MSC in Information Tech Curr

DIRE DAWA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CURRICULUM OF MSC PROGRAM IN

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
June, 2019
Table of Contents
1. Title of the Program.............................................................................................................................1
2. Background...........................................................................................................................................1
3. Rationale..............................................................................................................................................2
4. Objectives of the Program....................................................................................................................3
5. Graduate Profile...................................................................................................................................3
6. Admission Requirements......................................................................................................................4
7. Structure of the Program.....................................................................................................................4
7.1. Core Courses, Elective Courses, Thesis and Project..........................................................................5
7.1.1. Core Courses................................................................................................................................6
7.1.2. Elective Courses...........................................................................................................................6
7.1.3. Thesis and Project........................................................................................................................7
7.2. Bridge Courses..................................................................................................................................7
7.3. Duration of the Program..................................................................................................................7
8. Course Breakdown................................................................................................................................7
8.1. Course Schedule for each Plan.........................................................................................................7
8.1.1. Plan A...........................................................................................................................................7
8.1.2. Plan B...........................................................................................................................................8
9. Graduation Requirement......................................................................................................................9
10. Degree Nomenclature.....................................................................................................................10
11. Course Description..........................................................................................................................11
12. Quality Assurance............................................................................................................................49
13. Annexes..........................................................................................................................................49
Annex A Course Number Coding Convention...............................................................................................49
Annex B: Benchmarking..............................................................................................................................50
Annex C Staff Profile.....................................................................................................................................50
Annex D Topics to be covered in the Entrance Examination..........................................................................51
1. Title of the Program
Master of Science in Information Technology
2. Background
Dire Dawa University started its actual operation on March 01/2007 by enrolling 754 regular
students. In 2007/2008 academic year 88 students were enrolled in computer science department.
After a year (In 2008/2009), School of Technology was established by incorporating 7
departments, namely Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Construction Technology and
Management, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical engineering and
Surveying Technology. In 2010/11 (2003 E.c) School of Technology is changed to Dire Dawa
Institute of Technology; which is one of the ten institutes started in Ethiopia to support science
and technology and the realization of the transition towards industry led economy.
Information Technology has become a major driving force in many organizations. These
organizations are seeking to get IT applications which can help them sell their products or
services effectively. For example, by use of Internet, organizations or businesses are moving
information faster and they also coordinate multiple activities to achieve efficiency. They also
use the internet to sell their services or products. Information technology has changed businesses,
education so many other sectors. This has lead for the demand of highly skilled manpower; when
it comes to occupying certain positions such as leading computer centers of large organizations;
IT projects managements, conducting research activities to address local problems.
However, the graduates from the current IT undergraduate program at private and public higher
institutions have limitations in skills and knowledge; this is because the undergraduate-level
programs do not provide the high-level skills and knowledge such as project management,
research methods and some advanced concepts in Information Technologies.
As a consequence, there is an acute shortage of skilled manpower that can occupy high-level
positions in IT and related fields which are the major reason behind the underutilization of the
computers massively imported into the country and the failure of many computerization projects.
So, Information Technology MSc program is very important to satisfy the mission of DDU and
competent with other universities in science and technology
1
Rationale
In this rapidly changing world, highly skilled IT professionals are remarkably needed in
academia, industries, etc. Despite the fact that there is such a great demand in the area, there is a
lack of high skilled IT professionals in the market that we observed from the need assessment
report.
To know the degree of the problem and to identify the need of the market, we have conducted a
need assessment that covers the academic institutions, private sectors, NGO’s, government
organizations and some BSc graduates from IT related fields.
The assessment result shows 96.95% respondents said that the program is relevant in the national
level meaning has a high impact on the growth of the country, 91.88% respondents said the
program is relevant in the region level, 92.39% respondents said the program is relevant in the
organization that they work and 85.28% respondents said that the program is relevant for the
individual in order to develop the professional career. Therefore, the need assessment shows that
Msc program in Information Technology is relevant and necessary in the national, regional,
organization and individual level.
In addition, 90.36% respondents said that we have interest in taking master’s degree program in
IT, 97.46% respondents said the program is relevant in order to develop the professional career
who need better education, and 76.65% respondents said we will join or enroll to the master’s
degree of IT if it is open. Therefore, the need assessment shows that Msc program in Information
Technology is relevant and necessary in the individual level. Therefore we decided to open MSc
program in IT.
Furthermore, we have thoroughly observed that there is:
 Lack of skilled manpower in the higher educational institutions and industries

 Lack of researchers in IT,
 Rapid growth in IT industries for investment opportunity,
 BSc graduates are looking for higher education in IT field.
3. Objectives of the Program
The main objective of this program is to produce highly trained graduates in Information
Technology that perfectly fit to the demand in the academia, industry, organization etc.
Specifically, this helps graduates to
 Gain and explore theoretical and analytical competences for scientific work
 Acquire skills in developing advanced products and systems in the area of industrial
information and communication technology
 Be a professional who is able to provide leadership and adapt to change in a
technological and knowledge-based environment
 Promote student-centeredness, self and collaborative learning
 Conduct professionalism in the minds of the student and for him/her to be ethical
 Understand the fast changing information technology and to be able to use emerging
opportunities
 To train prospective managers of information technology based services

 To enable prospective system managers have a critical understanding of the theories
that underline the effective management of information technology in both private
and public.
 To train prospective managers who would be able to adopt ease and to compute
favorably with rapidly changing global trends in information communication
technology.
4. Graduate Profile
A graduate with MSc degree in Information Technology should be able to:
 Actively participate in research work in the field of IT

 Plan and manage various IT projects and enables other professionals to develop their
managerial capability regarding to handle the real time projects in an effective manner.
 Make experts to Design, implement, test and deploy projects
 Create job opportunity with acquired skills and knowledge in Information Technology;
 Make them as a Solution Provider for different kind of problems encountered in the field
of Information Technology.
 Serve as a Corporate Trainer/ Lecturer in IT industries or in higher institutions
5. Admission Requirements
The following requirements must be fulfilled in order to be admitted into the MSc program in
Information Technology.
1. Applicants must meet the general admission policy of the University.

2. Applicants must have:
2.1. BSc degree in Information Technology / Computer Science from the recognized
Institute. or
2.2. BSc degree in other IT related fields such as B.Sc. in Information System, Information
Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering Mathematics, Statistics etc. from
a recognized Institute and have taken minimum two of the following courses: DBMS,
Software Engineering, Operating Systems, Computer Programming languages,
Networking, Computer Organization and Architecture.
3. To be accepted in the program, registration will be based on the senate legislation
6. Structure of the Program

The program offers two plans/options:
 Plan A: course work with thesis,

 Plan B: course work with project
Under Plan A, the candidate is required to complete a minimum of 32 credit hours/53ECTS/1590
hours work load of course work and a preparation of an acceptable thesis (worth 6
credits/30ECTS/900hours workload) under the supervision of a faculty member and an oral
defense of the thesis before an examining committee. Detail credit point of such course is shown
in Table 7.1.
Under Plan B, the candidate is required to complete a minimum of 35 credit hours of course
work including a compulsory project worth 3 credit hours. Detail credit point of such course is
shown in Table 7.2.
The number of students that will join each plan depends on three factors: availability of advising
staff, first year CGPA, and the interest of the student. Priority to join Plan A will be given to
those interested students with relatively higher CGPAs. Similarly, selection of interested students
to join Plan B is made on CGPA of the remaining students. Students that join Plans A and B are
encouraged to identify problems that they will work on. The assignment of students to each plan
should be completed at the end of the first year so that students assigned to Plan A can start
working on their thesis beginning the first semester of the second year. The Department’s DGC
will be responsible to assign students to the two plans.
Table 7.1: Credit point of course for option 1 (Thesis Option)
No Type of course Size Cr. No of No of Number Remark

Hr courses ECTS of hours;
1 Core and elective 84.21% 32 11 53 1590 1ECTS=30 hrs.

