Consultancy

Skills and Services, which the Department of Computer Science at the University of York can provide to local businesses.

Types of Service

The Department can be flexible, but the primary types of service that can be provided are:

  • Consultancy, e.g. guidance on website design, support to adoption of state-of-the-art technology, support to software development.
  • Practical support, e.g. setting up systems, networks, websites, etc.
  • Education and training, including tailored continuing professional development (CPD) courses.

Financial support may be available enabling services to be provided at low cost.

Skills

The University of York houses one of the UK’s leading Computer Science Departments, which has major research groups at the forefront of development in several areas of technology. These skills can be used to support companies in applying modern research results, or through CPD. The Department also has many general skills in IT and software development.

Software Development and Support

The Department can provide support in four main areas:

  • IT set up and support, including system selection, computer system and network installation and configuration, security set up and management:
    • Windows: workstation and server set-up
    • Linux: workstations and server set-up
    • Networks: wired and wireless LANs, WANs, VPN and telephony (including IP telephony)
  • Website design and development, including use of content management systems to ease maintenance, and compliance with relevant accessibility standards;
  • Small-scale software development, including task automation within  standard Microsoft products, such as Access and Excel;
  • Guidance on internal software development, including use of modern design methods and tools, and means of reducing cost and timescale of development.

Prior to undertaking any work an initial consultation would be required, free of charge, to ascertain the extent to which support could be given.

Basic Research, Technology Transfer and other Research Exploitation

We have long-standing experience in helping commercial organisations and Government agencies solve problems.  Our support encompasses basic research, giving advice to companies about the state-of-the-art in particular areas, and using our specialist research knowledge and expertise to identify possible approaches to addressing client problems.

Our skills will be particularly relevant to high-tech companies and other organisations addressing problems where established commercial solutions are lacking, but we can also give more general advice on available or possible solutions. Some of those areas include:

We are able to create intensive modules tailored to client needs in all the areas mentioned below.

  • Automation of scheduling and timetabling, including rescheduling after disruption;
  • Analysis of natural language, including development of computer-based question answering systems;
  • Complex data analysis, especially looking for anomalous situations, e.g. impending failure of complex systems;
  • Computer security, including identification of unauthorised or fraudulent use of systems;
  • Design and analysis of real-time computer systems, including computers embedded in complex systems, e.g. cars or trains;
  • Design and analysis of complex hardware, including use of programmable hardware devices;
  • The use of heuristic approaches for solving computationally complex problems;
  • Design and analysis of very large-scale software systems, including systems which have to operate globally;
  • Image analysis, including identification of faces and analysis of motion;
  • Safety assessment of computer-based systems, e.g. as used in transport, and assessment of safety-critical software;
  • Use of modern software development methods and tools including UML, model-based development, and agile methods;
  • Web design and optimisation including design for disabled, e.g. partially sighted, users.

The Department will also be able to call on skills in advanced computer and software technology to give more general advice, e.g. on the benefits and pitfalls of moving to cloud computing.

Prior to undertaking any work an initial, free of charge consultation would be undertaken to ascertain the extent, to which specialist support could be provided.

Want to know more or book a consultation?

For further information, please contact our Executive Officer Mrs Sarah Christmas, telephone: 01904 325406.

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Contact

Mrs Sarah Christmas
Executive Officer

Tel: +44 (0)1904 325406
Fax: +44 (0)1904 325599

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