The University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education collaborates with FourthRev to deliver new industry-focused education programmes

The University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education is collaborating with FourthRev, the education company, to develop industry co-designed ‘Career Accelerators’ to help address the shortage of high-demand technology and technology-adjacent roles. The first programme will be on data science and its application in workplaces, which will emphasise strong statistics capabilities alongside commercial knowledge, project experience and interpersonal skills to apply data science in ways that will deliver high value for businesses.

As the proliferation of big data technologies and advancements in AI promise to revolutionise working practices, the UK government estimates UK businesses are seeking 178,000 specialist data roles that require technical or specialist knowledge, whilst the global data science market is expected to grow from £73.7 billion in 2021 to £249.7 billion by 2026. 

The UK is already experiencing a growing data skills crisis, with 63% of companies investing in AI technology claiming they have a shortage in the skills required for implementation. This issue will grow as more companies are already set to further invest in AI technology within the next two years. Collaborating with leading industry and technology companies, such as SAS, this new programme will enable adults to advance their careers in data science and benefit from recent advances in technology.  

This Career Accelerator aims to cultivate a diverse skill set, including the ability to apply in-depth statistical concepts and a comprehensive knowledge of data science principles, emphasising machine learning modelling and tuning. The curriculum will enable learners to effectively discern the optimal application of these concepts in various commercial contexts. By emphasising a business-oriented mindset, this latest programme ensures that the acquired skills are purposeful and aligned with real-world needs across all types of organisations. 

Dr James Gazzard, Director of Continuing Education at the Institute of Continuing Education states:

“We are committed to helping adult learners from all backgrounds gain access to the digital economy, and our collaboration with FourthRev to develop Career Accelerators will play a key role in delivering on that mission. This first programme plays to our strengths as a high-quality provider of work-relevant continuing education, a department of the University of Cambridge, and the city of Cambridge’s reputation as one of Europe’s most successful knowledge economies. We recognise that the current shortage of data skills calls for novel solutions and new collaborations that can address the challenges faced by industry. At the same time, businesses do not operate in a vacuum and through our programmes we aim to ensure that graduates are reflective and responsible thinkers, able to fully understand the challenges and opportunities that new technologies present with respect to ethics, security and society.

We are delighted to work with FourthRev and its industry partners to help us bring this new educational offering to market.”

Mark Lester, Chief Partnerships Officer at FourthRev, discussing the aims of this latest  collaboration, commented:

“The world needs a new model of education for the digital age that harnesses the unrivalled knowledge and critical thinking nurtured by leading universities, and applies it systematically to the messy business and human challenges encountered in industry.  Many current programmes are either too theoretical or too skills-orientated, leaving employers short of talent able to ask the right questions and efficiently solve their challenges”.  Jack Hylands, Co-founder and Co-CEO, added: “We are proud to be collaborating with the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education to devise industry co-designed programmes with academic rigour that develop the human, commercial and technical skills to equip students with the means to succeed in a fast-changing world.”

Roderick Crawford, Senior VP for SAS Northern Europe, a key technology partner for the programme, agrees that Career Accelerators offer a fresh approach to addressing major skills shortages.

“At SAS, we pride ourselves on pioneering new education initiatives to build the data profession, and we find this collaborative model a powerful way to help universities develop the next generation of professionals suited to the challenges faced by modern business. It’s vital that even best-in-class AI technology has some human oversight, so we will continue to need people with the skills to understand how it works, and how to monitor and adapt its use.”   

The Career Accelerator in data science will offer learners taught modules in critical technical and business skills that are applied and consolidated across multiple projects designed with employers and undertaken individually and within group settings. Through the programme, learners will create a portfolio of projects that evidence their data science skills. Learners will also enjoy live masterclasses from leading practitioners in industry and the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, and will enjoy the support of a dedicated professional career coach and success manager to help them advance their learning and career goals.   

The first programme is due to launch in the first half of 2024.