courses
2 Thesis* 15.79% 6 1 30 900 1ECTS=30 hrs.
3 Total 100 % 38 12 83 2490
Table 7.2: Credit point of course for T option 2 (Project Option)
Type of course Size Cr. No of No of Number of Remark

Hr courses ECTS hours;
1 Core and elective 92.11 % 35 12 58 1740 1ECTS=30 hrs.

courses
2 Project* 7.89 % 3 1 20 600 1ECTS=30 hrs.
3 Total 100 % 38 13 78 2340
6.1. Core Courses, Elective Courses, Thesis and Project

The following sub section discusses the core and elective courses. Please also refer to Annex A
for course number coding convention.
6.1.1. Core Courses
A graduate student should take the following core courses.
Course Course Title Credit ECTS
Code Hours
MSIT502 Seminar in Information Technology 1 2

MSIT504 IT Project Management 3 5
MSIT506 Research Methodology in Information Technology 2 3
MSIT521 Distributed Computing 3 5
MSIT531 Artificial Intelligence 3 5
MSIT523 Advanced Database Management System 3 5
MSIT522 Current Issues in Information Technology 2 3
MSIT532 ICT policies and E-service Delivery 3 5
MSIT534 Information Retrieval 3 5
MSIT541 Advanced Networks Principles and Protocols 3 5
MSIT543 Mobile computing 3 5
Total 29 48
6.1.2. Elective Courses

A graduate student should take two or three of the following courses depending on the plan from
which the student is in. Thesis option should take only one elective course where as other should
take two elective courses.
Course Course Title Credit ECTS

Code Hours
MSIT631 Data warehousing and data mining 3 5

MSIT623 Web engineering 3 5
MSIT633 Machine Learning 3 5
MSIT641 Cloud Computing 3 5
MSIT613 Embedded Systems 3 5
6.1.3. Thesis and Project
Course Code Course Tile Credit Hours ECTS

MSIT601 Thesis 6 30
MSIT603 Project 3 20
6.2. Bridge Courses
Bridge courses are given for those who are interested to join Msc in Information Technology but
come from non IT fields. Bridge courses or prerequisites are a requirement that students must
fulfill in order to continue with the program. This course includes Object Oriented Programming
Language, Fundamentals of Database System, Advanced database systems, advanced
programming, Network and Data Communication, Systems analysis and design and
Fundamentals of Software engineering from the Bsc Information Technology Curriculum in one
year.
6.3. Duration of the Program

The normal duration of the program is two years. However, due to some inconveniency, the
program can be extended to the maximum duration of four years with valid evidences.
7. Course Breakdown
7.1. Course Schedule for each Plan
7.1.1. Plan A
Year-I Semester-I
S. Course Course Title Cr.Hrs ECT

No Code S
1 MSIT521 Distributed Computing 3 5
2 MSIT531 Artificial Intelligence 3 5
3 MSIT523 Advanced Database Management System 3 5
4 MSIT541 Advanced Networking Principles and Protocols 3 5
5 MSIT543 Mobile Computing 3 5
TOTAL 15 25
Year-I Semester–II
S. Course Course Title Cr.Hrs ECTS

No Code
1 MSIT502 Seminar in Information Technology 1 2

2 MSIT504 IT Project Management 3 5
3 MSIT506 Research Methodology in Information Technology 2 3
4 MSIT522 Current issues in Information Technology 2 3
5 MSIT532 ICT policies and E-service Delivery 3 5
6 MSIT534 Information Retrieval 3 5
TOTAL 14 23
Year-II Semester-I
S. No Course Course Title Cr.Hrs ECTS

Code
1 MSIT601 Thesis 6 30
2 MSIT*** Elective 3 5
TOTAL 9 35
7.1.2. Plan B
Year-I Semester-I
S. Course Course Title Cr.Hrs ECTS

No Code
1 MSIT521 Distributed Computing 3 5

2 MSIT531 Artificial Intelligence 3 5
3 MSIT523 Advanced Database management system 3 5
4 MSIT541 Advanced Networking Principles and Protocols 3 5
5 MSIT543 Mobile Computing 3 5
TOTAL 15 25
Year-I Semester-II
S. No Course Course Title Cr.Hr ECTS

Code s
1 MSIT502 Seminar in Information Technology 1 2

2 MSIT504 IT Project Management 3 5
3 MSIT506 Research Methodology in Information Technology 2 3
4 MSIT522 Current issues in Information Technology 2 3
5 MSIT532 ICT policies and E-service Delivery 3 5
6 MSIT534 Information Retrieval 3 5
TOTAL 14 23
Year-II Semester-I
S. No Course Code Course Title Cr. Hrs ECTS
1 MSIT603 Project 3 20
Total 9 30
8. Graduation Requirement
The master’s program in IT will have the following course, thesis/project, and grade point
average requirements:
Course requirement: Completion of all the core courses and the required number of elective
courses
 Course requirement: Students are required to complete all the core courses and the
required number of elective courses as stated in section 6.2 above in this document.
 Thesis/Project:
o For thesis option: students who are working on thesis need a successful
completion and defense of a supervised thesis research with excellent, very good,
good or satisfactory result for A, B+, B and C respectively.
o For project work: students following project option are required to successfully
complete and defend a supervised project work with excellent, very good, good or
satisfactory result for A, B+, B and C respectively.
 Grading system: based on the senate legislation
9. Degree Nomenclature
English
Master of Science Degree in Information Technology

Amharic
የሳይንስ ማስትሬት ዲግሪ በኢንፎርሜሽን ቴክኖሎጂ
10. Course Description
This section will present the course title, course code, credit hours, prerequisite(s), objectives,
learning outcomes, course content, instructional method, assessment method, policy and reading
materials for each course.
10.1. Course Title: Seminar in Information Technology
Course Code: MSIT502
Credit Value of course: 1 credit hour/2.3ECTS/69hours
Prerequisite course (s): Completion of one semester courses
Co-requisite courses(s): None
Bared Combination course(s): None
Objective of the course
This course is intended to provide a skill in reviewing recently published works and prepare
review report in a selected area of Computer Science.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will be able to critically review and discuss
Information Technology articles.
Course Content
Students critically and scientifically evaluate published works in current research issues and
results in selected areas of Information Technology.
Teaching Support and Inputs for each content
Student should find related articles published in journals and conference proceedings, books,
reading materials from the Web, etc.
Instructional Methods
The instructor will avail published research papers to the students. Students, in groups or
individually, critically and scientifically review published papers, prepare well-written reports
and present their findings in a class.
Assessment Criteria
 Analyze published articles
 Develop assessment report
Method of Assessment
This course is assessed by class room activities, written report and presentation.
Percentage Contribution to the Assessment:
- Class Room Activities: 10%
- Review report: 60%
- Presentation: 30%
Course Requirements
- Every student should attend all seminar classes.

- Students should submit their review report according to the deadline.
- Students should present their paper reviews.
Course Calendar
The calendar follows the usual semester of 14 to 15 weeks. The details of delivery,
assignment deadlines, presentations and examination will be given to the student one week
before commencement of the class.
Reading Materials
Vary depending on the selected topics.
10.2. Course Title: IT Project Management
Course code: MSIT504
Credit Hours: 3 ; Theory 3 Credit hours; Lab 0 Credit Hour
Prerequisite(s): None
Objective of the Course
The main objective of this course is to enable the students to know the concepts, principles, and
current trends of IT project management.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of successful completion of the course students will be able to
 Understand and apply the concepts of IT project management.

