American Express and the University of Sussex have launched a scheme that offers a new way to study and gain work experience in information technology.

About 30 students are working part-time for American Express for two years while studying for a masters degree in the new Department of Informatics at the University of Sussex.

They are taking either the new MSc in IT for e-commerce or the MSc in human-centred computer systems at the Sussex Innovation Centre on the Falmer campus.

The finance giant will pay the tuition fees and a salary of £15,250 as well as a £1,000 bonus - half at the start of the course and the remainder in the second year.

At the end of the two years, the highest performers will get full-time jobs with the company.

Aidan McGinley, 22, has just started the course in human-centred computer systems - a cross between psychology and computer science - which explores how humans interact with computers.

A graduate in computer science, Aidan moved to Hove from Ireland after seeing the position advertised on the American Express web site.

Each week he combines 30 hours working in the company's technology department with seven hours of lectures and a few hours further study.

He said: "I probably work between 40 and 50 hours a week.

"So far there has been no problem combining study and work. The campus is nearby, which helps, but we will have to see how it goes.

"I have a fair bit of student debt from my previous course and the idea of being paid to do another course really appealed.

"Hopefully I will be able to pay some of it off. It's a great opportunity."

Martyn Carr, vice-president of technologies at American Express, said: "The roles performed by our employees have evolved dramatically in the past few years and we believe our ability to attract talented graduates is now even more critical to our future business success.

"It's a buyer's market at the moment and we've generated a lot of interest in the courses but this is a long-term association.

"This year might be an easy one from an employer's point of view but in a couple more years it might be much harder to recruit the best people."

American Express might also get more involved in curriculum development.

Mr Carr said: "The two courses we're involved with are very relevant to our situation because technology drives everything we do but eventually we might want to have more tailored programmes around financial services.

"We don't want solely American Express courses though.

"We like the idea of our people getting to mix with everyone else."

Tuesday October 21, 2003