Digital skills training for scientists and engineers

Building on previous research analysis on who attends training, in what mode:

We know from our research that men in College of Science and Engineering (CSE) are less likely to access digital skills training than women. This highlights a risk that they may get left behind.

My Digital Skills Training Team conducted a mapping exercise, matching our existing courses to the identified skills gaps, and ‘Digital Skills for CSE’ was born – a programme of 18 training sessions delivered over the course of two months, specifically for CSE staff audiences.

202 CSE colleagues attended the programme of training – this represents approximately 20% of the total annual CSE staff attendance across the entire Digital Skills Programme. ‘Digital Skills for CSE’ had a mean attendance of 11.2 people per session, which is slightly higher than our usual average attendance rate. We saw a no-show rate of 25% – this is lower than our usual no-show rate, which can vary between 30%-50%, depending on the course, time of year, and demographic breakdown of attendees (we usually see a higher no-show rate among student attendees).

The feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with 96% of respondents stating that the course was relevant to their needs, and 98% of respondents agreeing that attending the course had given them a greater understanding of the topic.