 Identify and analyze the IT project needs of organizations.
 Mange various types of IT projects independently.
 Manage the integration of various projects in the context of an organization.
 Analyze organizational IT needs and the context of IT use.
 Identify and analyze factors for an IT project success or failure and act accordingly in a
real project context.
Course Content
Introductory concepts- Motivation for Studying Information Technology (IT) Project

Management, Advantages of Using Formal Project Management, Basic concepts and definitions,
project stake holders, project management knowledge areas, tools and techniques, project
management and IT context, a systems view of Project management. Understanding
organizations- issues for IT project success. project phases and the project life cycle- the IT
project context, IT project process, IT project management methodologies. Project integration
management, change and change control in IT projects, project scope management, project time
management, project quality management. Software quality assurance- product vs. quality
management, external standards, techniques to enhance software quality. Project management
models, project human resource management, project communication management, project risk
management, project cost management- cost estimation tools and techniques. Project
procurement management- procurement planning tools and techniques. New trends in IT project
management
Instructional Method
This course will be offered through lectures, individual/group project and class room discussions.
Assessment Method
Final Written Examination: 50%
Project Report: 20%
Project presentation: 10%
Assignment(s): 20%
Course Policy
- In order to sit on final exam, Students are asked to attend at least 75% of the lecture
hours. If not, they should bring valid evidence for their absence to be considered.
- Students should submit and present their assignments or project work on or before the
due date. Unless and otherwise he/she brings a valid evidence, 2 marks per day will be
deducted from what they scored.
Reading Materials
1. Bonham S. (2005). IT project portfolio management, ISBN 1-58053-781-2, Artech

House, inc.
2. Electronic imaging services inc. (2000). A guide to the project management body of
knowledge. electronic imaging services, Pennsylvania, USA.
3. Lan yin-chen (2005). Global information society operating information systems in a
dynamic global business environment, University of Western Sydney, Australia.
4. Robert E. Umbaugh (1999). Handbook of Information Systems Management, 1999
Edition, ISBN 0849399785
5. Sodhi, Jag. (2001). IT project management handbook, management concepts inc., ISBN
1−56726−098−5.
6. Wiliams M. (2008). THE PRINCIPLES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT, SitePoint pty
ltd., Australia, Canada, ISBN 978-0-9802858-6-4.
7. Young L. (2007). The Handbook of Project Management A practical guide to effective
policies, techniques and processes, London and Philadelphia Revised 2nd edition,ISBN-13
978 0 7494 4984 1.
10.3. Course Title: Research Methodologies in Information Technology
Credit Hours: 2; Theory 2 Credit hours; Lab 0 Credit Hour
The main objective of the course is to enable the students to know the basic principles and
procedures of conducting a scientific research works.
Learning Outcomes
After successful completion of this course students will be able to
 Understand how to use the different types of research strategies and methods.
 Design research and apply appropriate methodologies
 Collect, evaluate, and analyze research data.
 Plan, design, and implement a significant research project in an area of information
technology.
 Present and communicate their research project.
 Write scientific research proposal and research report.
 Identify research problems and review related scientific literature.
Course Content
Introductory concepts in research- scientific research, purpose of research, research and
knowledge, research types. The Research Process- identifying and articulating research
problems, Literature review, determining and describing procedures for conducting research,
Research design- problem formulation (types of problems, sources for finding problems,
problem formulation, hypothesis), methodologies (selection of appropriate methodological
approach for a research problem, selection of implementation methods, data collection),
literature search and review, Data analysis and interpretation. Scientific and technical Writing-
Writing a research proposal, report writing, communication and presentation skills, experimental
design and validation, interpreting and drawing conclusions from data analysis. Research in
information technology. Current trends in Information Technology.
The course will be delivered through a series of classroom lectures, class discussion, research
papers evaluation/review, assignments, proposal writing and presentations.
Assessment Method
Exam (mid and/or final) 40%
Assignments 10%
Paper review 10%
Literature survey 10%
Project works and presentation 30%
Course Policy
- Students are requested to read and evaluate the National and International research
articles in the relevant field.
Reading Materials
1. Bryman, Alan (2004) Social Research Methods (2nd Edition)

2. Creswell, John W. (2002). Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
Approaches (2nd Edition)
3. Graziano, Anthony M. & Raulin, Michael L. Research Methods A Process of Inquiry (6th
Edition)
4. Gupta, S.C. (2003). Fundamentals of Statistics.
5. Jackson, Sherri L. (2005). Research Methods and Statistics A Critical Thinking Approach
6. Martella+, Ronald C. et al. (1999). Research Methods Learning To Become A Critical
Research Consumer Patton, Michael Quinn (2001). Qualitative Research & Evaluation
Methods.
10.4. Course Title: Distributed Computing

Credit Hours: 3 (Theory 2 Credit hours; Lab 1 Credit Hour)
The main objective of the course is to describe the concepts in distributed computing and current issues.
This course gives a detailed architecture of the distributed computing components and its applications.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, students will able to:
 Explore the Concepts in the distributed computing

 Explain the building blocks of process and distributed objects
 Construct or design networks and interconnection structures
 Detailed architecture of client/server model
 Apply the principles of distributed computing
 Acquainted with design issues in advanced operating systems
 Understand and apply the concept of Distributed database systems in the suitable areas.
 Identify the research oriented topics and conduct researches
Course Content
FUNDAMENTALS - Characterization of Distributed Systems , Examples , Resource Sharing and the

Web, Challenges , System Models , Architectural and Fundamental Models , Networking and
Internetworking , Types of Networks , Network Principles , Internet Protocols , Case Studies.
PROCESSES AND DISTRIBUTED OBJECTS - Interprocess Communication , The API for the
Internet Protocols , External Data Representation and Marshalling , Client–Server Communication ,
Group Communication , Case Study , Distributed Objects and Remote Invocation, Communication
between Distributed Objects, Remote Procedure Call , Events and Notifications , Java RMI , Case Study.
OPERATING SYSTEM ISSUES I -The OS Layer , Protection , Processes and Threads ,

Communication and Invocation , OS Architecture , Security , Overview ,Cryptographic Algorithms ,
Digital Signatures
Cryptography Pragmatics , Case Studies , Distributed File Systems, File Service Architecture , Sun
Network File System , The Andrew File System.
OPERATING SYSTEM ISSUES II - Name Services , Domain Name System , Directory and
Discovery Services – Global Name Service , X.500 Directory Service , Clocks , Events and Process
States, Synchronizing Physical Clocks , Logical Time and Logical Clocks , Global States , Distributed
Debugging , Distributed Mutual Exclusion , Elections , Multicast Communication Related Problems.
DISTRIBUTED TRANSACTION PROCESSING- Transactions, Nested Transactions, Locks,

Optimistic Concurrency Control, Timestamp Ordering, Comparison, Flat and Nested Distributed
Transactions, Atomic Commit Protocols, Concurrency Control in Distributed Transactions, Distributed
Deadlocks, Transaction Recovery , Overview of Replication and Distributed Multimedia Systems.
This course will be offered through lectures, group project, Laboratory and class room discussions.
Required Laboratory Tools: JAVA Programming Language
Assessment Method
Project Report: 20%
Assignment(s): 20%
Course Policy
- In order to sit on final exam, Students are asked to attend at least 75% of the lecture hours and 75% of
the lab hours. If not, they should bring valid evidence for their absence to be considered.
- Students should submit and present their assignments or project work on or before the due date. Unless
and otherwise he/she brings a valid evidence, 2 marks per day will be deducted from what they scored.
Reading Materials
1. George Coulouris, Jean Dollimore and Tim Kindberg, “Distributed Systems Concepts and
Design”, Pearson Education, 3rd Edition, 2011
2. Albert Fleishman, “Distributed Systems Software Design and Implementation”, Springer Verlag,
2004.
3. M. L .Liu, “Distributed Computing Principles and Applications”, Pearson Education, 2014.
4. Andrew S Tanenbaum, Maartenvan Steen, “Distributed Systems, Principles and Pardigms”,
Pearson Education, 2014.
5. Mugesh Singhal, Niranjan G Shivaratri, “Advanced Concepts in Operating Systems”, Tata
McGraw Hill Edition, 2011
10.5. Course Title: Advanced Database Management Systems

The main objective of the course is to explain the advanced topics in the Data Base Management
Systems. It also enables the students to acquire more knowledge about the data base concepts
and its current issues.
Learning Outcomes
After successful completion of this course students will be able to
 Understand the concepts of parallel and distributed databases

