FORWARD
University
AI & Computing
First accreditation wave

Software and Systems Engineering

Production engineering discipline: systems that stay up, teams that ship, and code that someone else can maintain in three years.

BSc (Hons)Hybrid4 years (incl. co-op)Intake August 2027
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Employment thesis

What this programme is designed to produce

Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.

Roles

  • Software engineer
  • Backend/platform engineer
  • Site reliability engineer
  • Technical lead (post-experience)

Employer types

  • African software firms and startups
  • Remote-hiring global employers
  • Financial services engineering teams
  • Public digital-service units

Target outcomes we hold ourselves to

  • 88% employed or founding within 6 months
  • 60% of placements converting to offers
  • 100% completing 12 months paid co-op

Compulsory · The Forward Core

How the Core works →

Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.

  • AI Fluency
  • Quantitative Reasoning
  • Ethics and African Context
  • Human-Advantage Skills
  • Enterprise

Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning

Placement inside a shipping engineering organisation with on-call exposure. Read the co-op commitment

Am I eligible?

Check yourself against the published requirements

7 questions written specifically for Software and Systems Engineering. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.

Question 1 of 70%

What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?

Requirement tested: A completed upper-secondary qualification (UACE, A-level, IB, high-school diploma or recognised equivalent), or a post-secondary award.

Structure

How the 4 years run

  1. 01

    Year 1

    Foundations and Forward Core

    • Programming, data structures
    • Systems and networks
    • Forward Core
  2. 02

    Year 2

    Engineering at scale

    • Distributed systems
    • Databases and reliability
    • Team engineering practice
  3. 03

    Year 3

    Co-op

    • 12 months paid work-integrated learning
    • Assessed employer review
    • Production incident practice
  4. 04

    Year 4

    Capstone and enterprise

    • Public capstone
    • Architecture defence
    • Forward Core: enterprise

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