February 21, 2019, by jicke

Women targeted with new digital training programme

One hundred women across the north and midlands will have the chance to retrain in the digital sector thanks to a new online programme supported by over £500,000 from the Institute of Coding.

TechUP is led by Durham University in partnership with the universities of Nottingham, Edge Hill and York. The programme is open to women with degrees in any subject.

The number of women working in technology is significantly lower than most other UK industry sectors with only 17% of those working in technology in the UK being female, this new programme combines academic and industry focussed training with a clear end goal of a job in the tech sector.

Dr Mercedes Torres Torres from the School of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham is part of the team supporting the project and said: “We are delighted to be part of such an important programme to encourage women to train in the digital sector, an industry that is still largely male dominated. We really want to see female representation in the technology sector pick up pace and this programme gives a clear path into the industry with fantastic support along the way and we hope women will be encouraged to take the first step on this journey and sign up.”

Industry training

The six-month online programme covers modules including data science, machine learning, project management and public speaking skills.

At the end of the course participants will have the opportunity to have an interview with a company for a job, internship or apprenticeship.

Online learning is supplemented with four residential weekends where participants will have the chance to network with other learners and listen to industry-led talks.

The University of Nottingham, and the School of Computer Science in particular, will provide support and materials for these courses, as well as host one of the residentials.

This will contribute to the University’s wider efforts to promote equal gender opportunities in Science and Technology.

The University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor for Equality and Diversity, Professor Sarah Sharples, has given her full support to the initiative and will be personally sharing her experiences as a national leader in Engineering as part of the residentials. Working closely with Professor Sarah Sharples are Dr Sarah Martindale, Dr Carolina Fuentes and Dr Mercedes Torres Torres, from the School of Computer Science.

TechUp aligns with the school’s commitment to alleviate the gender gap by preparing women to enter the tech industry.

 

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