 Know the principles of XML data bases
 Know the detailed concepts in object oriented databases
 Design the architecture and utilization of Mobile databases
 Describe about Multimedia databases
Course Content
PARALLEL AND DISTRIBUTED DATABASES Database System Architectures-
Centralized and Client-Server Architectures – Server System Architectures – Parallel Systems-
Distributed Systems – Parallel Databases I/O Parallelism – Inter and Intra Query Parallelism –
Inter and Intra operation Parallelism – Distributed Database Concepts - Distributed Data
Storage
– Distributed Transactions – Commit Protocols – Concurrency Control – Distributed Query
Processing – Three Tier Client Server Architecture- Case Studies.
OBJECT AND OBJECT RELATIONAL DATABASES Concepts for Object Databases- Object
Identity – Object structure – Type Constructors – Encapsulation of Operations – Methods – Persistence –
Type and Class Hierarchies – Inheritance – Complex Objects – Object Database Standards, Languages
and Design ODMG Model – ODL – OQL – Object Relational and Extended – Relational Systems
Object Relational features in SQL/Oracle – Case Studies.
XML DATABASES XML Databases-XML Data Model – DTD - XML Schema - XML Querying –
Web Databases – JDBC – Information Retrieval – Data Warehousing – Data Mining.
MOBILE DATABASES Mobile Databases- Location and Handoff Management – Effect of Mobility on
Data Management - Location Dependent Data Distribution - Mobile Transaction Models - Concurrency
Control - Transaction Commit Protocols- Mobile Database Recovery Schemes
MULTIMEDIA DATABASES Multidimensional Data Structures – Image Databases –

Text/Document Databases- Video Databases – Audio Databases – Multimedia Database Design.
This course will be offered through lectures, presentations and class room discussions.
Assessment Method
Assignment: 25%
Seminar: 25%
Course Policy
- In order to sit on final exam, Students are asked to attend at least 75% of the lecture hours. If not,
they should bring valid evidence for their absence to be considered.
- Students should submit and present their assignments or seminar on or before the due date.
Unless and otherwise he/she brings a valid evidence, 2 marks per day will be deducted from what
they scored.
Reading Materials
1. R. Elmasri, S.B. Navathe, “Fundamentals of Database Systems”, Fifth Edition, Pearson

Education/Addison Wesley, 2007.
2. Thomas Cannolly and Carolyn Begg, “ Database Systems, A Practical Approach to
Design, Implementation and Management”, Third Edition, Pearson Education, 2007.
3. Henry F Korth, Abraham Silberschatz, S. Sudharshan, “Database System Concepts”,
Fifth Edition, McGraw Hill, 2006.
4. C.J.Date, A.Kannan and S.Swamynathan,”An Introduction to Database Systems”, 8 th
Edition, Pearson Education, 2012.
5. V.S.Subramanian, “Principles of Multimedia Database Systems”, Harcourt India Pvt
Ltd., 2012
6. Vijay Kumar, “ Mobile Database Systems”, John Wiley & Sons, 2018.
10.6. Course Title:Advanced Networking Principles and Protocols
The main objective of the course is to enable the students to study the theories and principles
of advanced networking protocols.
Learning Outcomes
After the successful completion of this course students will be able to

 Understand the concepts regarding advanced networking principles and protocols
 Work with available network services, tools, protocols, etc
 Plan, design, configure etc effective, efficient and secured networks or upgrade existing
ones
 Manage network users and resources
 Design and implement simple network protocols and applications
 Guarantee security of networks
 Investigate current issues and trends in the area and conduct problem based researches
Course Content
Network Planning and Design Concepts- Overview of Network Topologies, Network Design
Strategies, Upgrading Strategies and Project Management, Setting up a network topology.
Physical Networking Components- Network Switches, Router, Network Attached Storage and
Storage Area Network.
TCP/IP Suite and Internet Stack Protocols - Network Layer Protocols, Transport Layer
Protocols, Low-Level Network Protocols, Dedicated Connections and WAN Protocols, Wireless
Networking Protocols.
Routing Protocols- Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF),
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). Remote System Programs- TELNET, Remote Login (Rlogin).
Upgrading Network- Upgrading from ARCnet to Ethernet or Token-Ring, Upgrading from Token-
Ring to Ethernet, Upgrading Older Ethernet Networks, Upgrading from Bridges and Hubs to
Routers and Switches, Adding Wireless Networking to a LAN, Migration and Integration.
Network Management- Network Management Services, Common Management Information

Protocol (CMIP), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Management Information
Base (MIB), Monitoring and Control, Network User and Resource Management, Resource
Reservation Protocol (RSVP).
Troubleshooting Networks- Strategies, Network Testing and Analysis Tools, Troubleshooting

Networks.
This course will be offered through lecture, laboratory, class discussion and presentation.
Assessment Method
Final Written examination: 50%
Project Report: 25%
Presentation: 15%
Assignments: 10%
Course Policy
- In order to sit on final exam, Students are asked to attend at least 75% of the lecture hours
and 75% of the lab hours. If not, they should bring valid evidence for their absence to be
considered.
Reading Materials
1. Fred Halsall, Computer Networking and the Internet, 5 th Edition, Pearson Education
Limited, 2005.
2. Terry William Ogletree, Upgrading and Repairing Networks, 4th Edition, Que, 2003.
3. Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Computer Networks, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2003
10.7. Course Title: Mobile Computing

The main objective of the course is to define Mobile Computing and look at current trends;
Distinguish between types of Mobility Examine Theory Research in Mobility and Examine
Systems Research in Mobility.
Learning Outcomes
At postgraduate level this course develops the following Program Learning Outcomes:
 High levels of technical competence in the field.

 Be able to apply problem solving approaches to work challenges and make decisions
using sound engineering methodologies.
 Describe wireless and mobile communications systems and be able to choose an
appropriate mobile system from a set of requirements.
 Be able to avoid or work around the weaknesses of mobile computing, or to reject mobile
computing as a solution.
 Interface a mobile computing system to hardware and networks.
 Program applications on a mobile computing system and interact with servers and
database systems.
Course contents
 Mobile environments and communications systems.

 Hardware devices and interacting with these devices.
 Mobile operating systems available.
 Programming applications on a mobile system.
 Data and knowledge management.
Student learning occurs through the following experiences and evaluation processes:
 Lectures provide guided learning of key topics.

 Self-paced learning will use reference material as a guide.
 Laboratory based assignments and a project explore specific topics in depth.
 Preparation for the final exam.
Assessment Method
Final Written Exam 60%

Project Report 10%
Project Presentation 15%
Test 15%
Course Policy
Reading Materials
1. Wireless Communications: Principles and Practice, by Theodore S. Rappaport, Prentice Hall.
2. 802.11n: A Survival Guide, by Matthew Gast, O'Reilly Media.
3. 802.11ac: A Survival Guide, by Matthew Gast, O'Reilly Media.
4. Wireless Networking Complete, by Pei Zheng et al., Morgan Kaufmann.
10.8. Course Title: Current Issues in Information Technology

The objective of this course is to enable students to acquire more knowledge about current issues
in the field of Information Technology.
Learning Outcomes
After successful completion of this course, students will able to
 Utilize the current resources to upgrade their knowledge in the field of IT

 Find research problems and issues in the field of IT
Course Content
The content of this course will be determined by the instructor who is responsible to manage the
course.
Instruction Methods
This course will be offered through lectures, presentations, and classroom discussions.
Assessment Method
Assignments: 20%
Seminar: 30%
Course Policy
- Students should submit and present their assignments or seminar on or before the due
date. Unless and otherwise he/she brings a valid evidence, 2 marks per day will be
Reading Materials
Based on the content of the course and the decision of the course instructor.
10.9. Course Title: ICT policies and E-service delivery
Objective of the Course:

