MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation

The MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation is an innovative and multidisciplinary program with the objective to integrate the knowledge about the design and development of Information Systems with the disruptive technologies of Digital Innovation. Examples of such disruptive technologies are Big Data, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Robotics.

Nowadays, technology has a massive impact on business operations. The formula for business success is simple: drive innovation with information technology. Realizing the challenges that technology presents is the key to success your business goals, retain and raise the number of your customers in the process. Therefore, it is essential to integrate new technologies in businesses. In our days, lots of firms are prioritizing innovation as a key to their business strategy. Therefore, companies and their directors must understand technology, build their technical proficiency, implement technologies that matter to them and gain an advantage in managing their organization.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PROGRAMME

• The international prestige and recognition of the Neapolis University of Pafos.
• Excellent academic staff with strong expertise in the taught subjects.
• International collaborations with many Universities.
• The use of advanced technology and resources.
• High Academic Calibre of the teaching staff.
• Competitive tuition fees.

The MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation aims at postgraduate education and scientific specialization in Information Systems and Digital Innovation, targeting a more professional knowledge and a broader education of students with a specific interest in this subject. It is primarily aimed at graduates of Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Economic Studies.

The duration of these studies is three semesters. Entries for the MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation are held in September and February/March of each academic year. Each course lasts an academic semester. All students enrolled in the MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation, either in the winter semester or the spring semester, can choose the relevant semesters’ courses. For completing their studies, students need to accumulate a total of 90 Credits (ECTS).

Following the Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education directions, students have the opportunity to complete their postgraduate studies in two academic semesters (12 months) as long as they start the conduction of their Master’s Dissertation during the first or second semester of their studies, including the summer period. In this case, completing the Master’s Dissertation may be prolonged during the summer period, for one or two months. In any case, the total ECTS remains 90.

During the 1st  semester, the students start with four main courses. Disruptive technologies course aims to present the latest disruptive technologies and explain how these technologies can drastically change how to work, live, do business and increase the economic output. At the same time, the Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship course contributes to identifying the type of innovation needed and selecting the appropriate technology each company is looking for. The IT Project Management course is required to help the managers manage time and resources during their effort to integrate new technologies and innovations in a company’s business processes. Finally, the Research methodology course aims to make students familiar with the methods of academic research so that they can write academic papers of every kind (university assignments, theses, academic articles, etc.). Particular emphasis is given on issues like research planning, the collection of data/information, the evaluation of sources, and the writing of an academic paper.

During the 2nd semester, we continue with four more advanced courses (3 compulsory and 1 elective from a list of 3 courses).

Probably the most essential asset of a company is data. Data is increasing at a rapid speed, and the rate of growth of information is very high. The ability to extract sensible intelligence from big data has still been a challenge for many industries. In the second semester, we offer the Big Data and Analytics course where our students are given the necessary knowledge and skills to select the best ways to extract useful information from companies’ data, support proper decision-making, and help uncover patterns in otherwise random-looking data. The importance of Big Data and Analytics is genuinely changing the world. The Problem-Solving Programming course is responsible for providing the students the necessary skills to be able to implement solutions for specific business problems in the most efficient way. The Information Systems Analysis and Design course aim to teach students about systems development’s organizational and business context and describe systems development methodologies, models, tools, and techniques for developing quality software.

If you want to improve your business today, it is vital that you understand technology. Understanding technology, which for our students was a milestone set on the first semester, lead directly to a new challenge that companies have, security. Security is of the utmost importance in businesses today. To cover this need, we offer the elective Information Security course. At the end of the course, our students can use the latest security technologies that will make it difficult to attack companies’ systems.

Another elective course offered during the second semester is the Digital Marketing course. Digital marketing helps to establish a comprehensive marketing strategy – designed to increase visibility and maximize revenue. This course provides our students the knowledge about the business advantages of digital marketing and its importance for marketing success.

Finally, the Mobile Application elective course aims to help our students to understand enterprise-scale requirements of mobile applications and develop mobile applications using an application development framework.

Overall, the aim of the MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation is to provide each student, either with a business or computer science background, with a comprehensive understanding of how to use Digital Technologies to improve businesses in today’s digital economy and to explore the management and innovation aspects of Information Technologies. Companies are developing more on the basis of new technologies, creating a critical need for professionals who bring skills in both Business and Technology. This Master’s in Information Systems and Digital Innovation’s ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between Business and Technology, giving our graduates a distinct market advantage.

To obtain their Master’s degree, students are also obliged to conduct a master’s dissertation. The student’s research proposal is submitted, who may request one of the tutors as a supervisor. The thesis can be submitted for up to one academic year after completing the second semester of study. The dissertation should be relevant to the content of the postgraduate student’s studies and should be original.

The MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation teaching methodology involves a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, examinations, projects, presentations, assignments, case-study applications, and independent research. It is also designed to provide an academic experience going beyond that of the traditional classroom, in which the flow of information is primarily from the instructor to the student. The intention of the MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation is that each participant will contribute to the entire class’s education through active participation in the learning procedure.

Each course is evaluated through the completion of one midterm assessment, which is explicitly mentioned in the study curriculum and the study guides (essays, literature critiques, article manuscript for the university’s student journal, etc.) during the semester, and final examinations at the end of the semester. Should a student not attend the examination or have failed to take a winter or spring semester examination, they are entitled to re-sit the examination.

Midterm assessment can take various forms as described earlier, like essays, research articles, presentations, literature critiques, book reviews, etc. It corresponds to 40% of the final grade during the semester, while the final exam is 60%. For the student to succeed in a course, he/she must take both the final grade and the midterm assessment, a grade of at least 50%. The interactivity and formative assessment form part of the learning and teaching methodology.

In the third semester, students complete their Dissertation, which corresponds to 30 ECTS. The length of the thesis depends on the type. In the case of a bibliographic dissertation, it cannot be less than 14,000 words and more than 16,000 words. The bibliography, the annexes, and the abstract are not included. After submission, the supervisor submits a written and reasoned report, with the student’s consent, to the committee members. Support for the thesis is done publicly or via an electronic videoconference before a three-member committee.

The necessary supporting documents to be submitted with the application include:

• Officially authenticated certificates of academic qualifications of university level (degree etc.).
• The satisfactory knowledge of the English language is essential. The minimum requirement is the possession of a B1 level English language certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ​​or a degree of a corresponding level.
  • By decision of the Director of the Postgraduate Studies Program, special exams or any other test may take place for those candidates who do not have a degree of the above mentioned level so that their ability to meet the standards of the MSc in Information Systems and Digital Innovation is verified.
• Certificates of English Language and the minimum required grade
• After admission, by the decision of the Director of the Postgraduate Studies Program students are likely to participate in additional English language courses in order to improve their ability to write their course work, written assignments and the dissertation.
• A statement of personal interest.
• Two reference letters, at least one of which should be of academic character.

The University reserves its right to define the electives offered on an academic year basis.

The programme structure may change without prior notice, as a result of quality assurance procedures or/and programme recertification.