October 2010
For immediate release
Green light for IT course
The UK’s first Masters degree course in Green Computing is recruiting
students for January 2011 at Leeds Metropolitan University.
The MSc was launched in September 2009 and is aimed at Information
Technology (IT) professionals and graduates who want to use their skills to
develop more environmentally-friendly computing systems and play a key role
in developing sustainable IT strategies.
Professor Colin Pattinson, who leads the teaching on the MSc course,
commented: “Green IT is an area that is really building and students will be
taking this up-to-date knowledge back to their workplaces or setting up as
consultants; making sure that IT plays its part in a sustainable future. As
inefficient computing uses unnecessary amounts of electricity, and increasing
UK and EU government legislation is affecting the energy use of
organisations, companies are beginning to look for solutions. With specific
posts in the area of green computing being created, Green IT Consultancy is
emerging as a new career. “
The MSc Green Computing looks at the ways in which energy use can be
reduced in IT systems and considers how IT can make other parts of a
business more efficient: such as teleconferencing to reduce travel costs;
electronic documents to save printing and the use of computer-controlled
heating and lighting. The course is further supported by strong links with
industry, through membership of the British Computer Society's Green IT
Specialist Group.
The degree course combines current research into the measurement of IT
energy use and technological developments with practical insights from Leeds
Metropolitan staff in Information, Media and Technology Services who are
involved in implementing green strategies and techniques at the University.
Freelance Consultant Kit Carpenter, a graduate of the first delivery of the
MSc, said: “I was finding that there was an increasing need for expertise and
knowledge in this arena. The fast-track modular delivery fits the needs of
business leaders and managers who simply cannot afford to spend weeks at
a time away from the office. The course has given added impetus to my work,
particularly in terms of finding new ways to approach cost reduction and
efficiency savings while making a very positive contribution to corporate
responsibility action plans.”
Course modules cover IT energy measurement, green computing
technologies, efficient and sustainable computing, legal and ethical topics and
the development of green IT strategies as well as a research dissertation.
Each module is based on a two-day seminar, allowing students to fit their
studies around work.
In June 2010, Leeds Metropolitan was awarded a first class degree in People
& Planet’s annual green league tables, coming in at twelfth place in the
award-winning Green League, the only league table to show the
environmental performance of UK universities.
For further course information, please visit http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/ or call
0113 812 3113.
Ends
For further details please contact Carrie Braithwaite in the News and Media
team at Leeds Met on 0113 812 3022 or email [email protected]
Notes for editors:
Leeds Metropolitan University has 30,000 students and over 300,000
associate students through its partnerships with 24 colleges.
The University has achieved its best ever Research Assessment
Exercise results. Sports-Related Studies is in the top 6 institutions in
the country with research rated at the highest levels of 4* and 3*.
The University’s award-winning learning environments include the
iconic Rose Bowl building, awarded Best Commercial Property
Development in the 2009 Yorkshire Property Awards; Broadcasting
Place, winner of the 2010 Leeds Architecture Awards New Building
category and the pioneering Carnegie Village student accommodation.
Leeds Metropolitan is one of only a handful of UK universities to have
been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard.
The University is home to The UK Centre for Coaching Excellence for
sport and disability sport and is 3rd in the British University and
Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings.
