Professional Skills Development

The route

Lessons are in the order that makes each one easier than the last. Each unit ends with a short quiz.

1. 0/3

   Unit 1

   Computing Careers and Professional Areas

   One degree, many doors — computer science is not one job but a whole city with very different neighbourhoods.
   1. Introduction to Computing CareersFree Why a "soft" course starts with a map — a career cannot be planned without knowing which fields exist. 3 min
   3. Major Professional Areas of Computing Software, security, data, networks, AI — take a walk through the big neighbourhoods where computing people actually work. 6 min
   4. Career Specialisation and Emerging Areas of Computing Coming to computing from another field isn't a late start — it might be your secret advantage. 9 min
   5. Unit 1 quiz5 questions on this unit 6 min
2. 0/3

   Unit 2 Full plan

   Professionalism in Computing

   Who gets to be called a professional, which bodies guard the gate, and what a software engineer owes the public.
   1. Definition and Characteristics of a Profession Anyone can write code. Not everyone can be trusted with it. 6 min
   2. Professional Bodies and Codes of Ethics in Computing Who registers, disciplines and stands behind computing professionals, at home in Nigeria and around the world? 5 min
   3. The Role of the Software Engineer as a Professional Eight short principles sum up what the public, your client and your colleagues can expect from a software engineer. 7 min
   4. Unit 2 quiz6 questions on this unit 8 min
3. 0/5

   Unit 3 Full plan

   Professional Skills and Skills Development

   The toolkit you carry everywhere — your degree gets you the interview, but your skills decide what happens next.
   1. Definition of a Skill So what exactly is a skill? Knowing that a firewall filters packets is knowledge; writing the rules that stop an attack is skill. 3 min
   2. Hard Skills, Soft Skills and Professional Skills Hard skills get your CV shortlisted, but what lies beneath the waterline decides who gets promoted. 3 min
   3. Differences Between Graduate Attributes and Transferable Skills Graduate attributes and transferable skills sound like twins — here's the simple way to tell them apart. 6 min
   4. Areas of Skills Development From technical know-how to teamwork, these are the areas employers quietly expect a computing graduate to grow in. 3 min
   5. Communication, Teamwork and Time Management Skills Seven Cs, four team stages and the gap between urgent and important — three skills you'll use every single day. 6 min
   6. Unit 3 quiz6 questions on this unit 8 min
4. 0/3

   Unit 4 Full plan

   Personal and Professional Development (PPD)

   Growing on purpose: careers do not grow by accident, they grow in loops of reflect, plan, act, record and review.
   1. Definition and Dimensions of Personal and Professional Development What PPD actually means — personal and professional growth feed each other, and neither one ends at graduation. 4 min
   2. The PPD Cycle Five stages, one simple loop — and it turns vague ambitions into goals you can actually track. 11 min
   3. Demonstrating Professional Skills as a Postgraduate Student Every seminar, proposal and supervisor meeting is a stage for showing employers what you can do. 5 min
   4. Unit 4 quiz5 questions on this unit 6 min
5. 0/4

   Unit 5 Full plan

   Feasibility Studies in Systems Analysis

   Should we even build it? The cheapest software project is the one you wisely decide not to start.
   1. Definition and Purpose of a Feasibility Study Look before you leap — a few weeks of honest questions can save the whole budget of a doomed project. 3 min
   2. Types of Feasibility (TELOS) Five questions — technical, economic, legal, operational and schedule — decide whether a project deserves to begin. 8 min
   3. Cost–Benefit Analysis: Payback Period and Return on Investment Return on investment and payback period turn a vague hunch into a number decision-makers can trust. 7 min
   4. The Feasibility Report Everything you discovered comes down to one report, with a clear recommendation right up front. 3 min
   5. Unit 5 quiz6 questions on this unit 8 min
6. 0/3

   Unit 6 Full plan

   Critical and Creative Thinking in Research

   Thinking like a researcher — creative thinking opens doors; critical thinking checks which ones lead somewhere.
   1. Introduction to Critical and Creative Thinking Two kinds of thinking, one researcher — one gear generates ideas and the other judges them. 3 min
   2. Types of Critical Thinking Analytical, evaluative, logical, systems — critical thinking comes in several flavours, and each catches a different mistake. 10 min
   3. Benefits of Critical and Creative Thinking to a Researcher From spotting a research gap to defending your results, see why a researcher needs both thinking gears at once. 7 min
   4. Unit 6 quiz5 questions on this unit 6 min

Practise and remember