Students enter real-life court….

It was all a learning experience as MSc Computer Security and Forensic students went to South Beds Magistrates’ Court.

Twelve students attended two morning sessions at the Luton-based magistrates’ court as part of an arrangement with local magistrate John Sentinella.

John, who is also a Business Development Manager here at the Knowledge Hub , arranged the visit where the students were given a unique insight into the functions of the Court.

They were briefed on the function and procedures prior to the visit and were then able to discuss the events of the morning with John and the other magistrates.

Geraint Williams, the Computer Science and Technology Infrastructure Manager at the University, said: “This gives the Computer Security and Forensic students an opportunity to see the workings of a court as part of their studies. This is the second year of running such sessions and has proved popular with the students. We’re hoping to give level three BSc students the same opportunity in October and repeat these sessions for the new MSc students in May 2011. Computing students studying security and forensics may need to give expert witness at some point after graduating. This experience will help them in understanding courtroom procedure and the role of expert witness.”

One of the students, Ahmad Alenezi, said: “It was an excellent experience and we saw many cases; the first one was related to our subject because the suspect wrote on Facebook.”

Another, Jibran Mir, said: “We learned a lot of things from this visit; we now know what the court looks like, where people are in the courtroom and how the judicial system works.”

The field trips continue a successful year for security and forensic students in which they enjoyed a number of excellent opportunities.