Course summary

Rapid growth in the delivery and consumption of on-demand and streaming services, such as BBC iPlayer, ITV X, Netflix and Amazon Prime, is driving broadcast and media industries to integrate more technology and IT systems. These developments are also creating new career opportunities for skilled professionals with a fluency in network, internet, broadcast and IP technologies. Drawing on our expertise in this field, and our position at MediaCityUK, we’ve created our exciting new HND Media and Network Systems course to equip you with relevant skills, ready to fulfil in-demand technical roles within the media and broadcast industries. Co-developed by our Salford School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology and our School of Science, Engineering and Environment, the course will provide you with the theoretical understanding and practical experience of media creation and distribution, computer networking, IP technologies, and modern digital media streaming. Available with full and part-time study pathways, you will explore modules in media broadcast systems and networking, computer operating systems and programming, Internet Protocol, media streaming, cyber security threats and system design. Delivered as part of our exciting new Institute of technology, you will develop practical skills in our media and computing suites configuring and managing a range of media streamed and computer network environments. In your first year, you will explore the fundamental principles that underpin media broadcast systems and networking. You will gain practical experience of configuring a network, creating television content, and streaming media, and learn the fundamentals of computer operating systems and software development. You will also develop associated practical programming skills along with transferable skills in teamworking and technical reporting. As you progress to year two, you will learn about the detailed operation and management of media capture, storage, and distribution systems. You will learn how to configure and analyse how data traffic is routed through a network, build knowledge about technical aspects that impact the viewer experience and associated industry standards, and understand cyber security issues with an online media distribution system. In preparation for your future career, you will also experience a group project to design of a complete media distribution system based on specific user requirements.