Find out more about what’s involved in IT Management from Karthik, our Indian Ambassador, and discover why IT Carlow could be the perfect choice for you …
Information Technology (IT) today has proven to be an enabler of business helping most organisations and enterprises around the world. It helps a business in channelling its resources and efforts more effectively towards its core activities and thereby increases productivity. However, there is a general perception among many organisations that IT departments are more of a liability for a business rather than being perceived as business enablers which they actually are. The reason for this flawed perception is the disconnect that exists between the management of an organisation and its IT department. As the management is driven to keep costs down, proposals from the IT department for implementing cutting edge technologies seem to be just another expense for them.
While the intent of the IT departments is to expedite the development of the product/service, having latest technologies to solve business problems usually involves good amount of expenditure. It is this gap between the commercially driven management and innovation driven folks at the IT department why IT is perceived as a liability. IT management in reality is one such niche domain which deals with managing the development of IT systems and at the same time, ensuring that the move makes it easy for the firm to do business and also rakes in profits in the future.
Having worked in the IT industry for little over a year, I realised the importance of management skills within a constantly evolving department like IT and how lack of such skills in technically sound managers negatively impacts business. As organisations all over the world are increasing their online footprint by moving towards software automation for their businesses, there is a dearth of skilled professionals with good business acumen who can bridge the gap between the development and delivery of such automated systems. I wanted to be on this side of the spectrum and gain knowledge of both technical and management aspects within the IT space and so I decided to pursue Masters in IT Management.
Why IT Carlow?
- IT Carlow always manages to surprise academia with the unique degrees it offers – with the latest additions to this list being Sc. (Honours) in Brewing and Distilling and B.Sc. (Honours) in Cybercrime and IT Security. Being the only college on the island to provide a Bachelor’s course in Brewing, if you are passionate about crafted pints and want to pursue a course in brewing, IT Carlow is where you should be!
- There are exclusive privileges which students at IT Carlow enjoy – like access to the on-campus state of the art UNUM lab equipped with all the modern IT infrastructure which encourages an environment of innovation among the student group, a Learning and Resource Centre with multi storeyed library and full size flood-lit Gaelic Football and Rugby pitch for all the sports enthusiasts!
- More recently, with the Irish Government increasing the stay back option for non EU/EEA students at level 9 and above of the National Framework of Qualifications, graduates can now remain in Ireland for a period of two years to seek employment. IT Carlow has a highly active Career Guidance Department which ropes in most MNCs to the college for career talks and makes it easy for its students to find employment.
- Carlow is considered a student town by and large given the diverse student group living in the town and this adds to the overall learning as the classes are a mix of professionals with a good amount of experience in the industry, graduates coming straight out of college, and professionals who have just begun their career and are seeking professional degrees to advance in their careers.
- Guest lectures from industry professionals and a case study based approach of the college towards learning has been its USP and this unique teaching methodology helps individuals look at industry specific issues from a global perspective.
What can one expect from the IT Management programme at IT Carlow?
The M.Sc. in IT Management programme at IT Carlow is designed to equip the students with necessary IT and Business skills and enable them to fulfil a role in IT Management.
Modules like Leadership & Strategy are targeted towards core management responsibilities of an IT Manager with immense focus towards concepts of Corporate Governance, Intercultural Leadership, Geo-leadership, and Regulation of companies which are the trending issues in industry today. Given the cyber threats faced by organisations worldwide, the Module Information Security Management provides great breadth and depth with regards to information security and the techniques which could be used to prevent loss of information in case of data breach(hack).
IT in its essence is a sector which is constantly evolving, and as new technologies and start-ups emerge on a constant basis, innovation in this sector is a priority. Innovation Management helps individuals understand various models which could be used to innovate! Cloud Computing and the limitless flexibility it offers to an organisation has been vividly discussed in the module Data & Information Systems Management. Modules Technology Integration & Project Management and Vendor & Service Management furnish the individuals with the skills to manage projects effectively, manage relationships with suppliers and ensure smooth functioning of an organisation’s supply chain.
All in all, if you envision yourself as a professional leading a group of software experts delivering IT solutions to businesses, the IT Management programme at IT Carlow will help you get there and will make you a sought-after IT management professional!