Short course

Skills Bootcamp in Data Skills for Creative Industries

Skills Bootcamp in Data Skills for Creative Industries. Acquire in-demand data skills and learn how to apply them in the creative industries. Study part-time over 6 weeks, and benefit from our expertise and careers support to boost your prospects.

Start date
Start date to be confirmed soon
Duration
6 weeks
Time commitment
5-day intensive in-person bootcamp, followed by a 5-week online component
Mode
Online & in person
Cost
Free
Subject
Data Skills for Creative Industries
Level
CPD
Credit
Non-credit

Endorsed by

Creative industries are businesses with creativity as a focus, such as marketing and design, publishing, web production, and the film and gaming industry to name just a few. They are inter- and multi-disciplinary, driven by data, but require a degree of understanding of society and culture. As such, being able to present socially and culturally informed analysis of reliable and representative data is highly valued within the sector. 

This Skills Bootcamp will equip you to become data literate and data fluent, giving you the skills required to work in the creative industries. These skills are sought after because they span the digital/creative divide: enabling those with data skills to enter creative industries and those with creative skills to exploit the opportunities offered by data. 

The course is a five-day intensive bootcamp of 30 hours of in-person teaching, followed by a 5-week (five hours per week) online component, which can be studied flexibily. You will learn from leading academics at the University of Birmingham, with guest lectures from industry experts.

You will  be supported throughout the Skills Bootcamp by our Careers Network and Gradcore. If you are unemployed, you will be supported to secure you a job interview on completion of the course. If you are employed, you will be supported to achieve a promotion and/or more digital responsibility in your job.

What you will learn

The Skills Bootcamp will equip you with skills in identifying trends and providing insight into data through data and digital awareness. On this course, you will learn about:

  • Data Literacy
  • Data Fluency
  • Data Inclusivity
  • Data and Culture
  • Data Legitimacy and Law
  • Data Ethics

By the end of this course you will be able to:

  • Understand how to translate the original qualitative data into numbers and tables, and vice versa
  • Curate data to facilitate traffic and communication
  • Relate or associate such data with more standardized, number-like data
  • Interrogate data to identify trends
  • Inform innovation based on data outputs
  • Gain insight from data
  • Apply this insight within their branch of the creative industries 

Fees and funding

This course is free to study.

How to apply

Applications for this programme are now closed.  Further details on future intakes will be available soon.

For details of entry requirements and how to apply to the Skills Bootcamp, please see the Requirements tab. As part of the application process, you will need to complete a personal statement. Further information can be found on the Requirements tab.

Entry requirements

In order to enrol on the programme:

  • You must live in the West Midlands
  • You must be aged 19 or older on the first day of learning 
  • You must have a GCSE grade A-C or 9-4 in Maths
  • You must have a GCSE grade A-B or 9-6 in English or equivalent (see English Language proficiency requirements below)
  • You must have completed the Admissions Task (see How to apply below)

 To prove English Language proficiency, we accept the following tests:

  • TOEFL - 88 overall with no less than 21 in Reading, 20 in Listening, 22 in Speaking and 21 in Writing
  • IELTS - 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in any band
  • Pearson Test of English (PTE) - 67 with no less than 64 in all four skills

Priority will be given to:

  • Unemployed learners moving into data/digital roles
  • Those in employment looking to re-train to move into data/digital employment in the creative industries
  • Low-waged residents to enable them to enter new digital occupations and careers (household income is below the national average of £42,875)
  • Under-represented groups (BAME students, women, refugees and carers)

Please note: Students with Overseas status who are in the West Midlands on a student visa are not eligible for funding to study this course. 

How to apply

Applications are now closed.  Further details on future intakes will be available soon.

When clicking on the Apply Now button, you will be directed to an online application specific to the Skills Bootcamp in Data Skills for Creative Industries. You will then need to complete the online application to apply for the bootcamp.

As part of the application process you will need to complete a personal statment. The personal statement is a chance to make the application stand out. It should, amongst other things confirm how you meet the eligibility criteria, outline your interest in the course and explain how participation will enable you to achieve your ambitions of entering a data/digital role in the creative industry which interests you. (Max 750 words)

Please also upload your latest academic qualification certificate, if available.

 

The Skills Bootcamp in Data Skills for Creative Industries is a 5-day (one-week) intensive bootcamp of 30 hours of in-person teaching (9am-12noon and 2-5pm) followed by a 5-week online component of 30 hours (3 hours per week).

Please note: There is a compulsory in person induction event on Wednesday, 8 February 2023.

The 5-day in-person bootcamp will include presentations, including guest lectures from industry experts, and hands-on workshops.

The 5-week online component will involve short presentations and demonstrations (recorded to allow you to access materials flexibly) and opportunities to work with data sets.

The Skills Bootcamp is informed by and based on real-world requirements of local employers in the creative industries. This simulates the working environment and exposes you to real-world challenges typical of the working in the creative industries.

This course will enable you to:

  • Understand what we mean by data across Humanities and Creative Industries
  • Gain detailed knowledge of data types, their properties, and how they relate
  • Learn how to interrogate data, and text data in particular
  • Learn how to prepare and curate data, and how to communicate results of data analysis, including use of visual means

The skills you will gain

Data Literacy

Data Fluency

Data Inclusivity

Data and Culture

Data Legitimacy and Law

Data Ethics

Week

1

Monday 13 February 2023

In-person intensive learning

Every day this week, we will cover the following topics and skills in a series of interactive presentations and hands-on workshops:

Day 1: Data Science in Arts & Humanities

  • Using Data Science to ask and answer relevant questions in your area of expertise
  • Panel discussion between experts from different fields (Computer Science, Creative Arts, Law, History, Languages, Literature, Culture)

Day 2: Broader picture

  • What is Data Science: demystifying Machine Learning, Data Mining, and other buzzwords
  • The Text as Data: introduction to Text Mining

Day 3: Describing data

  • What is data, and what data can be analysed
  • Different types of data, and how they come about
  • Visualising data and visual data inspection
  • Further on data values, tendency, and variability (and tidiness)

Day 4: Basic data relationships

  • Discovering systematicity in how values of two (or more) variables relate to one another
  • Using systematicity in relationship to predict values of one variable from another (or a few)

Day 5: Communicating Data and Analysis

  • Understanding data and its analysis and communicating that for others to understand
  • The importance of using visual means (and Infographics) to convey information


There will be an opportunity to learn about how these topics/skills will relate to careers in creative industries.

 

Duration: 5 days

|

Time required: 30 hours

Week

2

20 February - 31 March 2023

Weeks 2 - 5: Online intensive learning

Every week during the next 5 weeks, you will be provided with activities to further develop and consolidate the skills you were introduced to in Week 1. There will be opportunities to participate in online discussions and to interact with industry professionals. You will also benefit from 1-2-1 careers coaching during this period to prepare you for job applications and interviews.

Duration: 5 weeks

|

Time required: 30 hours (three hours per week)

You will receive:

A Certificate of Completion from University of Birmingham, showcasing your accomplishments to future employers

Use your Skills Bootcamp certificate as evidence of your specialised skills and progress further in your career.

Careers services

You will have access to careers services that will help you secure a job interview or progress in your current role. Support includes online careers events with industry professionals, training in presenting and communication skills, interview advice and practice sessions, and 1-2-1 career coaching.

Example roles include digital marketing assistants, social media content creators, communications officers, marketing executives, fundraisers, junior Arts administrators, podcast producers and many more. 

Culture and collections

Schools, institutes and departments

Services and facilities