By Marvic Francalanza

Why is ‘Mathematics’ given so much importance across the globe? A plausible answer is that mathematics is very important for many day-to-day functions and a requirement for many jobs and careers. As much as this is true, I feel that the answer to the question goes beyond this.

I was recently reading a blog by Mike Lefkowitz who is a member of MIND Research Institute. He looked at the etymology of the word ‘mathematics’ and found out that in Ancient Greek its literal definition is ‘learning’ and in Hebrew, its root is ‘thinking’. I think that this makes so much sense since possibly the greatest power of mathematics is that it “gives us the critical ability to learn and think logically” (Lefkowitz, 2018). In the case of Business Mathematics, other than building on a range of mathematical concepts and techniques that are essential to use and present business data effectively, students also need to develop the analytical skills that help them make informed business decisions. Mathematics is thus a powerful tool to have at our disposal!

Unfortunately, as much as it is widely acknowledged that mathematics is important, it is also true that many students fear mathematics. This can have very negative consequences including hindering a person from furthering his or her studies. At STC Higher Education we acknowledge that mathematical anxiety is not something that students come up with to cover up their poor performance in mathematics. It is real! In view of this, we give priority to helping you understand concepts, communicate mathematics clearly and apply skills to alternative situations. We also appreciate that you might need more time or a change in teaching strategy to process mathematical ideas effectively.

Our aim is to give you a boost in confidence in mathematics and to help you encounter a success!

Reference:

Lefkowitz, M. (2018) Why is Math so important?  Available at: https://blog.mindresearch.org/blog/why-is-math-so-important [Accessed: 21 March 2022]

 

By Derek D’Amato

Most of the time the first thing that came to mind about electronic commerce or e-business is shopping online. However, this includes many other activities related to business trading. Some categories related to e-Business yes includes business to consumers (B2C) and others between businesses on the Web known as B2B. In simple words, any transaction between stakeholders executed on the World Wide Web includes private companies, governments, and the end customer. If you are interested to grow your business internationally or set up an online business from scratch as a young entrepreneur, e-business can comprise a range of functions and services. The growth of e-business in recent decades has given rise to new business requirements.  There are several types of e-business models. In the business-to-consumer (B2C) model, sellers offer products and services directly to consumers online, and the buyer purchases them via the internet. Under the business-to-business (B2B) model, companies use the internet to conduct transactions with one another. Unlike B2C transactions, B2B transactions usually involve multiple online transactions at each step of the supply chain. E-business has drastically changed how corporations as well as non-profit ones, government agencies and other such institutions operate, allowing them to increase productivity, lower costs and move more quickly. As a result of the time savings, businesses can either decrease their headcount or shift worker time to higher-value tasks. Additionally, such digital systems reduce the time between invoicing and payment, thereby improving cash flow for the business. E-business tactics offer advantages such as reaching a wider customer base and faster transactions, but they also come with associated risks. For example, e-business creates huge data security risks, because customers are often required to provide sensitive information, such as contact information and credit card numbers, during e-business transactions. Finally, we can say that E-business has an important strategic role for companies wanting a stronger performance on the web. It is part of a great moment of digital transformation that offers companies more growth opportunities. For the benefits to be fully enjoyed, it’s vital to shape your education with new emerging technologies and have the appropriate tools to become part of this new business era.

By Josef Pullicino

“Cybersecurity is a popular buzzword being used in today’s world of employment and beyond. Companies are getting momentum into getting their products and services online, as part of their digital transformation journey. This significant initiative brings along multiple added services as well as caveats especially from a security point of view and through the ever-increased use of social media.  It’s the norm of the day of receiving promotional emails from unknown or unidentified sources; others are to receive phone calls asking clients for sensitive data such as the bank account details; others would be part of a ransomware exercise where you would be asked to pay a hefty sum of money in order to unlock or recover specific data that might have been stolen before. These are all security realities and range in different shapes and forms, from trojans, phishing emails, to ransomware and dumpster diving with no end in sight for all the possible risks/threats that you might be engaged in the near future.  The cybersecurity Architecture and Operations module provides extensive knowledge and brings awareness to the cybersecurity landscape. It actually goes further beyond this, as it provides the necessary tools for threat modelling and risk management along with the different layers of the OSI model, including low-level networks and physical links. Security vulnerabilities can be exposed at any level so you are required to protect yourself and your company assets at all levels. The module provides different ways to secure the Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability triad through the various strategic, tactical and operational strategies. It sets the mindset for identifying the risk, mitigating and controlling it where it matters most as well as protecting yourself from the residual value left after any remediation plans.”

The Cybersecurity Architecture and Operations module is one of the many industry-focused modules included within the BSc (Hons) Cybersecurity programme at STC Higher Education. Designed to provide students with both practical and theoretical knowledge, the course prepares learners to understand modern cybersecurity challenges and develop the skills needed to protect digital systems and information.

To learn more about the programme and explore the full course structure, visit: BSc (Hons) Cybersecurity

 

By Corinne Fenech

Have you ever considered organisations as simply a group of people who come together to achieve particular goals? Think about it, they are. But the wonder is that people achieve together much more than the sum of what individuals can accomplish on their own. People come together and form organisations for all sorts of goals, from manufacturing toys to manufacturing weapons, from giving joy rides to tourists to offering meals to the homeless and the possibilities are endless. Ranging from global organisations to individual entrepreneurs they all form part of one gigantic network which makes the world go round.  Organisational Behaviour questions how people come together, what makes them work together and what makes them fall out of love with what they do. Think of it as one big funnel starting with the broader subjects and filtering down to what makes us unique individuals. Together we explore the interconnections from the broader environment, to organisational culture, to how teams operate and onto individual differences. We debate how organisations operate as part of the gigantic network, how they influence and are influenced by each other and their responsibilities towards the society which allows them to operate. We explore, question, and discuss subjects which really matter like; can we make people want to come to work? And should we? What forces of power are at play in organisations? How do individuals fit in organisations? And most importantly who do I want to be and what will be my impact? During our weeks together we discuss all this and much more.  If you would like to join in on this course, come prepared to share your opinions in an environment where no idea is too stupid to be discussed and to be open to forming new opinions based on academic teachings and real-life examples.
I find this subject fascinating. Don’t you?

By Andrew Caruana

The Software Development Techniques module is designed to train students to get to a problem’s solution using the various tools programming languages provide.   This is achieved by discussing the theoretical aspect of the subject and various exercises, which help students build experience and knowledge through reason.  The module’s structure, supported by the consistency of delivery, has helped STC Higher Education students gain great outcomes in past years.  The training methods used throughout the module are Pseudocode and Desk-checking; two techniques that require only pen and paper, rather than any specific programming language.  This helps students grasp the notion of writing code in English and thinking in a logical, rational manner without the complexity of the programming language itself.  Once students master these techniques, they will be able to design code structures that can be translated into most programming languages available today.  Within the classroom some practices such as starting and finishing a topic on the day and allowing at least one hour for guided practice has returned excellent results.  Also, whenever possible, challenge days are set up.  This gives a gamified experience while at the same time contributing to students’ growth.  Prior to embarking on a full fletched programming carrier, STC Higher Education makes sure that its students feel comfortable, confident, and empowered.  For this to be possible an exam is used to assess the students’ abilities and pushes them to achieve their best possible results.