Birmingham City University promotes data literacy offering to support future careers

Birmingham City University Introduces Qlik Academic Program into Graduate+ award framework to equip students with data literacy skills to support future careers

Qlik qualifications will allow students to demonstrate real world data skills and improve career prospects

Qlik yesterday (25 Nov) announced that Birmingham City University (BCU) has introduced the Qlik Academic Program into their Graduate+ award framework to help give students data literacy skills to support future careers.

In an age when the data literacy skills gap is continuing to widen, and more data is being created than ever before, Qlik is actively working with universities to close this gap and provide future leaders with the data and analytics skills needed today. By introducing the Academic Program and its free associated qualifications into Graduate+, BCU is offering its students the opportunity to gain skills and valuable experience using Qlik’s industry leading software. This includes providing students with the skills to read, work with, analyse and argue with data before entering the workforce, helping them prepare to keep up with the increasing pace at which data is being created and consumed.

Graduate+ is an award framework offered by BCU which allows students to complement their degree and provide evidence of their ability to develop valuable skills outside of formal classroom learning whilst at university. The qualifications offered by Qlik allow students to learn at their own pace and improve their marketability by demonstrating new skills, such as data literacy and analytics, to future employers.

 “Students about to enter careers in today’s competitive and data-driven world need to look for ways to differentiate themselves,” said Jack Hogan, Graduate+ Centre Manager at BCU.

“Introducing the Qlik courses allows students from not just the typical STEM subjects but across our whole range of courses to go beyond theory and demonstrate their data literacy to potential employers. By gaining the skills training and tools they need from Qlik’s dedicated program, they are equipping themselves with the means to thrive in the data led businesses of today.”

The Qlik Academic Program provides students, academics and researchers with free Qlik software and learning resources housed in the online learning portal, the Qlik Continuous Classroom. Designed as a self-paced learning platform, students can choose from several learning tools including on-demand videos, exercises and quizzes that can be tailored in a way that best aligns with their existing skills and goals.

“Companies now rely on data more than ever to work efficiently, so an organisation’s ability to succeed in this competitive age will depend heavily upon the ability of its workers to read, work with, analyse, and argue with the huge amount of data that is now available to them.” said Kevin Hanegan, Chief Learning Officer at Qlik.

“By participating in the Qlik Academic program, BCU students are empowering themselves with the skills to be able to question the data that surrounds them and understand how it can be both used and mis-used. It’s through this act of continuous learning that we can help create future digital leaders.”

In addition to students, academics are also provided with easy-to-use course materials including instructor-led content and in-class activities to introduce the fundamentals of data analytics using the Qlik Sense platform.