Cloud Computing - Research

The Master of Science in Cloud Computing Research is a programme of advanced research, designed to develop participants' research skills and to engage participants in a research programme on a relevant business-focused area of cloud computing and services. It runs full-time over one academic year or part-time over two. The programme can be taken online or on campus.

Identified by the Government, Forfás and the IDA as one of the best potential high-value growth areas for Ireland, and a vehicle for future jobs, cloud computing is set to provide a new generation of infrastructure, services and solutions for businesses.

Designed together with Hewlett-Packard Galway's Cloud Services Innovation Centre, this MSc degree seeks to produce high calibre and much sought-after internationally viable graduates in the cloud space.

Places on the course are open to persons currently working in various companies and sectors with particular interests in cloud computing, and to current or past students.

There are two routes of entry:
Route A:
Persons with an undergraduate degree and/or postgraduate degree containing information systems, technology management or equivalent.

Applicants should normally hold a qualification from a university or other internationally recognised institution, corresponding to Level 8 of the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), to a minimum standard of Second Class Honours (or equivalent). To be eligible for admission, the applicant should have (i) a degree which includes significant coverage of information systems or related areas with at least a 2.1 honours degree award, or at least a 2.2 honours degree award together with at least three years of relevant professional experience; or (ii) a degree in any discipline, together with at least a 2.1 honours award in a postgraduate programme containing substantial exposure to Information Systems subjects.

Route B:
Persons already working in the ICT sector or within a technology-related role in other sectors with a qualifying degree or related experience.

Applicants who do not hold a Level 8 educational qualification but who hold professional qualifications and/or have relevant practical experience are eligible to apply. Such candidates will be required to provide evidence of their previous knowledge and may be asked to attend for interview. It is expected that prospective entrants may include persons currently working in industries which have a particular need for cloud computing, cloud services, applications or platforms.

Applications are made online via the NUI Galway Postgraduate Applications System

Course Code: 1MCC1 (full-time); 1MCC2 (part-time)

Research Areas

The programme is offered by the Business Information Systems discipline in the J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics. You will propose a topic, which will focus on business-, organisation-, or consumer-value, or interactions with cloud computing, cloud services, or applications. Cloud computing enables the collection of large amounts of data, which require a layer of analytics to extract information useful to businesses and individuals. This information then needs to be aggregated and displayed in useful ways to facilitate decision making based upon it. These inter-related parts provide a variety of potential topics for your dissertation.

Topics may also be society-focused. As examples, from a business perspective, there is work to be done in maximising the business value of cloud computing, examining new ways of doing business using cloud technologies, and identifying potential uses of the cloud for competitive advantage. From both consumer and societal perspectives, cloud computing also brings with it a number of areas that require attention, such as privacy, security, mobility, and access.