Business Data Analytics with Foundation Year

This module will introduce you to key concepts of business and management, looking at what business is (and isn’t). You will be encouraged to draw on real-life examples found in the businesses you use in your every day life. You will develop an understanding of the key functions used within contemporary businesses and learn about the tools and techniques used in business for analysis and planning. 

This module takes you through how to get to grips with the technology you need to succeed, as well as using the library, how to reference and how to produce the different styles of academic writing. It also helps you to develop yourself; you will create a CV, learn how to write a cover letter and find out what your learning style is. The module has guest speakers who share their expert knowledge and experience with you. All the skills covered in this module will help you to succeed in your chosen degree.

This module looks at what’s involved in starting up a sustainable business. You will discover what is needed for long term business success. We’ll look at financing and funding, business formation, planning, business ethics and sustainability along with other core aspects of start-ups. You will work closely with industry partners to gain insight into the world of start-ups. If you are interested in starting a business, this module will really help you to discover what is involved. You also gain key knowledge which your degree will build upon.  

This module will explain the importance and key elements of digital business. You will explore how digital business ideas drive technology choices and how those technologies support the development of the business.  

This module brings together everything you have learned so far and gives you the opportunity to put your knowledge into practice. Working in teams, you will develop a business idea and take it through the process of setting up a start-up. You will pitch your idea to a panel to secure investment, launch the business and organise an event, with profits donated to a local charity of your choice. Whatever your chosen business discipline, this module allows you to demonstrate and further develop your skills in a real-world context.

The module aims to acquire and develop an understanding of the employability skills required to succeed in your chosen industry. This is a practical module which will help you create and develop a professional CV and will develop your understanding of the recruitment and selection process. You will learn essential life-long skills to help you succeed in job applications whether they are for part-time work whilst you are a student or for your future graduate career.

This is the start of your professional career, and this module lays the foundation that will support you in being a successful graduate. In your first year, you will research potential career options and map-out skills and opportunities to be developed through your second and third years. By building a graduate portfolio, and demonstrating employability skills, you will identify your strengths and weaknesses to create a personalised and targeted plan alongside your programme pathway. Starting early will give you the confidence and adaptability as you progress through your undergraduate career.

This module examines the twin forces shaping the future of business: the urgent drive toward sustainability and the disruptive potential of emerging technologies. You will explore ecological economics, climate change and the global energy transition alongside the dynamics of digital transformation, including artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 and 5.0, robotics, automation, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, blockchain and virtual reality. 

Through case studies and applied learning, you will develop the ability to lead and innovate responsibly in a rapidly changing world, applying creative and sustainable solutions to transform industries and shape next-generation business strategies.

Through an immersive and intensive delivery, this introductory module explores how businesses operate through core functions like people management, finance, marketing and operations. Via an organisational visit and case studies, you will learn how organisations work and respond to external change. 

You will compare business types alongside developing essential academic and professional skills in analysis, reporting and presentation of information to support future study and careers. The module will leave you with understanding of appropriate academic practice and expectations of professional behaviour alongside a strong foundation of business knowledge to build on for the remainder of your degree discipline.

This module introduces you to the core principles of data management, including organising, storing and managing business data. You will explore key concepts of data structures, storage methods and data flows, enabling you to understand how information moves across data infrastructure to support decision making. 

You will examine modern approaches to data management, including relational databases and cloud storage. Practical exercises will develop skills in structuring and handling data effectively, alongside case studies to highlight the role of data management in driving organisational day to day activities.

This module introduces you to the Python and R programming languages. As industry standard languages used in both data analysis and data statistics, you will build your analysis and programming skills using a range of Python libraries, utilising tools such as R-Project and JupyterLab to write and visualise the outputs of your code. Using these languages, you will learn how to extract and transform open data datasets, before conducting analysis. By the end of this module, you will have the skill and knowledge to transform and visualise data as is done in industry.

This module will examine various aspects of project management through a variety of means, including online content and practical seminars informed by research and industrial collaborations. It will focus on theoretical approaches, tools and techniques of planning and controlling projects. You will learn to appreciate project management as an important and integral part of a business whether product or service based.

This module will enable you to build on the embedded employability skills developed during year one of the programme. Through engaging in various professional development and reflection activities, you will be able to identify or realise, evaluate, plan and lead on the development of your future-focused knowledge, skills, behaviours and activities required to help secure your professional career aspirations, according to your programme of study. You will develop knowledge on how to access career-specific and professional graduate-level job opportunities through exploring graduate-level labour market trends, and job-specific employer requirements. 

You will also draw on the expertise of the school’s Career’s and Employability team, employer visits and workshops delivered by the academic team within the school. This will enable you to identify and engage in innovative development strategies to improve your work experience and employability, enabling you to further strengthen in a sustained way your career-focused digital footprint in relation to your professional career goals and around the graduate level employer selection process.

This module enables you to develop advanced analytical skills essential for informed decision-making, empowering you to lead with data. Through a blend of theoretical foundations and hands-on practice, you will learn to collect, clean analyse, visualise, and interpret data to support strategic business insights. Emphasising innovation, the module nurtures curiosity and entrepreneurial thinking, encouraging you to interrogate data critically and creatively. With a focus on sustainability, you will explore how data-driven decisions can contribute to long-term value for both people and planet.

