Cloud Computing and Software Development

Taking the strengths from our previous ICT Skills Springboard+ conversion programme, the Higher Diploma in Software Design and Development "Industry Stream", the School of Computer Science in University of Galway has developed a brand new replacement programme, the L9 Postgraduate Diploma in Cloud Computing and Software Development. This new programme has been carefully designed in conjunction with our 12 industry partners and in consultation with regional skills fora. The programme a fully online part-time course, designed to meet the challenges of reskilling and upskilling students in a modern economy where many applicants are working full-time and require flexible delivery options.



It is designed in tandem with industry to meet the growing skills shortage for software developers with a knowledge of Cloud infrastructures. It is a conversion course which means that it is open to applicants from non-computing backgrounds. They facilitate individuals wishing to change career, reskill or potentially upskill to improve their employment prospects. The minimum requirement is that students have a L8 undergraduate degree, L7 entrants can also apply but will need to demonstrate at least two years industry experience within the computing sector to be considered. In addition, both courses offer an 8 month internship in industry in semester two of year two, which effectively means that participants will be working full-time in industry after 18 months. The courses are fully online and part-time, meaning that applicants can maintain their existing full-time or part-time employment whilst taking the course. Student fees for the course are 90% funded by the Higher Education Authority meaning that successful applicants will only have to cover 10% of the fee which amounts to €772 in total.



This sector is experiencing rapid expansion at the moment, and there is a growing skills shortage for ICT graduate roles that these students are ideally suited to fill. The highly intensive programme is designed for those with little or no knowledge of software development, but we are particularly keen to receive applications from those who have had some exposure to coding and feel that this is something they potentially have a flare for. People with technical or strong numerical backgrounds often perform best in these types of programmes and we strongly encourage applicants who have strong logical reasoning or maths skills. This could be a strong maths result from their leaving cert or from certain modules in their undergraduate degree. This isn’t essential, but often indicates a strong problem solving and logical skillset.

Course Description



The Postgraduate Diploma in Cloud Computing and Software Development provides the skills required in the digital age and has been designed to meet the challenges of reskilling and upskilling in a modern economy. Industry demand for graduates with cloud computing and software development skills is at an all-time high. This course provides flexible delivery options to meet this need. It has been designed in consultation with start-up enterprises, SMEs and large multinationals to give you the expertise and knowledge required to progress your career.



Course Content



This is a two-year part-time Springboard+ online programme with awards of 60 ECTS in total.



This course provides:



A solid foundation in key computing knowledge, including extensive experience with programming languages such as, Java, Java Enterprise, JavaScript (NodeJS) all at the level expected by industry.

A specialisation in cloud computing, enabling you to build critical knowledge of cloud application development, as well as cloud infrastructures and platforms such as Google’s Firebase and Amazon Web Service.

A structure for industry collaboration, which allows industry to influence the development and training of participants, through an upgraded 8-month internship programme.

Year 1:



Semester 1: 15 ECTS



Cloud Web Application Development

Algorithms and Data Structures

OO Programming 1

Semester 2: 15 ECTS



Enterprise Java Programming

Fundamentals of Cloud Computing

Year 2:



Semester 3: 15 ECTS



Cloud DevOps

Database Systems

Architecture, Operating Systems & Networks

Semester 4: 15 ECTS



Internship or group project: A large 8 month internship will be provided for those interested in gaining valuable work experience. Those who opt not to do the work placement can instead partake in a capstone group project supervised by an academic and potentially with an industry specified project.

This programme is open to applicants from all backgrounds who hold a NQAI Level 8 qualification or equivalent. Persons who hold formal qualifications at Level 7 may also apply, subject to provision of satisfactory evidence of having attained Level 8 competencies through prior experiential learning (minimum of 2 years working in an IT role).



Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Persons who hold formal qualifications at Level 7 may also apply, subject to provision of satisfactory evidence of having attained Level 8 competencies through prior experiential learning (minimum of 2 years working in an IT role).

2 Years Part Time

Next start date September 2024

Career Opportunities

The career prospects for our graduates are extremely strong and demand is dramatically outstripping supply. Our programmes within the School of Computing Science in University of Galway are highly respected among many of Irelands leading software companies. In the past our graduates have often received numerous job offers before they even completed the programme. A selection of roles that graduates will be eligible to apply for:



Cloud Application Developer/Engineer

Cloud Data Engineer

Cloud Operations Engineer

Software Developer/Engineer (Java, C#, Frontend JS)

Backend Developer

Database Analyst

Software Analyst

IT Manager

Software Tester

Automated Test Engineer

DevOps Engineer

The career pathways are taken from an analysis of past graduates and the new Cloud Computing roles are sampled from those available from our partner companies.