Tina MiltonOracle is claiming a breakthrough in IT industry and university
cooperation by providing direct training as part of a higher degree
course at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU).
The database giant, through its educational arm, will provide
post-graduates undertaking the MSc in IT and Management, which
starts in October, with full Oracle Certified Professional
training, something which Steve Gold, Oracle Education's core
technology business manager describes as "unique in the UK." He
explains; "the uniqueness here is that the people delivering Oracle
training will be Oracle staff."
The Oracle part of the nine month course, will focus on bringing
students up to Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) standard in
database administration, or developer, skills and status. Students
will have to pass the OCP element, which will occupy 25 full days
of the course, to obtain the MSc. The training will relate to the
most up-to-date Oracle technology, and will initially be based on
the Oracle 8i. Some businessmen at last week's launch of course
questioned the appropriateness of 8i as many were still using
version 7.
The first course will cost £9,000 though this may rise to
£11,000, but SHU is hopeful that employers may sponsor existing IT
staff who wish to enrol, or may offer the course as part of a deal
to attract new staff. The degree may also be offered on a part-time
basis. Gold says the cost of the OCP module is about £8,000 if
booked directly through Oracle.
Dr Geoff Curtts, head of postgraduate programmes at SHU's
graduate school of computing and management science, says a similar
deal is in the offing. Although he wouldn't confirm details it is
believed to be with software house SAS Institute, which will
probably see SHU offering a degree including software engineering
training provided by SAS. The university already runs a post
graduate IT management skills course which includes sponsorship and
input from SAP.