South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

New Industry-Led Course Gives Head Start to Career Minded Students

4th December 2003

University Centre Hastings (UCH) held an informal open afternoon/ evening for its new industry-led, industry-designed and industry-taught IT management course on Thursday 11th December 2003.

Course tutors and industry representatives were on hand to answer questions about the new BSc Information Technology Management for Business degree. The degree has been developed by the University of Brighton in partnership with major global organisations such as BT, Ford, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Norwich Union, and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). The aim of this unique degree is to produce graduates who are already equipped with usable IT management skills and valuable practical knowledge on the day they finish their course.

"Currently it takes us two years and a great deal of money to get new graduate employees fully up to speed. What makes this degree so exciting from an employer's viewpoint is that it delivers practical business skills from day one. This is not theory but directly related to business, enabling graduates with this unique degree to progress further and faster than their counterparts" said Tracy Upton, Telecommunications Account Manager, IBM.

This degree, beginning September 2004 in Hastings, will provide students with highly employable skills in leading edge technology; management, marketing, finance and production; and people skills to give students a head start in their career. Project work with the major employers is included in every year of the course and there is a three-month placement in the third year to provide unrivalled industry experience.

Bursaries for Financial assistance are available for all students for 2004 entry, funded by SEEDA. They will provide £1,500 for each student in each year of study at a total of £4,500 over three years to help students with course fees and living expenses.

Want to find out more? Come and visit our informal open afternoon/ evening from 3.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m. on Thursday 11th December at University Centre Hastings, temporary entrance in Middle Street (five minutes from Hastings station). There will be a presentation about the course, a tour of the new University Centre Hastings and a chance to meet the course manager. More information is available online at www.brighton.ac.uk/itmb, by calling +44 (0)1273 644626 or email j.adams@brighton.ac.uk

The degree is part of plans to regenerate Hastings and the surrounding area led by the Hastings & Bexhill Task Force. UCH is filling a gap in Hastings: it will offer university education in the town in specific courses that will provide skills needed by employers thereby providing a boost to the local economy.

"What is different about UCH is that at its core is the idea that education is an economic driver and will effect economic change in the community", said Polly Thornton, Learning Skills and Enterprise Manager for Sea Space, the organisation delivering regeneration for the Hastings and Bexhill Task Force.

For further information please contact University Centre Hastings, Havelock Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1DQ +44 (0)1273 644626, www.brighton.ac.uk/itmb