Software Engineer (KTP Associate)
In association with Axia Interactive Media
- Fixed term appointment for 2 years -
Recruitment Pack
December 2015
Dear Applicant
Thank you for your interest in this post and in the University.
The University of Huddersfield‟s School of Computing and Engineering, in collaboration with Axia Interactive Media Ltd, is looking to appoint a Graduate Software Engineer through the acclaimed Knowledge Transfer Partnerships scheme (KTP). KTP is Europe's leading programme helping businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within a University.
The post holder will be employed by the University but will be based at Axia Interactive Media, near Leeds, working directly with senior company staff, as well as receiving additional mentoring support from expert University staff.
I hope the information in this booklet proves useful and gives you sufficient guidance to pursue your application.
If you would like to have an informal discussion about the post please do not hesitate to contact Dr Simon Parkinson on 01484 472525 or email [email protected].
We look forward to receiving your application.
Yours sincerely
Professor Stephen Donnelly Dean
1.
The Role
Job Title: Software Engineer (KTP Associate)
Responsible to: Academic and Industrial Supervisors
Grade: Non Scale
Main Objectives:
To work with Axia Interactive Media and the University of Huddersfield to develop a novel software-based solution for creating and customising e-portfolio solutions to their customer‟s requirements. This will involve acquiring a detailed insight into all aspects of their system lifecycle to identify its constraints, leading to the design and implementation of a software solution capable of transforming Axia‟s e-portfolio business.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
1. To develop a detailed understanding of Axia‟s current development methodology for creating e-portfolios
2. To contribute to the implementation of new e-portfolio solutions
3. To identify and develop new software tools and processes to aid in the production of e-portfolio solutions
4. To integrate the new tools and processes within Axia‟s current design methodology 5. To develop suitable documentation and guides that capture the design methodology
used by Axia for the creation of e-portfolios and any other new software tools 6. To assist in the preparation and production of research reports and documents,
including joint publications.
7. To participate in team meetings and committees, as appropriate.
8. To manage project progress and report on this progress to the management team. 9. To ensure the implementation of the Axia‟s policies and regulations within the remit of
the post holder‟s duties.
10. To undertake other duties directed by the Academic and Industrial Supervisors. 11. To undertake a programme of training provided by the KTP scheme.
12. To work towards a higher degree with the University of Huddersfield
13. Undertake other duties directed by or in agreement with the Head of Department or Subject Leader.
2.
The Person
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following attributes:
Attributes Specification Essential Desirable How Identified Qualifications First or upper second class honours degree in a
software engineering, computer science or closely related discipline.
Yes
Application form
Experience Industrial experience in software design and development
Experience of undertaking independent computer science research
Yes
Yes
Application form & interview
Special Knowledge/ Ability
Good knowledge in C# .net, MS SQL, XML, XSLT, HTML, JavaScript, CSS.
Knowledge of web-services
Good knowledge and experience of using a wide range of Integrated Development Environments
Good knowledge of design patterns
Knowledge of the principals of e-portfolio assessment solutions Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Application form & interview
Communication Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing within an engineering context.
Yes
Application form & interview
Personal Qualities
Innovative and self-motivated.
Able to work effectively both independently and within a group setting.
Willingness and capability to undertake UK and overseas travel
A commitment to work collaboratively with Axia Interactive Media Ltd and the University of Huddersfield.
Yes Yes
Yes
Yes
Application form & interview
We offer a generous remuneration and benefits package:
Starting salary: £21,000 - £24,000
Career Average Re-valued Earnings (CARE) Pension Scheme (Local Government Pension Scheme)
20 days annual leave plus statutory holidays
Significant opportunities for professional development
A friendly and supportive work environment
A range of voluntary benefits
4.
How to Apply
Applicants are asked to complete an application form. Attention is drawn to the person
requirements listed above and applicants are asked to provide evidence of their match to these criteria in some detail in their supporting statements. This information will be used to shortlist candidates.
The timetable is as follows:
Advert closes 7 January 2016 Selection process/Interviews 15 January 2016
5.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)
A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a three-way project between a graduate, an organisation and a University. Graduates are recruited to manage strategic projects within the organisation, whilst being supported by the University.
A KTP can help graduates to enhance their career prospects by providing them with an opportunity to manage a challenging project, which allows them to use their degree, and is central to an organisation‟s strategic development and long term growth. Through this project, the „KTP Associate‟ plays a key role in managing and implementing strategic development in an organisation and transferring knowledge between it and the University.
Whilst the graduate owns the KTP project, they are supported by experienced staff from the organisation and the University. They are also assigned a KTP Adviser, who is able to advise them on maintaining good working relationships within the Partnership how to plan their professional development in broad terms. For more information visit
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/knowledge-transfer-partnerships-what-they-are-and-how-to-apply
6.
Axia Interactive Media Ltd
Axia Interactive Media (www.axiainteractive.net) is a rapidly growing company based in Batley near Leeds. The company, established in 1997, specialises in the use of the internet to support the capture and assessment of professional and vocational skills which are primarily
demonstrated in the workplace. They are projecting a 50% increase in revenue in this financial year.
The company is the one of the leading suppliers in a number of different markets. They provide to a number of professional bodies in the UK and in Ireland online sites to enable their
members to gather evidence of their professional and vocational practice. These vary in size from over 300,000 to less than a thousand.
They also supply a number of Universities with online systems that enable students on pre-registration programmes, to gather evidence of their professional competence and have it assessed. In addition the company is also active in providing institutions with systems that support the assessment of vocational qualifications like NVQs/QCFs.