The objective of this course is to provide basic knowledge about ICT policies and delivery of
Electronic Services and its importance to society. In particular, it examines the basics of e-ICT
policies and strategies, and different e-services, like e- governance laws and policies; e-
commerce, e-banking, e-health and different kinds of e-services delivered by governments and
different private organizations. In addition, models of best practices in ICT policies and e-
service delivery will be taught. Specific objectives of the course are to:
o provide knowledge about ICT policies and strategies;
o provide knowledge and understanding of existing and emerging Electronic Services;
o provide knowledge and understanding of possible innovations in public

administration through Electronic Services delivery;
o develop skills of the effective use of Electronic Services as citizens;

o to help graduate students to choose topics for their future Masters projects and
dissertations.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
• Have knowledge and understanding of
- ICT policies and Electronic Services with its importance to society;
- basics of E-governance and its laws and policies;
- models of best practices in e-service delivery

- possible innovations in public administration through E-services delivery
• Develop skills of the effective use of Electronic Services as citizens
Instructional method:
Since this course is supposed to have only lecture hours, it will form mostly the
theoretical knowledge. To provide students with practical skills, they will be given individual
and group assignments to be done as a form of extracurricular activity.
Course content:
E-governance; E-government, Policy and management issues specific to E-governance;
Effective governmental adoption; ICT policies, e-bank, e-health, e-commerce, E-government
initiatives: E- procurement; E-licensing; online citizen access to governmental databases; E-
democracy initiatives. Successful implementation of E-government initiatives; Organizational,
social and political impacts of E-government initiatives. E-government functions. E-
government methods; E-government effectiveness evaluation and improvement; and Training
of public administrators on E-governance.
Course Policy
Assessment method:
test 20%
Assignment 20%
Reading materials:
1.Lamersdorf, W., Tschammer, V. & Amarger, S. (2004). Building the E-Service Society: E-
Commerce, E-Business and E-Government. Kluwer Academic Publishers
2.Malkia, M., Savolainen, R., Anttiroiko, A.-V. (2003). E-Transformation in Governance:
New Directions in Government and Politics. Idea Group Publishing.
3.Pavlichev, A., Garson, G.D. (2003). Digital Government: Principles and Best
Practices.Idea Group Publishing.
4.Gronlund, A. (2002). Electronic Government: Design, Applications and Management. Idea
Group Publishing.
5.Curtain, G.G., Sommer M.H., Vis-Sommer, V. (2004). The World of E-Government.
Haworth Press, 2004
6.Huang, W., Siau, K., Wei, K.K. (2005). Electronic Government Strategies and
Implementation. Idea Group Publishing.
7.Dunleavy, P., Margetts, et al. (2006). Digital Era Governance: IT Corporations, the State,
and e-Government. Oxford University Press.
8. Curtain, G. G. et al. (2004). The World of E-Government. Haworth Press.
10.10. Course Title: Information Retrieval (IR)
Course code: MSIT 534
The main objective of this course is to enable the students to understand the theoretical and
implementation issues of modern IR process.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of successful completion of this course students will be able to
 Familiarize themselves with basic theories and principles of IR.

 Understand the modern concepts of IR
 Acquaint themselves with the various strategies and models developed for IR Systems.
 Conduct researches in the areas of IR
Course Content
Introduction to IR-concepts of IR, the retrieval process, structure of an IR system.

Text/document operations and automatic indexing-index term selection, document pre-
processing (lexical analysis, stop word elimination, stemming), automatic term extraction (term
weighting & similarity measures). Data/file structures-inverted files, tries, suffix trees, suffix
arrays, signature files, hashing. IR Models-a formal characterization of IR models, IR models
(Boolean model, vector space model, probabilistic model), latent semantic indexing. Retrieval
Evaluation-evaluation of IR systems, relevance judgment, performance measures. Query languages-
keyword-based queries, pattern matching, structural queries. Query operations- document
clustering strategies, relevance feedback, query expansion. Current research issues in IR.
This course will be delivered by lecture, class room discussion, assignments, project works and
presentations.
Assessment Method
Project Report: 20%
Project presentations: 15%
Assignments: 10%
Course Policy
Reading Materials
1. Salton, G. and McGill, M. J. Introduction to Modern Information Retrieval, McGraw-Hill

Co., 1983.
2. Robert R. Korfhage, Information Storage and Retrieval, John Wiley & Sons, 1997.
3. W. B. Frakes and R. Baeza-Yates (Eds.), Information Retrieval Data Structures &
Algorithms, Prentice-Hall, 1992
4. Journal articles and online materials as suggested by the instructor.
10.11. Course Title: Data Warehousing and Data Mining
Prerequisite(s): none
The main objective of the course is to explain the concepts and principles in data and web
mining, its issues and its applications in different areas.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of course, students will able to
 understand the concepts in data and web mining

 Understand the different data mining functionalities: Association, Classification,
Clustering, etc
 Understand the data warehouse operations: Slicing, dicing, pivoting, rolling up, rolling
down, etc
 Understand and use data mining modeling techniques such as CRISP-DM
 Develop skill to measure the goodness of the data set for decision making
 Be familiar with the concepts of genetic algorithms
 Identify research topics and conduct problem based researches
Course Content
Data Mining- Introduction, Basic data mining tasks, data mining versus knowledge discovery in
data base mining issues and mechanisms. Data Mining Techniques- Statistical perspective on
data mining, similarity measures, Neural Networks- Genetic Algorithms, Classification,
Clustering and Association rules (Description, Principle, Design, Algorithm, Rule evaluation),
Data warehousing, Data mining- meta data, Hardware and operational design, Hardware
architecture, physical layout, security, backup and recovery, service level agreement,
Operating and data warehousing, capacity planning, Tuning and data warehouse-Testing and
data warehouse. Data warehouse futures. Applications-Data warehousing and data mining in
government, national data warehouses, other areas for data warehousing and data mining.
This course will be offered through lectures, presentations and class discussions.
Assessment Method

Project Report 10%
Project Presentation 15%
Assignment 15%
Course Policy
Reading Materials
2. Sam Anahory and dennis murrary “ Data warehousing in the real world”, Pearson
education.
3. Margaret H.Dunham, “Data mining Introductory and Advanced Topics”, Pearson
Education , 2004.
4. J. Han and M. Kamber with tile Data Mining Concepts and Techniques, 2nd edition
5. Usama Fayyad, Gregory Piatetsky-Shapiro, Padhraic Smyth, and Ramasamy
Uthurasamy, "Advances in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining", AAAI Press/ The
MIT Press, 1996.
6. Michael Berry and Gordon Linoff, "Data Mining Techniques (For Marketing, Sales, and
Customer Support), John Wiley & Sons, 1997.
7. Sholom M. Weiss and Nitin Indurkhya, "Predictive Data Mining: A Practical Guide",
Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1998.
10.12. Course Title: Artificial Intelligence
Credit Hours: 3 ; Theory 3 Credit hours; Lab 0 Credit Hour
Prerequisite(s ): None
Objective of the course
The main objective of the course is to explain the principles in Artificial Intelligence and to build
Expert systems of the possible application areas.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of course, the students will able to:
 Identify the different issues in problem solving techniques

 Know how to build the Expert systems
 Realize issues and difficulties in the predicate calculus
 Apply the concepts of AND/OR graph and higher level state space
 Know the detailed concepts of ROBOTICS
 Know game programming
 Explore the concepts of knowledge acquisition and representation using rules
 Know the detailed procedure in learning by induction
 Identify research areas and conduct problem solving researches
Course Content
AI definition, AI History, Problem state and operators, Heuristic programming, state space
representations, state descriptions, graph notations, non-deterministic programs. State space
search methods- Breadth first and depth first search methods, heuristic methods - problem
reduction representations, AND/OR graph and higher level state space, recursion- problem
reduction search methods. Cost of solution trees- ordered search, alpha beta and minimum
procedures, theorem proving in predicate calculus. Semantic networks – frames, conceptual
dependency, Scripts, Representing Knowledge using rules, syntax and semantics. Predicate
calculus in problem solving- answer extraction process, resolution, automatic program writing-
ROBOTICS-games, Alpha beta pruning techniques, mini-max procedure, solving logic puzzles-
Expert systems- expert systems and conventional programs, Expert system architecture.
Knowledge engineering- knowledge representations techniques, knowledge acquisition,
automatic knowledge acquisition, building an expert system, difficulties in developing an expert
system. Non production systems Architectures –Knowledge based system building tools. Types
of Learning - general Learning model, Learning by induction, Generalization and specialization,
Inductive bias, Explanation based Learning.
This course will be offered through lectures, individual project and class room discussions.
Required Laboratory Tools: PROLOG or LISP Programming Language
Assessment Method
Project Report: 20%
Assignment(s): 20%
Course Policy
Reading Materials
1. E.Charnail , CK Reiesbeck and D.V Medermett, “ Artificial Intelligence programming”,

