Northgate Managed Services Launches Second Round of Apprentice Recruitment

Newtownabbey-based Northgate Managed Services (Northgate) is once again leading the way in employment as it launches the second year of its Apprenticeship Scheme – offering school leavers a direct route to develop a long-term career in ICT. 

Northgate -which already employs over 600 people throughout Northern Ireland -was one of the first IT companies to recognise the country’s potential talent pool and in 2009 launched an 18 month training scheme, the first of its kind in NI.

The scheme, supported by the Department for Employment and Learning, has been a great success, boasting over a 90% apprentice retention rate.

It’s that time of year again. The hats have been flung, the diplomas collected, and you can barely hear for the sound of several thousand creative hearts beating up a nervous cacophany… the new wave of graduates is here. Competition for work is hotter than ever, and experience is everything.

The University of Ulster is giving young people a unique opportunity to blend sport and technology in a special summer camp.

The Faculty of Computing and Engineering has teamed up with the Ulster Sports Academy to offer the week-long sports camp from Monday 26 July to Friday 30 July.

Young people between 14 and 16 years old will have the chance to combine multi-sport activities with courses in mechanical technology and computing.

University of Ulster academics are responding to the growing global demand for affordable and efficient broadband by researching new technologies to meet the needs of the emerging digital economy in the UK and India.

Such solutions will also apply to countries such as Brazil, China and the Middle East.

Professor Gerard Parr, Chair of Telecommunications Engineering in the Faculty of Computing and Engineering at Ulster in Northern Ireland, is the lead academic investigator of a high-profile team of UK and Indian scientists and industrial engineers involved in a £9.

The life and works a legendary Belfast poet will be celebrated at the University of Ulster later this month with the launch of the John Hewitt Online Archive and the Ulster Poetry Project.

The initiative will see the digitization of sections of the John Hewitt Collection – an extensive personal archive which was bequeathed to the University of Ulster upon the poet’s death – and which is housed at the University’s library in Coleraine.  

John Hewitt is regarded as one of the most significant Ulster poets of the twentieth century.

TWO OF Northern Ireland’s top biology students are preparing to travel to South Korea to compete in the 2010 International Biology Olympiad (IBO).

Step-Up students Liam O’Reilly (Christian Brothers Secondary School, Belfast) and Emma O’Deorain (St Cecilia’s College, Derry) won Gold Medals in the Northern Ireland Biology Olympiad Final, held at the University of Ulster.

Liam and Emma will be travelling to Changwon City to compete at the prestigious IBO, alongside team mates from the Republic of Ireland.

Research being carried out at the Magee campus of the University of Ulster to improve the sound quality on wireless networks could have significant commercial potential.  

Jonathan Doherty, from Knightsbridge, who was awarded his PhD in Computing at the University of Ulster summer graduation ceremonies in Derry’s Millennium Forum this week, is part of the research team, lead by Dr Kevin Curran and Professor Paul McKevitt, who are investigating "Improving Audio Listening Experience on Radio Networks".  

Laptops, netbooks and mobile phones are all vulnerable to the unreliable nature of bursty connections on wireless networks, especially at the outer limits of the signal.

Graduation day is a milestone for any student and the family of University of Ulster student, Keith Johnston, have plenty to celebrate this week. Keith, who suffers from cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair to get about, was awarded a first class honours degree in Computing at the University’s summer graduation ceremonies at the Coleraine campus.  

Professor David Bustard, Head of School, Computing and Information Engineering at Coleraine, says Keith had shown great strength of character and independence and that his determination to succeed was an inspiration to other students.

The University of Ulster is expanding science and technology education at Magee.

Two new degrees will open up fresh career options for undergraduates and help build student numbers at the campus. 

For the first time at Magee, students will be able to take a degree in information and communications technology (ICT), an option with high industry and student demand because it offers high paying careers vital to economic growth.

-Northgate Managed Services ‘Adopt’ St Mary’s Star of the Sea Primary School

North Belfast primary school, St Mary’s Star of the Sea, is set to benefit from invaluable business expertise in 2010/2011 after being ‘adopted’ by Northgate Managed Services.

Created by Business in the Community, the ‘Adopt a School’ program, seeks to build stronger links between businesses and local schools, utilising the expertise of the business community to help enrich the education sector.

Since becoming one of the first businesses to sign up to the pilot scheme, Northgate has been on hand to advise the school on all aspects of business; from ensuring the school is able to make the most of ICT through to marketing the school to its local community.

Belfast Metropolitan College are committed to providing a quality learning experience to all of their students and as part of this dedication have a long history with Read&Write GOLD, with ongoing purchases of the literacy support software to assist students with literacy difficulties. 

