Developing data skills outside the classroom: a reflection on students' learning through data fellowships and online data skills training
Speaker(s):
Jackie Carter, University of Manchester
Bio: Dr Vanessa Higgins has a passion for data skills training, having spent twenty years working in this field. In her current role as Director of Training for the UK Data Service she leads a national programme of data skills training for social science researchers. She has published numerous journal articles on the topic of data literacy, she has led on cross-European social science data skills training projects, and she was co-investigator on the EmpoderaData project which explored data skills training in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Vanessa holds a PhD in Social Statistics and she has used a wide variety of data and statistical methods in her research. She previously worked at the Office for National Statistics as a social survey researcher.
Abstract:
This 'in conversation' session will discuss the research of the two contributors to learning data skills in the workplace or online. Jackie Carter has developed a Data Fellows programme which has placed 330 undergraduate students in 7 years into 60 organisations to develop their data skills through paid work placements. Many are now in research roles in the public, private and not for profit sector. She will reflect on how the programme has opened the door for many of these social science graduates to enter data careers. Her book 'Work placements, internships and applied social research' and 'Pathways into Research' and 'Pathways into Policy' booklets will provide the core reading for this conversation. Vanessa Higgins will discuss the online data skills training resources provided through the UK Data Service, and evidence through qualitative research how these are helping students acquire skills that they can use in their studies and research careers.