Lawrence Erlbum Associates, NJ,1980.
2. N.J.Nilson, “Principles of Artificial Intelligence”, Tiega Press, Polo Alto, 1980.
3. Elain Rich and Kevin Knight,” Artificial Intelligence”, McGrawHill , 1994.
4. Donald A.Waterman, “ A guide to expert systems”, Techknoledge series in Knowledge
engineering , 1986.
10.13. Course Title: Distributed Computing

The main objective of the course is to describe the concepts in distributed computing and current issues.
This course gives a detailed architecture of the distributed computing components and its applications.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, students will able to:
 Explore the Concepts in the distributed computing

 Explain the building blocks of process and distributed objects
 Construct or design networks and interconnection structures
 Detailed architecture of client/server model
 Apply the principles of distributed computing
 Acquainted with design issues in advanced operating systems
 Understand and apply the concept of Distributed database systems in the suitable areas.
 Identify the research oriented topics and conduct researches
Course Content
FUNDAMENTALS - Characterization of Distributed Systems , Examples , Resource Sharing and the

Web, Challenges , System Models , Architectural and Fundamental Models , Networking and
Internetworking , Types of Networks , Network Principles , Internet Protocols , Case Studies.
PROCESSES AND DISTRIBUTED OBJECTS - Interprocess Communication , The API for the
Internet Protocols , External Data Representation and Marshalling , Client–Server Communication ,
Group Communication , Case Study , Distributed Objects and Remote Invocation, Communication
between Distributed Objects, Remote Procedure Call , Events and Notifications , Java RMI , Case Study.
OPERATING SYSTEM ISSUES I -The OS Layer , Protection , Processes and Threads ,
Communication and Invocation , OS Architecture , Security , Overview ,Cryptographic Algorithms ,
Digital Signatures
Cryptography Pragmatics , Case Studies , Distributed File Systems, File Service Architecture , Sun
Network File System , The Andrew File System.
OPERATING SYSTEM ISSUES II - Name Services , Domain Name System , Directory and
Discovery Services – Global Name Service , X.500 Directory Service , Clocks , Events and Process
States, Synchronizing Physical Clocks , Logical Time and Logical Clocks , Global States , Distributed
Debugging , Distributed Mutual Exclusion , Elections , Multicast Communication Related Problems.
DISTRIBUTED TRANSACTION PROCESSING- Transactions, Nested Transactions, Locks,

Optimistic Concurrency Control, Timestamp Ordering, Comparison, Flat and Nested Distributed
Transactions, Atomic Commit Protocols, Concurrency Control in Distributed Transactions, Distributed
Deadlocks, Transaction Recovery , Overview of Replication and Distributed Multimedia Systems.
This course will be offered through lectures, group project, Laboratory and class room discussions.
Required Laboratory Tools: JAVA Programming Language
Assessment Method
Project Report: 20%
Assignment(s): 20%
Course Policy
- In order to sit on final exam, Students are asked to attend at least 75% of the lecture hours and 75% of
the lab hours. If not, they should bring valid evidence for their absence to be considered.
- Students should submit and present their assignments or project work on or before the due date. Unless
and otherwise he/she brings a valid evidence, 2 marks per day will be deducted from what they scored.
Reading Materials
6. George Coulouris, Jean Dollimore and Tim Kindberg, “Distributed Systems Concepts and
Design”, Pearson Education, 3rd Edition, 2011
7. Albert Fleishman, “Distributed Systems Software Design and Implementation”, Springer Verlag,
2004.
8. M. L .Liu, “Distributed Computing Principles and Applications”, Pearson Education, 2014.
9. Andrew S Tanenbaum, Maartenvan Steen, “Distributed Systems, Principles and Pardigms”,
Pearson Education, 2014.
10. Mugesh Singhal, Niranjan G Shivaratri, “Advanced Concepts in Operating Systems”, Tata
McGraw Hill Edition, 2011
10.14. Course Title: Machine Learning

Credit Hours: 3(Theory 2 hours; Lab 1 Hour)
Course description
Machine Learning is a key to develop intelligent systems and analyze data in science and
engineering. Machine learning engines enable intelligent technologies such as Siri, Kinect or
Google self-driving car, to name a few. At the same time machine learning methods help
unlocking the information in our DNA and make sense of the flood of information gathered on
the web, forming the basis of a new Science of Data.
This course provides an introduction to the fundamental methods at the core of modern machine
learning. It covers theoretical foundations as well as essential algorithms for supervised and
unsupervised learning. Classes on theoretical and algorithmic aspects are complemented by
practical lab sessions.
Objectives
1. To introduce the fundamental principles, techniques, and applications of Machine Learning.
2. To cover the principles, design and implementation of learning programs which improve their
performance on some set of tasks by experience.

3.To offer a broad understanding of fundamental machine learning algorithms and their use in
data-driven knowledge discovery.
8. To offer an understanding of the current state of the art in machine learning to conduct original
research in machine learning.
Specific competencies acquired
Professional competencies
1. Understanding the concepts, methods and models used in Machine Learning.
2. Understanding the principles, design, implementation and validation of learning systems.
3. Learning to conduct incipient original research in machine learning.
Transversal competencies
1. The ability to apply machine learning techniques in solving real world problems.
2. Responsible execution of lab assignments, research and practical reports.
3. Application of efficient and rigorous working rules.
4. Manifest responsible attitudes toward the scientific and didactic fields.
5. Respecting the professional and ethical principles.
Course content
Introduction in Machine Learning, Statistical Foundations, Decision Tree learning, Artificial

Neural Networks, Support Vector Machines, Bayesian Learning, Instance based learning,
Unsupervised learning, Reinforcement Learning, multi-task learning, logistic regression.
References
1. Mitchell, T., Machine Learning, McGraw Hill, 1997
2. Nillson, N., Introduction to Machine Learning, Stanford University, 1996
3. Deep learning textbook – http://www.deeplearningbook.org
4. Sutton, R.S., Barto, A.G., Reinforcement learning, The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts,
London, England, 1998
5. Cristiani, N., Support Vector and Kernel Machines, BIOwulf Technologies, 2001
6. Russell, J.S, Norvig, P., Artificial Intelligence- A Modern Approach, Prentice- Hall, Inc., New
Jersey, 1995
Journals
1. Journal of Machine Learning Research is a freely available ISI journal - http://jmlr.csail.mit.edu/
2. Machine Learning - http://www.springer.com/computer/artificial/journal/10994
3. Neural Computation - http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/neco
4. Neural networks - http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/841/descr
iption#description
5. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence

http://www2.computer.org/portal/web/tpami/
6. Bioinformatics is a journal focusing on analysing biological data -

http://bioinformatics.oxfordjournals.org/
Assessment
1. For the lab hours, each student should prepare and present a theoretical research report on a
learning technique based on some recent research papers.
The students should present a survey on some recent research results on the considered
topic.
The paper will contain theoretical considerations on the selected topic and compulsory sections regarding:
1. Existing or possible applications of the selected topic
2. Advantages and disadvantages of the selected approach (here you can present your own opinions)
2. Two practical projects (software) must be completed for the lab activity.
Requirements
The first project will be developed using anopen source ML software. The project will have to
comparatively demonstrate the use of two ML techniques for some specific tasks; Python libraries (Scikit-
learn, Keras, etc), WEKA http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/ml/weka, Rapid Miner http://rapid-i.com, Orange
http://www.ailab.si/orange, ROCKIT http://xray.bsd.uchicago.edu/krl/KRL_ROC/software_index.htm
SVM software http://www.support-vector-machines.org/SVM_soft.html, MATLAB
The first project will include: a description of the programming software used, including used features
(doc); problem definition (doc) and comments about the solution (doc).
The second project will be fully implemented, without using existing ML environments. The project will
have to demonstrate the use of a ML technique for a specific task. This will include: problem definition
(doc); comments about the solution (problem analysis) (doc); short design documentation (doc) and the
electronic version of the source code, test files and any other files required to test the project.
Assessment value
10% Class attendance
20% Theoretical research report (written and presented)
20% Practical project 1 (documented and demonstrated)
20% Practical project 2 (implemented, documented and demonstrated)
30% Final exam (written paper in exams session)
1.15. Course Title: CLOUD COMPUTING

