FOREWORD
Turning the tides on the tech industry
New postgraduate courses are encouraging women from diverse backgrounds to gain digital skills and practical experience to prepare for a career using AI and data science in a broad range of industries .
New postgraduate conversion courses
In Spring 2020 , a new postgraduate programme was launched at 18 universities across the country as part of a government scheme to upskill the nation to meet the demand required to transform the UK ’ s tech sector .
With jobs and caring responsibilities , not to mention a global pandemic , life can often get in the way of studying . Perhaps you have the ambition to complete some training to prepare for a promotion or you would like to refresh your skills within your existing role ?
We need you
You don ’ t need a degree in a relevant subject to apply . The programme has been specifically designed so that anyone with an undergraduate degree in any field can apply and learn new skills in these exciting areas .
The courses provide flexible learning opportunities tailored to students ’ different lifestyles and commitments to make it easier for students from all backgrounds to get involved . 1,000 scholarships worth £ 10,000 each have been made available by the Office for Students , in partnership with the Department for Digital , Culture , Media and Sport ( DCMS ) and the Office for AI , aimed at women , Black students and disabled students , as well as other student groups who are least likely to study these type of courses .
Meet other students like you
Emerging evidence suggests that more of you are thinking of a change in direction after your undergraduate degree – using a masters course to gain new skills and experiences which employers are looking for .
We caught up with current students about their experiences :
Ruvimbo is an Artificial Intelligence and Data Science MSc student at Keele University . She says :
“ One thing that did inspire me and still motivates me is following people in the tech industry on social media . For me it ’ s primarily women of colour ... A lot of them didn ’ t come from a computer science background and they often share their journey and their experiences ”.
Maria , a mature student parent at Solent University in Southampton , explains how the courses have supported her to upskill her Python programming knowledge to progress her varied career :
“ I started my career as an apprentice engineer for BT in the early 90s . A lot has changed then in terms of technology and attitudes , but STEM industries are still maledominated . This is where [ these ] conversion courses can help . It ’ s a great opportunity to encourage those from more diverse backgrounds into these areas ...
“ I took a [ career ] break to start a family and then I retrained ... I had no prior knowledge of Python programming but ... in such a short space of time I can create a complex programming solution with Python and have developed a chatbot to solve a real-world problem ”.
Maria adds : “ The course would ideally suit someone who enjoys a challenge and has an analytic approach to problem solving ”.