PR releases

London Metropolitan University offers a smarter mobile future with ‘smartphone’ development qualifications

London Metropolitan University has launched a new course in Mobile Applications Development (MSc) to teach Symbian OS™ principles in designing and developing mobile applications, scheduled to begin in September 2007.

Mobile Applications Development (MSc) is supported by the Symbian Academy and prepares graduates for the Accredited Symbian Developer (ASD) examination, the industry-standard assessment of individuals’ knowledge of Symbian OS development. The London Met MSc aims to provide students with relevant skills for developing cutting-edge technology for ‘smartphones’ and create a wider talent pool of professionally-accredited mobile application developers.

Symbian OS is the market-leading operating system for advanced, data-enabled mobile phones known as smartphones and is licensed by the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturers. During 2006, 51.7 million Symbian smartphones were sold worldwide, bringing the total number of Symbian smartphones shipped to 110 million. The Symbian Academy is designed to provide support and materials to establishments wishing to teach the knowledge and skills associated with Symbian OS software development.

Mobile Applications Development (MSc) is the brainchild of Course Leader, Dr Yanguo Jing, from London Mets’s department of Computing, Communications Technology and Mathematics. He created the course in conjunction with the Symbian Academy program so students can enjoy a professionally-recognised academic award and certification.

Graduates that complete the course and pass the ASD examination will be able to demonstrate to potential employers that they have Symbian C++ development knowledge via this industry-recognised accreditation.
‘The popularity of mobile technology and Symbian smartphones have boomed in the last decade,’ said Dr Jing. ‘With the smartphone market set for continued expansion, there is a growing need for professional Symbian developers to create compelling new applications that help users enjoy the benefits of smartphones.

‘The Mobile Applications Development for Symbian OS course is both academically advanced and industry-recognised, providing students with relevant skills for developing tomorrow’s smartphone applications that will help users make the most of tomorrow’s technology whether it be for enterprise, multimedia, music and location-based services, to name just a few.’

Bruce Carney, Symbian’s director, developer program and services, said: ‘We are delighted to be collaborating with London Metropolitan University in our Symbian Academy program; providing developers at London Met with the essential knowledge they need to develop on Symbian OS.

‘With the growing development activity now occurring in mobile applications, the introduction of MSc Mobile Application Development is a great way for new developers to gain professional and accredited qualifications on the leading smartphone environment.’

London Met’s Director of Student Recruitment and Marketing, Mark Bickerton, said that at a postgraduate level, students were interested now more than ever before in specialising in mobile computing and related areas.

‘Mobile application development is clearly an important and growing area of study and employment, particularly as smartphone applications become more commonplace,’ Mark said.

‘Throughout the world, people expect computing to be mobile and personalised, and this course leads the way in training and education software and applications developers for mobile devices.’

For further information about Mobile Applications Development (MSc) please email Dr Yanguo Jing on y.jing (at) londonmet.ac.uk or admissions@londonmet.ac.uk or visit the following web pages:

London Metropolitan University Department of Computing, Communications Technology & Mathematics http://www.city.londonmet.ac.uk/dds/mad/

Symbian Academy
http://developer.symbian.com/main/academy/

About London Metropolitan University

London Metropolitan University is one of the foremost providers of undergraduate, postgraduate, professional and vocational education and training in Britain. Our courses are planned in consultation with employers and examining bodies in commerce, industry, the world of art and design, the financial services industries and the professions. London Met ranks as London’s largest unitary university with over 34,000 students, including almost 7000 international students from 155 different countries.

About Symbian Limited

Symbian is a software licensing company that develops and licenses Symbian OS, the market-leading open operating system for advanced, data-enabled mobile phones known as smartphones.

Symbian licenses Symbian OS to the world’s leading handset manufacturers and has built close co-operative business relationships with leading companies across the mobile industry. During 2006, 51.7 million Symbian smartphones were sold worldwide to over 250 major network operators, bringing the total number of Symbian smartphones shipped up to 31 December 2006 to 110 million.

Symbian has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom and offices in India, Japan, Korea, People’s Republic of China and the United States. For more information, please visit www.symbian.com.