1. Software Used

WMG Education uses a number of key systems for delivery of teaching, such as Moodle and Microsoft Teams. All can be accessed using a standard web browser, however you may experience better performance by downloading specific applications (e.g. Microsoft Teams) where available.

A computer equipped with a camera and microphone is essential.

Students will also need access to standard office applications, such as a word processor, presentation software and spreadsheet. Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus is available for free download to all enrolled students onto personally-owned computers and mobile devices. Applications available in Office 365 Pro Plus include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. There are versions available for both Windows and Mac OSX, plus mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows devices. Please note that the Warwick downloaded version of Office 365 Pro Plus is only available to you while you are an enrolled student at the University. You will not be able to continue using the software using your Warwick credentials after you leave or graduate.

2. System Requirements

The University has published a recommended computer specification for students. As a basic requirement, your computer will need to support Microsoft Office Pro Plus (or equivalent), Microsoft Teams and Moodle.

 

3. Course Specific Requirements

The Course Leaders for the following WMG MSc courses have advised of additional IT requirements over and above the requirements for the above tools.

Cyber Security Engineering (CSE) and Cyber Security Management (CSM)

The cyber security teaching makes significant use of Linux and related Free Open Source Software (FOSS). Many modules will make use of virtual machines normally operated through Virtual Box. You will almost certainly find you can better manage your study time if you have access to your own machine on which you can run the practical / virtualisation resources that are used in various modules’ teaching and assessment.

We recommend a minimum specification of:

• 500GB of free space (preferably an SSD)
• x86 hardware
• 64 bit machine
• Core i7-10510U
• 16GB memory and an NVIDIA Quadro or AMD Radeon Pro Graphics card, preferably a 1920 x 1080 resolution
• 4 cores (minimum)
• Supports virtualisation acceleration

Although the virtual machines that you use on the course should work with Macs, we have noticed some challenges, for example with M1 chips. We would generally recommend that if you are a Mac user, you have tried/tested your machine with various virtual box configurations and machines.

Sustainable Automotive Electrification (SAE)

In order for the Course Team to provide the most assistance to you with setting up software packages, they recommend you use a Windows based PC rather than a Chromebook, Android or Apple product.

Version 2.2

27th January 2022