Diploma of Information Technology

This unit explores the relationship between computer program code and the software systems that are generated from them. Students will experience developing simple software using a variety of data types, selection and repetition control structures, functions, simple text files, and console and Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) to interact with users.

This unit will provide a solid foundation for the design, implementation and management of database systems. Data modelling is introduced, focusing on entity-relationship (ER) modelling. The skills required to construct such ER diagrams will be explored, with a focus on ensuring that the semantics of the model match those of the real-world it is representing. The relational data model will be presented and the functionality it affords will be explored. The process of constructing, maintaining and retrieving information from the database using SQL will be a focus of this unit. Key implementation and management concepts, including transaction management and concurrency control, database backup and recovery, and security will be investigated.

Over the past 70 years, computers have revolutionized nearly every facet of modern life, from healthcare to education, manufacturing to transport, and entertainment to agriculture. Computing hardware and the algorithms encoded into software are thus vital to the continued growth of modern society, as are computer scientists and software engineers – the professionals who design and develop computational solutions to many of the world’s problems. In this unit, students will learn the building blocks of computing systems, from basic logic gates to software applications. The unit will provide step-by-step guidance on how to understand the layers of abstractions on which computer systems are based on. Students will engage in a series of activities and tasks to learn how each layer functions and how they operate together as a whole to make a complete computer system.

Data science is an emerging field and data scientists must be able to know how to make sense of data. In SIT112, students will develop knowledge of fundamentals in data science, in particular data manipulation and algorithms for analytics. The unit will also cover the practice of data science including ethical and responsible behaviour when crawling, cleaning, analysing, representing and repurposing the data. Students will be able to obtain data, recognise data formats, summarise and visualise relationships in the data, perform exploratory data analysis tasks and build predictive models.

Cloud computing represents a significant shift in the delivery of Information Technology to end users by introducing the ability to deliver infrastructure, platforms, and software via the network. This unit explores the technologies, models, benefits and risks of cloud computing and includes a study of virtualization as one of the key building blocks of most cloud computing solutions. Upon completion of the unit students will have a clear understanding of cloud computing, the types of problems solved by cloud computing, and the issues that must be considered when deploying cloud technologies in an organisation.

This unit introduces you to the discipline of artificial intelligence (AI). You will explore diverse application domains where problems can benefit from AI solutions. You will develop a conceptual understanding of major AI methods and know when and where to use them. In the practical components, you will implement simple AI algorithms.

This unit will explore foundational knowledge of and basic skills related to responsive web app design and development. Students will learn basic HTML, responsive CSS and JavaScript skills in order to build web apps both for desktop and mobile devices. Students will develop an understanding of how web design and web programming work together, as well as learn fundamentals of responsive web design, mobile UI design, licensing of media, mobile screen handling, touch events, and game concepts.

This unit will introduce students to ubiquitous and readily accessible devices for data capture, such as the sensor suite on a mobile smartphone, and those commonly used in homes, vehicles and current examples of cyber-physical systems. Students will be introduced to data capture protocols and methodologies, as well as data presentation and visualisation methods. Through practical investigations and analysis, students will investigate issues of robustness, reliability and validity of data and the effects of these on conclusions drawn from data.

SIT124 is about exploring the IT Industry in the 21stcentury and the development and innovations that had led up to where IT stands today. Exploring IT focuses on how the web has been one of the biggest contributors in regards to the direction that IT has taken over the last decade.Within SIT124 students will start to develop their professional identify and explore the requirements needed to gain employment within the field through case studies and a peek behind the curtain provided by recent graduates.Students will also explore and acquire skills in web design and development, in order to gain an understanding of the important role that the web plays in the delivery and storage of information within the IT industry.

In SIT182 students will learn the real world practices of cyber security by solving problems based on realistic case studies. Students will explore fundamental concepts of risks in managing communication networks and choose the appropriate means to manage these risks. The unit enables students to understand threats and vulnerabilities in the context of how systems can be compromised and how we can prevent harm to systems. There will be a practical focus on how we can detect and respond to cyber-attacks. The key to learning will be introducing students to practices through case studies.

SIT190 Introduction to Functions, Relations and Graphs

This unit aims to develop the fundamental functions of applied mathematics, and to introduce calculus to students who have not previously studied it in secondary school. It is designed to prepare students from a number of different disciplines for learning tertiary level mathematics. Students will explore the algebra of polynomials, exponentials, logarithms and trigonometric functions and learn rules for differentiating and integrating these functions. Applications studied include graph sketching, maximisation and minimisation problems, areas and kinematics.

Discrete mathematics is the mathematical study of discrete objects that you can count/enumerate (as opposed to continuous objects), for example, integers (whole numbers), graphs, logical statements, and so on.

This form of mathematics is particularly important from a computer science point of view. Computers can only model discrete objects. At a fundamental level discrete mathematics is what computers can do.

Learning discrete mathematics is not just valuable for people in the IT field. Whatever discipline you are studying, it will broaden your general mathematical knowledge. And through the variety of topics covered in this unit, you will learn many higher order skills, including proofs, logical thinking, problem solving, and working in teams, all of which will not only be useful in your future study of mathematics, but which you will be able to apply in many aspects of your professional and personal life.

SIT194 aims to develop the theory of calculus and analytic geometry and to apply it to formulating and solving problems in engineering and the physical sciences.

SIT199 is designed to introduce students to the mathematics underlying applications encountered in the sciences. This unit introduces and develops the theory of a range of algebraic and statistical techniques. These techniques are then applied to solving problems in the engineering and physical sciences.

The aim of this unit is to provide students with a critical understanding of the intellectual foundations of the study of management. The unit will provide the opportunity to analyse how the solutions to management ‘problems’ have developed under different conditions throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century. The unit also explores how management practice influences, and is influenced by, the external environment. This will involve examining how managerial action impacts on and is shaped by the environment, through a consideration of, ethics, social responsibility, and the social and cultural context of management.

This module’s learning and assessment activities provide students with guidance on what constitutes academic integrity. It will allow students to develop knowledge, skills and good practice principles to avoid plagiarism and collusion and thereby maintain academic integrity.

This module is designed to provide international students with opportunities to review, develop and practice the English language systems and skills required to successfully participate in an undergraduate degree program. It is compulsory for international students only and consists of a mandatory 2-hour on-campus class per week for the duration of the first trimester.

Some international students are exempt from this module. For exemptions, visit our English language entry requirements page.