Although the company has a strengthening presence in all these markets, they are currently not scaling up their sales and marketing campaigns, because they are not in a position to respond to the demand that these campaigns might generate. This is why the KTP is such an important element of the company‟s growth strategy. By capturing their current development methodology and enhancing it, they will be in a stronger position for further growth. It is therefore an exciting time to join the company.
The School of Computing and Engineering is an exciting place in which to learn and work. We deliver an inspirational learning experience and undertake pioneering research with a practical emphasis. We believe strongly in the quality of the support we offer to our students, employers and all our working partners. We have an excellent record for graduate employability with 87% of our students going on to employment or further study within six months of graduation (DLHE 2011).
Inspiring
Our staff are innovative and creative practitioners who offer expertise in their field and bring energy and enthusiasm to their work. With their established industry links allowing us to continually refresh and update our teaching and research activities, we keep pace with an ever changing and increasingly technological world. This, along with our modern facilities, has allowed us to establish a reputation for the quality and professionalism of our courses and teaching.
The professional ethos of the School is important and personal development is encouraged and supported. Over 20% of our academic staff in the School are Professors and a further 65% hold doctorates. In addition, the University of Huddersfield is the first higher education institution to have 100% recognition by the Higher Education Academy; all academic staff have been awarded Fellows of the Academy.
Innovative
Research in the School has grown significantly over the last few years, through increased external funding, professorial and readership appointments. In the past year we have earned more than £2.5M in external project grants, published 48 journal papers and 78 conference papers. We graduated eight PhD and two MPhil students and enrolled 32 new research students in order to reach our vastly expanded research student target of 120.
Most recently we have invested in significant new infrastructure including a Nanolab and a High Performance Computing cluster (in collaboration with the Science and Technology Facilities Council), as well as laboratories for optics and diagnostics. Our research areas include the prestigious EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacture in Advanced Metrology and the Institute for Railway Research.
We believe in the importance of professional skills and accredited qualifications that can help our students rapidly advance in their chosen career. As a result, many of our taught courses benefit from accreditation through leading professional bodies: the BCS, IMechE or the IET.
International
We have over 2000 full and part-time students from more than 60 countries; taught by over 100 academic staff across two academic departments: Informatics and Engineering and Technology, supported by over 50 administrative and technical staff. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, RAE2008, a substantial portion of our research was recognised as „World Leading‟ or „Internationally Excellent‟.
All of our full-time degree courses offer a work placement year (internship). We place up to 200 students each year, both in the UK and overseas. Examples of companies with whom our students have recently been placed include Cummins Turbo Technologies, Mercedes Benz, Nestle, Red Bull Technology, Jagex, Hewlett Packard, Sega Europe, Yorkshire Water and Mars Information Services.
The University‟s achievements were recognised by the award of the Times Higher
Education University of the Year for 2013. This followed hot on the heels of our success at the awards in the previous year when the University collected the Entrepreneurial
University of the Year award.
The University of the Year is awarded to „an institution that has demonstrated exceptional performance in the past academic year‟ providing evidence of „particular bold, imaginative and innovative initiatives that have advanced the institution‟s reputation‟. Just some of those initiatives are:
A commitment to our students with nationwide top 10 ratings for student satisfaction and graduate employability as well as a top 10 rating for financial security;
The opening of the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, a collaboration with conglomerate 3M to foster business partnerships leading to new research, technology transfer and entrepreneurial ideas;
The award of a Queen‟s Award for Enterprise – International Trade as well as a top 10 position in the 2012 International Student Barometer;
A commitment to excellence in teaching – Huddersfield is the only University in the UK where 100 per cent of academic staff are fellows of the Higher Education Academy – which provides professional recognition of their teaching abilities. These factors, combined with a continued commitment to being „a university that is at the heart of its home town‟ and a strong commitment to be a great employer makes the University an interesting and rewarding place to work.
The University‟s staff are involved in scholarship, research and reach-out activities. We want to attract and retain the best staff, provide opportunities for them to remain
professionally engaged and up-to-date. We were one of the first universities in the country to achieve institutional recognition under the Investors in People Award in 1999 and we have maintained this standard ever since. We are committed to the development and support of our staff. In the Quality of Working Life Survey, looking at the satisfaction and well-being of our staff, the University of Huddersfield has higher scores across all six factors than the Higher Education benchmark, showing lower levels of stress and greater satisfaction with working conditions than the benchmark data.
Our striking town-centre campus straddles the refurbished Huddersfield Narrow Canal and offers extensive views of the wooded Pennine foothills. The campus combines both new and historic buildings and, since 2008, £73 million has been invested in new facilities and buildings for our students. The University has won Civic Trust Awards for the imaginative refurbishment of historic mill buildings for the teaching of Computing, Engineering and Architecture. However, we are also very proud of our contemporary architecture. Our £17 million Business School building opened in 2010 and a £22.5 million Student Central Building which opened in January 2014 is providing new sports, leisure, learning and catering facilities.
9.
Huddersfield
The University is located close to the centre of the thriving West Yorkshire town of
Huddersfield. Huddersfield has an extensive range of new retail and social developments with many new shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. Near to areas of outstanding natural beauty publicised in TV programmes such as “Last of the Summer Wine” and “Where the Heart Is” we are also in easy reach of Leeds and Manchester. Both are just 45 minutes by
road and with quicker access via the regular cross Pennine rail service. Huddersfield is surrounded by a number of attractive villages in the Holme and Colne valleys and within easy reach of the Yorkshire Dales, the Peak District and the major urban centres of Leeds and Manchester. The cost of housing compares very favourably with other regions in Britain and the choice of where to live is outstanding. The town is well known for its musical
traditions, including the world famous Huddersfield Choral Society and the internationally renowned Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. The Lawrence Batley Theatre and a large sports stadium host various cultural and sporting events respectively.