This module offers the opportunity to gain valuable real-world experience by collaborating directly with one of our partner organisations. Working in teams that reflect the dynamics of today’s workplace, you are challenged to address a live business problem, applying key skills in leadership as well as people, project and time management. 

The module encourages creativity, critical thinking and innovation, enabling you to design solutions that inspire and deliver genuine impact. By combining academic learning with professional practice, you will develop the confidence, adaptability and problem-solving abilities needed to succeed in your future careers.

This module explores the intersection of people, planet and profit, emphasising sustainable and ethical decision making through data. Building on foundational skills in data handling and programming, you will advance into the art and science of data visualisation in the artificial intelligence era. You will move beyond basic charts to design compelling, interactive dashboards tailored for business and public sector contexts. 

The curriculum integrates key theories of human perception, data storytelling and dashboard design to support sustainable business growth and equitable public good. You will gain hands-on experience with industry-standard tools such as Power BI and advanced programming libraries like Matplotlib, Seaborn, and Plotly in Python. Through these tools, you will transform complex publicly available datasets into clear, actionable insights that empower business leaders to remain profitable and guide policymakers in making informed decisions for a better planet.

This module introduces you to the core principles, technologies and practices underpinning modern information systems and infrastructure that holds it together. You will explore how hardware, software, networks and databases integrate to support organisational operations and planning. You will examine system architectures, cloud computing, enterprise platforms and consider the impact of scalability, resilience and security. Through case studies, practical tasks and research, you will develop the knowledge and skills to evaluate and design IT infrastructures that meet the needs of the organisation.

This module enables you to step confidently into your future as a professional graduate. Building on your development at Levels 4 and 5, you will critically reflect on who you are, what you offer, and how you will make your contribution. You will deepen your emotional intelligence, evaluate workplace behaviours, and identify strengths and aspirations to shape a compelling professional identity. Using strengths-based diagnostics and simulated recruitment environments, you will learn to lead through critical thinking and data-driven decisions, innovate with curiosity and entrepreneurial skills, and sustain positive impact for people and planet while building a lifelong learning plan.

This module supports you in developing a deep understanding and practical application of innovation and entrepreneurship, to develop innovation skills that will support your future career, whether you plan to launch your own enterprise as an entrepreneur or drive change within an organisation as an intrapreneur. Working with a partner organisation you will gain an in depth appreciation of the current status of, and external landscape influencing the core business functional areas. This serves as the foundation for exploration of evidence based opportunities for growth and innovation. You will research and respond to contemporary issues, asking critical questions and use the authentic business challenge to research and develop a sustainable and ethical innovation solution which focuses on your chosen area of the business. Building on prior learning, you will develop the confidence and creativity needed to lead innovation and create sustainable value in your chosen career. On completion you will have created a tangible innovation solution that you can use as evidence of your capabilities in a job interview.

In this forward-thinking module, you will critically examine the impact of local business decisions across globalised value chains. The module builds on prior learning and integrates multi-disciplinary themes, including ethical leadership, innovation and digital transformation, to explore how businesses can accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through case-studies, co-creation activities and student research, you will critically reflect on the assumptions and systems that underpin business as usual before examining the role of managers and leaders in leading change to address the complex challenges of environmental sustainability and social inequalities. The module prepares you for your final year of study and future as an independent learner, by developing your academic skills and problem-solving mindset as you investigate, present and recommend innovative solutions to inspire positive change in both local and global communities.

This module provides you with in depth understanding of strategy and leadership. Using scenarios, you will be equipped to lead transformational change, make evidence-based strategic decisions and contribute meaningfully to sustainable organisational performance in complex, dynamic environments. You will examine and critique the underlying principles of key leadership theories and critically evaluate how effective leaders embed a culture of innovation in organisations. Finally, you will review and critically examine the strategic role of leaders within organisations.

The Integrated Learning Project is a capstone module which allows you to apply the knowledge that you have acquired during your degree in a substantive real-world project. You will be able to select from three different types of project: a research dissertation; a consultancy project; or an entrepreneurial simulation project. The module allows you to apply your skills in critical thinking, independent research, project management, communication, and problem-solving, whilst engaging in an in-depth exploration of a topic relating to your degree. The output will be a portfolio that showcases your innovation in the generation of a sustainable and responsible solution to the selected problem which showcases your academic and professional abilities as a future leader. The project outputs will provide evidence of your knowledge and skills within your graduate portfolio, supporting your graduate career journey.

Business IT project is designed to allow you to scope, define, design and implement a practical technology project. It provides the opportunity for you to research and analyse current practice and explore innovations in a Business IT related field of your choosing. 

You will work under the guidance of an advisor to complete an in-depth piece of work and produce a business proposal and prototype, together with a scholarly and critical report which documents your research and prototype design. This practical module encourages the demonstration of innovative problem solving, application of knowledge from across the programme, and will contribute to your digital portfolio to enhance employability.

This module introduces you to the principles, methods and practices of user experience (UX) design. It explores how human-centred design thinking can be applied to create intuitive, accessible and engaging digital products and services. You will learn to conduct user research, develop personas, map user journeys and data flows and design wireframes and prototypes using industry-standard tools. The module puts particular importance on design principles, usability testing and stylish yet accessible output. By the end, you will be able to design effective user interfaces that meet the needs of a variety of users.