Today we’re publishing our last digital skill profile with a recent AU graduate! Today we’ll hear from Manon who studied History and Politics at Aberystwyth, and now works as a translator. She shares how useful it had been for her to learn how to use Cysill and Cysgeir whilst at University, but how she wishes she had learnt how to use Excel, as it’s a software she uses regularly for her work.
If you would like to learn more about using Cysill and Cysgeir, and about working in Welsh on your computer more generally, read our recent blogpost. If you also interested in developing your proficiency with Excel, you can view this Excel Tips and Tricks collection from LinkedIn Learning.
Keep your eyes peeled in October 2024 as we’ll be publishing a new Employer Digital Skills Profile Series!
This week’s profile is from Jay, who has been involved in practical conservation work with the RSPB since graduating from Aberystwyth. They wish they’d invested more time in improving their proficiency with statistical analysis software, and in learning how to use GIS software during their time at Aberystwyth. There are many courses available from LinkedIn Learning if you are interested in also developing these specific skills:
What are you doing now professionally since graduating? “The last 6-months I have had a volunteer position at a Scottish RSPB reserve but I’ve just got a 3-month paid seabird surveying position on the Isles of Scilly with the National Trust”.
What digital skills do you use in your job? –
Data and information literacy- “I have done a lot of data entry and work with Excel and also typing up from written notes into spreadsheets. Also report writing with some statistical analysis but this has mainly been done with Excel as well”.
Digital learning – “Working at the RSPB I have had to use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and I hadn’t used it until I was at the RSPB as it wasn’t part of my course”.
Are there any digital skills you wish you had learnt before you graduated?
“It would have been helpful to have learnt GIS and also maybe some introductory level map making skills and maybe to have different level courses so for beginners, intermediate and advanced for example. I would have also been interested in using image analysis software as this would have been good for my dissertation but also work so for example I could upload an image of a starling cloud and it would automatically count how many birds there are”.
Are there any common weaknesses in digital skills you notice amongst your colleagues?
“Yes statistics, it seemed that for some people it just didn’t click and no more support could be given– just seemed that you need to repeat the procedure. The resources were all there for you to learn which is good”.
This week we have the profile of Gabriela who has been studying for a Masters in Biochemistry since her time here at Aberystwyth University. Read how she’s made use of her free access to LinkedIn Learning to develop her skills in R (a programming language) and to develop her photography skills, one of her hobbies.
Visit this webpage to learn more about LinkedIn Learning and how you too can activate your free account.
Our first graduate profile of Semester 2 is with Weronika who has great experience with using photo and video editing software, but she wishes she had learnt more about connecting with other professionals on networking sites such LinkedIn before she left Aberystwyth University. If you are also interested in learning how to utilise LinkedIn, take a look at the LinkedIn session with the AU Careers Service at our recent Digital Skills Festival.
Blogpost by Laurie Stevenson (Student Digital Champion)
That concludes the first half of graduate interviews in our Digital Skills Profile Series and the second half will be released in Semester 2 so keep an eye on our IS social media channels and our blog for updates!
In the meantime, you may be wondering from reading what our graduates say they wish they had learnt before graduating what is available to you as an AU student to improve your digital skills? Well, here are some of the main resources available to you:
‘How are your digital skills?’ Blackboard organisation
We’ve developed a new Blackboard organisation which provides you with step-by-step guidance on how to use all of the resources mentioned below, including the Jisc Digital Discovery Tool and LinkedIn Learning .
Jisc Digital Discovery Tool
The Jisc Digital Discovery Tool is a bilingual resource that enables you to self-assess your confidence with technology. It will allow you to identify your strengths, in addition to highlighting opportunities to further develop your digital skills.
LinkedIn Learning
This online learning platform is available for free to all AU students, and contains over 16,000 free courses on everything from photo and video editing, coding, how to play an instrument, art courses and so much more! If you’re particularly interested in developing your digital skills, you can also visit our digital skills collections in the platform. Activate your account today!
Digital Skills Library
Explore the Digital Skills Library, where you’ll find resources to help you develop a range of new and existing digital skills within six categories.
Digital Skills Blog
As well as this series we have plenty of interesting and informative content on our blog page from tips and tricks for MS software, our weekly DigiTips, to our Digital Wellbeing Series.
AberSkills
AberSkills contains a breadth of resources and information about 1-2-1 sessions and workshops to help you develop a range of study skills, employability skills and much more. If you’re interested in developing your confidence with particular software, you can visit the Using Technology in Abersection.
If you have any questions about any of the resources mentioned above, please contact the Digital Skills Team (digi@aber.ac.uk).
Our last profile for this semester is a recent Physics graduate who has had an exciting career since leaving Aberystwyth University in 2002 and is now teaching himself computer programming and is hoping to find a new career in that field.
At AU we have lots of resources to help you learn new things such as computer programming, including the new CoderPad challenges in LinkedIn Learning. In addition to this, next week we will be posting a follow-up blog detailing all the resources available to you to enhance your digital skills so keep a lookout for that!
*Please click here to read all of the other posts in our AU Graduate Digital Skills Profile Series*
Week 3 is our interview with Stephanie who works for TSB Banking in Mortgage Servicing and feels she got a pretty good grip of data literacy while at AU but wished she’d learnt more about her digital identity and wellbeing.
Our second graduate in our Digital Skill Profile Series is Korneliusz who has been working on a portfolio of work for a career following on from his degree in Film Making at AU. He wished he had been made more aware of the importance of your digital footprint while at university and next week on Wednesday 9 November we have an event on Improving your digital footprint and your online shadow as part of our Digital Skills Festival (6-10 November 2023). For more information, and to book your space on any event at the festival, please have a look at the programme.
*Please click here to read all of the other posts in our AU Graduate Digital Skills Profile Series*
Blogpost by Laurie Stevenson (Student Digital Champion)
*Please read my first blog to learn more about our AU Graduate Digital Skills Profile Series*
Our first graduate interview is with Francesca who now works as a support secretary within the NHS and wished she had been able to improve her knowledge and proficiency using MS Excel before she graduated.
Our Digital Skills Festival (6-10 November 2023) has two events on using Excel for both everyday use as well as working with more complex data sets. For more information, and to book your space on any event at the festival, please have a look at the programme.
Blogpost by Laurie Stevenson (Student Digital Champion)
As part of a project organised by the Student Digital Champions, we will be publishing a weekly series of interviews with graduates of Aberystwyth University about their use of digital skills in their lives since graduating, whether that is in their current job, Postgraduate studies, or career pathway. We’ll also hear about the skills they wish they had developed further before they left Aberystwyth University.
We will be releasing four profiles this semester, one a week on Thursdays, and the other half will be released in Semester 2. The first profile will be published this Thursday and will be available from this page on the Digital Skills Blog, but in the meantime take a look at the JISC Digital Capabilities Framework, the framework we follow here at AU, to learn what digital skills are and why they matter to you.
Keeps your eyes peeled on Thursday for our first profile!