Credit Hours: 3(Theory 2 hours; Lab 1 Hour)
Prerequisite(s):
Knowledge of computer systems, programming and debugging, with a strong competency in at least one
language (such as Java/Python), and the ability to pick up other languages as needed.
Course Description
This course gives students an overview of the field of Cloud Computing, its enabling
technologies, main building blocks, and hands-on experience through projects utilizing public
cloud infrastructures. Cloud computing services are being adopted widely across a variety of
organizations and in many domains. Simply, cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a
service over a network, where by distributed resources are rented, rather than owned, by an end
user as a utility.
The course will introduce this domain and cover the topics of cloud infrastructures,
virtualization, software defined networks and storage, cloud storage, and programming models.
As an introduction, the motivating factors, benefits and challenges of the cloud, as well as
service models, service level agreements (SLAs), security, example cloud service providers and
use cases will be discussed. And distributed file systems, NoSQL databases and object storage.
HDFS, CephFS, HBASE, MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB, S3, Swift and Ceph Object
Gateway will be presented as case studies.
Course Objectives:
We plan to give students an overview of the field of Cloud Computing, and an in-depth study
into its enabling technologies and main building blocks. Students will gain hands-on experience
solving relevant problems through projects that will utilize existing public cloud tools. It is our
objective that students will develop the skills needed to become a practitioner or carry out
research projects in this domain. Students will learn
1) the fundamental ideas behind Cloud Computing, the evolution of the paradigm, its
applicability; benefits, as well as current and future challenges;
2) the basic ideas and principles in data center design; cloud management techniques and cloud
software deployment considerations;
3) different CPU, memory and I/O virtualization techniques that serve in offering software,
computation and storage services on the cloud; Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Software
Defined Storage (SDS);
4) cloud storage technologies and relevant distributed file systems, NoSQL databases and object
storage;
5) the variety of programming models and develop working experience in several of them.
Course Content
Introduction to Cloud Computing, Cloud Computing Platforms, Parallel Programming in the

Cloud, Distributed Storage Systems, Virtualization, Cloud infrastructure, Cloud Security and
Multicore Operating Systems
Learning Outcomes:
The primary learning outcomes of this course are five-fold. Students will be able to:
1) Explain the core concepts of the cloud computing paradigm: how and why this paradigm shift came
about, the characteristics, advantages and challenges brought about by the various models and services in
cloud computing.
2) Apply fundamental concepts in cloud infrastructures to understand the tradeoffs in power, efficiency
and cost, and then study how to leverage and manage single and multiple datacenters to build and deploy
cloud applications that are resilient, elastic and cost-efficient.
3) Discuss system, network and storage virtualization and outline their role in enabling the cloud
computing system model.
4) Illustrate the fundamental concepts of cloud storage and demonstrate their use in storage systems such
as Amazon S3 and HDFS.
5) Analyze various cloud programming models and apply them to solve problems on the cloud.
Course Policies
Course Correspondence
Paper Presentations Students will present, in groups of two, one research paper during the semester. These
papers cover very recent developments in cloud computing. The presentations (using PowerPoint slides)
will take place in class, and extra-credit will be assigned for active participation in discussions.
Programming Assignment There will be one individual programming assignment consisting of creating
an AMI for Hadoop and implementing short Hadoop programs on the Amazon Web Services platform.
Project Students will choose their project topic and work in teams of three to design, implement, and
evaluate cloud applications using Hadoop on the Amazon Web Services platform. General requirements
for all projects will be discussed in class after the midterm.
Assessment
Checkpoint Quizzes (equal weight) - 20%
Programming assignment- 20%
Projects (equal weight) - 30%
Final Exam - 30%
Total 100%
References
1. http://www.njit.edu/education/pdf/academic-integrity-code.pdf
1.17. Course Title: Web Engineering


The objective of the course is to provide students with conceptual and practical knowledge, and
skills required to develop web applications and web services.
Learning Outcomes
After the successful completion of the course, students will be able to
 Understand the concepts, principles and methods of Web engineering.

 Apply the concepts, principles, and methods of Web engineering to Web applications
development.
 Be familiar with current Web technologies.
 Be familiar with Web application development software tools and environments currently
available on the market.
 Understand the technologies, business models and societal issues of Web 2.0 and Semantic Web.
Course Content
Web Engineering Fundamentals- Introduction to web applications & web engineering. Concepts,
principles, techniques, and methods of Web engineering. Requirements engineering, modeling and
architectures, design and technologies, testing, operation and maintenance, Web project management,
application development process, usability and performance, and security of Web applications.
Technologies (particularly on Web 2.0), business models and strategies, and societal issues of Web 2.0
and Semantic Web are also discussed. Web security- SSC, SET, EDE. Advances in Web Engineering.
This course will be offered through lecture, class discussion, presentation, and projects.
Assessment Method
Projects Report: 15%
Projects presentations: 10%
Assignments: 15%
Course Policy
 In order to sit on final exam, Students are asked to attend at least 75% of the lecture hours. If not,
 Students should submit and present their assignments or project work on or before the due date.
they scored.
Reading Materials
1. Web Engineering A Practitioner's Approach by Roger Pressman and David Lowe, McGraw‐Hill,
2009.
2. G. Kappel, B. Pröll, S. Reich, and W. Retschitzegger (eds), Web Engineering – The Discipline of
Systematic Development of Web Applications, John Wiley & Sons, 2006
3. Using XHTML 4 - XML - Java 2 - Platinum by Eric Ladd, Jim O'Donnell, Que,
December 1, 2001, ISBN 07897-2473-1.
1.18. Course Title: Embedded Systems and Real time Processing
The main objective of the course is to explain the concepts and principles in Embedded systems.
Learning Outcomes
 understand the concept of embedded systems in C programming

 Identify the challenges of embedded systems
 Know the detailed concepts of optimizing assembly code
 Explore the methods of embedded system development
 Identify research topics and conduct researches.
Course Content
EMBEDDED COMPUTING Fundamental concepts of embedded systems. Challenges of Embedded

Systems – Embedded system design process. Embedded processors – ARM processor – Architecture,
ARM and Thumb Instruction sets.
EMBEDDED C PROGRAMMING C-looping structures – Register allocation – Function calls –

Pointer aliasing – structure arrangement – bit fields – unaligned data and endianness – inline functions
and inline assembly – portability issues.
OPTIMIZING ASSEMBLY CODE Profiling and cycle counting – instruction scheduling – Register
allocation conditional execution – looping constructs – bit manipulation – efficient switches – optimized
primitives.
PROCESSES AND OPERATING SYSTEMS Multiple tasks and processes – Context switching –
Scheduling policies – Interprocess communication mechanisms – Exception and interrupt handling -
Performance issues.
EMBEDDED SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT Meeting real time constraints – Multi-state systems and
function sequences. Embedded software development tools – Emulators and debuggers. Design
methodologies – Case studies – Complete design of example embedded systems.
This course will be offered through lectures, presentations and class room discussions.
Assessment Method
Final Written Exam: 60%

Assignment: 20%
Seminar: 20%
Course Policy
- In order to sit on final exam, Students are asked to attend at least 75% of the lecture hours. If not,
- Students should submit and present their assignments or project work on or before the due date.
they scored.
Reading Materials
1. Andrew N Sloss, D. Symes, C. Wright, ” ARM System Developers Guide”, Morgan

Kaufmann / Elsevier, 2006.
2. Michael J. Pont, “Embedded C”, Pearson Education , 2007.
3. Wayne Wolf, “Computers as Components Principles of Embedded Computer
4. System Design”, Morgan Kaufmann / Elsevier, 2nd. edition, 2008.
5. Steve Heath, “Embedded System Design” , Elsevier, 2nd. edition, 2003.
1.19. Course Title: Thesis
Credit Hours: 6
Prerequisite(s): Successful Completion of all the required course credit hours.
The main objective of this course is to initiate the independent ability in writing a research
proposal with clearly stated hypothesis and to carry out noble research that contributes in the
field of IT.
Learning Outcomes
 Know how to prepare the research proposals.

