Microsoft participates at inaugural Digital Skills Week at Northern Regional College

From 25-29 March, the College held a series of events across all six campuses (Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Magherafelt and Newtownabbey), featuring Microsoft Ireland, who highlighted the importance of digital skills for employability.

Stephen Howell, Microsoft Ireland’s Academic Program Manager, spoke at one event:

“At Microsoft Ireland, our ambition is to help every student, through the power of technology, to realise their potential. We do this in a number of ways including working together with Northern Regional College to showcase the limitless possibilities that a career in the technology sector can afford. With the sector needing over 70,000 new workers over the next five years alone, there is a strong need to promote STEM education and provide new and innovative ways for our young people to grow their interest in technology.”

Students also heard from speakers from Ulster Bank, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Zymplify, and Ulster University on the importance of digital skills in their industries and job roles. Over the course of the week, other institutions and educational professionals were invited to share their digital skills tips and favourite tools using the hashtag #DigitalSkillsWeek19 on social media.

The series of events was timed to coincide with the Europe-wide ALL DIGITAL Week programme, with the aim of engaging students in developing their digital skills and highlighting the importance of digital transformation in different industries.

Northern Regional College is currently in the middle of its own digital transformation, having invested significantly in a range of digital learning systems including Lynda.com, Learning Assistant and ClickView. There are also plans to implement a new Virtual Learning Environment based on Canvas.