essay and in class discussions