Data Management Fundamentals: A Beginner's Guide to Data Success

Organisations that make effective use of data perform better than organisations that don’t. They have an advantage over their competitors as they have high-quality data which can be analysed and relied upon to support sound decision-making.

The key to the effective use of data is managing it well. This course provides an easy-to-understand introduction to the most important ideas in data management, including up-to-date examples and case studies to help you relate these ideas to what organisations are doing in this area. The concepts covered are directly relevant to how modern, data-focused businesses operate today.

This online course has been developed by The Data Lab, in partnership with Bayes Centre, University of Edinburgh, effini, and the DDI Data Skills Gateway

This online course is aimed at data workers – people who collect, store, manage and analyse data as part of their job, but whose primary job function is outside the field of data science. For example, managers, technicians, clerical support workers. If you already work in a data-related role, but are unfamiliar with data management, what you will learn on the course will complement your existing knowledge. If you don’t, taking the course will increase your awareness of how and why organisations are increasing the value of data through managing it more effectively. With data management skills highly in high demand, the course provides an excellent introduction to this interesting area.

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

1. Describe ways in which data can be cared for, and how organisations benefit from caring for their data -
2. Identify the features of high-quality data and suggest ways in which the quality of a dataset could be improved
3.  Know how to protect your personal data and understand how organisations can keep their data safe
4.  Describe how data can be misused and the ethical risks with using data - Explain what data bias is, its causes and how it can be mitigated against

This is a 5-week online course, comprising a total of 20 hours study.

The course will require around 20 hours of learning, which includes 14 hours of self-directed learning and around 6 hours of teaching time.

Course fees for 23/24 are £500 but funded places may be available for people employed or unemployed in Scotland (residency requirements apply).

Funding

Through the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) Upskilling Fund, a limited number of fully-funded places are available on Data Upskilling Short Courses at The University of Edinburgh.

Fully funded places are also available through Data Skills for Work (DSW) Data Skills Credits Scheme for learners in Edinburgh & South East Scotland.

SFC Eligibility

Funded places are available to those who meet SFC fee waiver criteria:

“Courses/provision is open to all Scottish-domiciled/’home fee’ students, which is consistent with SFC’s policy for core funded student places. Students from the rest of the UK (rUK) are not normally considered eligible for SFC funding. If however a university is working with a Scottish/UK employer which has a physical presence or operating in Scotland, rUK employees of that employer would be eligible.”

If you are from outside Scotland, you need to have settled status in the UK and meet other residency criteria:

1.  be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years immediately before course start date, and
2.  have ‘settled status’ in the UK (as set out in the Immigration Act 1971) at the course start date, and
3.  be ordinarily resident in Scotland at the course start date.

You can find out more about residency criteria on the SAAS website or in this summary

Funding eligibility will be assessed at the point of each application for each course; you may be asked to provide further information if you do not meet the general residence conditions. You can check your likely fee status here. Please email us at upskilling@ed.ac.uk if you would like to discuss your funding eligibility before applying.

Please note that full-time students (including full-time PhD students) are not eligible for funding.

DSW Data Skills Credits Fund ELligibility

Funded places are available to those who meet DSW fee waiver criteria:

Data Skills for Edinburgh & South East Scotland

Funding to help workers adapt to the demands of increasingly digitalised, automated and data-driven workplaces. And to help improve equality and diversity in data roles, any resulting courses will be available free of charge for learners who live and/or work in Edinburgh, Lothian, Fife, or the Scottish Borders and meet at least one of the following criteria:

- earn less than £24,000 per year

- identify as a woman or non-binary

- have a disability

- are from a minority ethnic background

- are neurodivergent

Please note that full-time students (including full-time PhD students) are not eligible for funding

You will receive a certificate of completion if you receive a pass mark of 80% across the assessed activities and end-of-course quizzes.

Applications for October 2023 have now closed.