The College has over 53,000 students enrolled on full-time and part-time courses, making it one of the largest colleges of Further and Higher Education in the UK.

Grainne McMullan, Specialist Tutor at Belfast Metropolitan College comments “We see first-hand the usefulness of the Read&Write software for students’ literacy requirements in relation to their courses.

Queen’s University Belfast appoints Novosco to build private cloud

Novosco, Ireland’s leading provider of virtual and cloud IT infrastructure and services, today announced it has been appointed to implement a VCE based virtualised Data Centre infrastructure into Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). This project represents the first major V-Block deployment throughout the Higher Education sector in the UK and Ireland.

Built on Cisco’s Unified Computing System, the new virtualised infrastructure will facilitate significantly greater numbers of virtual machines on the same piece of hardware.

The state-of-the-art research facility, established within Queen’s University Belfast’s, (QUB) School of Mathematics and Physics, will focus on the development of advanced materials.

It was during discussions last year, regarding Invest Northern Ireland’s £12.

Leading edge University of Ulster expertise in virtual world learning is being showcased in Mexico by a team of specialist researchers from the Magee campus.

Teachers and industry professionals thought like tourists as they experienced an open top bus tour at the launch, by sector skills council People 1st, of Think Tourism NI, a free web-based teaching resource to develop tourism skills.

Designed and developed by Belfast software and multi-media company StreamOn.net, the core feature of the website is the 75 case study video clips.

As the popularity of the Apple iPhone and iTouch continues to drive a rising demand for MAC compatibility in education, Texthelp Systems (www.texthelp.com) announces the new version of its award-winning text-to-speech software Read&Write 4 GOLD FOR MAC.

PODCAST: Ulster researcher Dr Roy Sterrit has been working with US space agency NASA on the development of techniques to ensure the safety and security of the next generation of self-directing, self-healing computing systems.

Sixth formers from Thornhill College in Derry have taken advantage of the expertise on their doorstep by taking part in a short course in essential programming skills at the University of Ulster’s Magee campus.  

Thornhill College, which is a specialist school in Mathematics and Physics, runs an Enrichment Programme providing optional short courses for year 13 and 14 pupils. In discussion with past pupils, teachers at Thornhill identified a need for introductory programming skills prior to entering some university courses.

Due to the growing demand for Information Technology, Computer Science and Mathematics graduates from local and international employers based in Northern Ireland Abacus Professional Recruitment are holding an open registration week for the Class of 2010.

Commenting on the rationale for the event Michael McMullan, IT Recruitment Manager at the Chichester Street firm stated:

“Graduates of Queens University and the University of Ulster are highly regarded as among the sharpest and most technically gifted in the world.  With the continued development of Northern Ireland as a venue for world-class IT firms the demand for the best graduates is really hotting up.

Northgate Managed Services wins placement Employer of the Year:

Pictured from left to right are, Adrian Kelly, President, Students Union, University of Ulster; Ed Brown, Managing Director, Utilities, Northgate Managed Services, UUJ student Gemma Dougherty and Donna Traynor, BBC Newsline.  Northgate Managed Services has continued its winning streak – thanks to a recommendation by a student from the University of Ulster.

The Newtownabbey-based IT company was announced winner of the ‘Placement Employer of the Year Award’ after being nominated by University of student, Gemma Dougherty who completed her work experience with the company last year.

New Rules Will Encourage Primary School Pupils to Give it a ‘Try’

-Northgate Managed Services supports Mini Rugby Festival as focus shifts from competition to taking part.

Ravenhill Rugby ground will play host to a game with a difference this month as organisers of IRFU Ulster Primary Schools’ Mini Rugby Festival make an affirmative ‘conversion’ in a bid to encourage all primary school children to take part.

Proudly sponsored by Northgate Managed Services (Northgate) for the 5th year, the Mini Rugby festival will now place a sole emphasis on participation and fun, with the IRFU omitting the ‘must win’ element for the first time in over 35 years.

A team of first year University of Ulster students, who developed software to help autistic children with their communication skills, impressed the judges in the national final of a worldwide technology competition.

The innovative use of ICT in Wallace High School has been acknowledged in two prestigious publications, thus confirming their status at the forefront of ICT education in Northern Ireland.

TermTalk is the official magazine of the Northern Ireland General Teaching Council (GTCNI) and Wallace features heavily in the recent edition, whilst ICT Co-ordinator David Cleland recently gave an interview to the Times Education Supplement about the school’s innovative use of flip video.

Commenting on the article David said: “ Wallace has a strong history of ICT innovation.