 Identify different tools for research work
 Know how to gather the related information in a article form.
 Know how to analyze research findings
 Know how to conduct research
Course Content
Every academic year, the Department Graduate Committee (DGC) will list out the current
research topics in IT. Therefore, the students are asked to choose their interested topic in their 2 nd
year 1st semester. After selecting their interested topic, students should start their original work
for the selected domain. The literature coverage should include the previous work for the related
problem and the clear specification for the current work. At the end of work, the authors are
clearly quote the future work for further continuation and improvement of the research problem.
Thereafter, students are asked to submit and defend their thesis work to the DGC as per the
committee rules and regulations.
Students will conduct their thesis work under a regular supervision of their respective advisor in
collaboration with DGC rules.
Assessment Method
Advisor’s Continuous Assessment: 40%

Internal examiner: 30%
External examiner: 30%
Course Policy
 Students should follow the instructions given by the advisor and DGC.
 Students should defend their thesis work in front of Internal and External Examiners,
DGC and Participants.
Reading Materials
As per the guidance of the advisor, students are asked to refer different resources from the library
or from the Internet for standard conference proceedings, open access journals or for any
different specializations.
1.20. Course Title: Project
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisite(s): Successful Completion of all the Core Courses

The objective of this course is to acquire the practical skills on problem solving in the field of IT.
It create an opportunity to students to address real world problems and enhance their attitude
towards IT based solution provision.
Learning Outcomes
 Understand how to carry out project work

 Understand how to gather and analyze user requirements
 Design, implement, deploy, and test their project work
 Work with different advanced software tools.
 Utilize the available open source software’s in an effective manner.
Course Content
The students are asked to submit their interested project topic to the DGC in their 2nd year 1st
semester. After getting approval from DGC, students should start their project work for the
selected topic. At the end of the 2nd year 2nd semester students are asked to submit and
demonstrate their project work to the DGC as per the committee rules and regulations.
To carry the project work according to the advice/suggestion given by the respective advisor and
DGC time to time.
Assessment Method
Advisor’s Continuous Assessment: 40%
Internal examiner: 30%

External examiner: 30%
Course Policy
 Students should follow the instructions given by the advisor and DGC.
 Students should defend their project work in front of Internal and External
Examiners, DGC and Participants.
Reading Materials
As per the guidance of the advisor, students are asked to refer different resources from the
department, from the library or from the Internet.
11. Quality Assurance
To assess the performance of our graduates and assure the quality of the program, we will:
 Continuously assess the needs of our stake holders

 Continuously assessing and modifying the course curriculum within 2 years.
 Create standardization of course offerings through preparation of general course outlines,
exam contents etc.
 Establish an alumni association and assess the job opportunity for the students in each
year.
 Work closely with Employers and other professional bodies
12. Annexes
Annex A Course Number Coding Convention
MSIT - Master of Science in Information Technology. The meaning of Numeric digits as

follows,
First Digit (Year) Second Digit (Subject Area) Third Digit (Semester)
First Year -5 General 0 First Semester -Odd number
Second Year -6 Software Engineering 1 Second Semester- Even Number
Computer Systems 2
Intelligence 3
Networking 4
Annex B: Benchmarking
The Gondar University curriculum for MSc in Information Technology is used as a benchmark
for the preparation of this curriculum document.
Annex C Staff Profile
The staff profile of the Department of Computer Science is presented in Table 11.1.
Status Number of staff members
PHD 2
Lecturer 17
Assistant lecturer 4
Graduate assistant 5
Technical assistant 4
Study leave for PhD 6
Total 38
Annex D Topics to be covered in the Entrance Examination
The following are possible topics that may be included in the entrance examination.
1. Programming Skills. [ 15 Marks]

a. Data structures and algorithms
b. Programming using procedural languages
c. Programming using object-oriented languages
2. Software Engineering [ 15 Marks ]
a. Principles of software engineering
b. Techniques and tools for software engineering
c. System analysis and design
3. Data base Management Systems Concepts [ 15 Marks ]
a. Relational Databases
b. SQL programming
4. Operating Systems and Computer Architecture [ 15 Marks]
a. Process management and communication
b. Memory management
c. File Management
d. I/O devices Management
e. Computer architecture
5. Networking [ 15 Marks]
a. Basic networking principles and technologies
b. ISO/OSI reference model
c. TCP/IP reference model
6. Communication English [10 Marks]
7. Aptitude [ 15 Marks]

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DIRE DAWA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

CURRICULUM OF MSC PROGRAM IN

Furthermore, we have thoroughly observed that there is:

 Lack of skilled manpower in the higher educational institutions and industries

 Promote student-centeredness, self and collaborative learning

 To train prospective managers of information technology based services

 Actively participate in research work in the field of IT

1. Applicants must meet the general admission policy of the University.

6. Structure of the Program

 Plan A: course work with thesis,

Table 7.1: Credit point of course for option 1 (Thesis Option)

No Type of course Size Cr. No of No of Number Remark

1 Core and elective 84.21% 32 11 53 1590 1ECTS=30 hrs.

2 Thesis* 15.79% 6 1 30 900 1ECTS=30 hrs.

3 Total 100 % 38 12 83 2490

Table 7.2: Credit point of course for T option 2 (Project Option)

Type of course Size Cr. No of No of Number of Remark

1 Core and elective 92.11 % 35 12 58 1740 1ECTS=30 hrs.

2 Project* 7.89 % 3 1 20 600 1ECTS=30 hrs.

3 Total 100 % 38 13 78 2340

6.1. Core Courses, Elective Courses, Thesis and Project

MSIT502 Seminar in Information Technology 1 2

6.1.2. Elective Courses

Course Course Title Credit ECTS

MSIT631 Data warehousing and data mining 3 5

Course Code Course Tile Credit Hours ECTS

6.3. Duration of the Program

S. Course Course Title Cr.Hrs ECT

S. Course Course Title Cr.Hrs ECTS

1 MSIT502 Seminar in Information Technology 1 2

S. No Course Course Title Cr.Hrs ECTS

S. Course Course Title Cr.Hrs ECTS

1 MSIT521 Distributed Computing 3 5

S. No Course Course Title Cr.Hr ECTS

1 MSIT502 Seminar in Information Technology 1 2

S. No Course Code Course Title Cr. Hrs ECTS

Master of Science Degree in Information Technology

10.1. Course Title: Seminar in Information Technology

Course Code: MSIT502

Credit Value of course: 1 credit hour/2.3ECTS/69hours

Prerequisite course (s): Completion of one semester courses

Co-requisite courses(s): None

Bared Combination course(s): None

Objective of the course

Teaching Support and Inputs for each content

 Develop assessment report

- Review report: 60%

- Every student should attend all seminar classes.

- Students should present their paper reviews.

Vary depending on the selected topics.

10.2. Course Title: IT Project Management

Course code: MSIT504

Credit Hours: 3 ; Theory 3 Credit hours; Lab 0 Credit Hour

At the end of successful completion of the course students will be able to

 Understand and apply the concepts of IT project management.

Introductory concepts- Motivation for Studying Information Technology (IT) Project

Final Written Examination: 50%

Project Report: 20%

Project presentation: 10%

1. Bonham S. (2005). IT project portfolio management, ISBN 1-58053-781-2, Artech

Course Code: MSIT506

Credit Hours: 2; Theory 2 Credit hours; Lab 0 Credit Hour