Academics at the Department of International Development identified a need to integrate data analysis and visualisation skills into their students’ curriculum. To address this, the department collaborated with the Digital Skills Lab (DSL) to offer a group of students training in various data tools. Master’s students taking part in the Famine Pilot Project were offered a choice of digital tools to choose from, including Power BI, Excel, Stata, Tableau and R. The students all chose Excel and Power BI for their ease of use and capability to interpret and visualise data.
During their first term, the students attended sessions specifically designed for their course, led by the Digital Skills Lab’s team and focusing on foundational knowledge. In their second term, small group sessions were designed to address the specific questions students had about their own data. Thanks to the tailored nature of these group sessions, students were able to apply what they have learnt to their own projects, using and testing their own data.
Student Zoe Hartman said: “I chose modules that are intuitive and most engaging. It was hard to learn Excel and Power BI at first, but the DSL team was always available to answer questions. While supporting me, the trainers encouraged me to solve problems by giving me hints, nudging me in the right direction without giving me the answers. I really enjoyed this practical method of learning, empowering me to find answers myself in a practical and supportive environment.”
“Learning to use these digital tools are incredibly beneficial to my studies, I can now apply data analysis, visualisation and cleaning techniques to my core subject. I am so much more efficient with data. Having no prior digital skills training, I used to spend hours figuring out how to manipulate data. Now I know what to do, how to do it, which is saving me so much time. It’s also a fantastic selling point on my CV, as Excel and Power BI skills are really sought after by employers.”
Fellow student Olga Bychkovskaya previously worked for the UN, supporting data collection on development finance. Her peer colleagues used Power BI to showcase the data collected. So, when she was given the opportunity to learn digital tools as part of her course, she jumped at it and chose Power BI and Excel.
“I really appreciated the support we received from the team at the Digital Skills Lab. The sessions allowed me to apply my newfound skills to my individual project which boosted my confidence in using data analysis and visualisation tools.”
Olga found the group sessions led by Nedelin, Learning Development Lead at the Digital Skills Lab, incredibly helpful.
“The DSL team really wanted to help, they were so supportive and flexible in their teaching.“
“It is difficult to apply brand new skills to a project. I had issues with filtering and transferring data from one source to another. In the group sessions, I was given guidance to transfer and filter data, given advice on the best way to do so, and discussed which metrics to choose to conduct my analysis, which was invaluable. My confidence and dexterity in using Power BI and Excel have grown so much. I don’t think I would have been able to complete my project without these sessions, which gave us extra time to practice collaboratively the skills with have just learnt.”
In addition to the regular DSL sessions, Olga also attended a DSL Excel Bootcamp. “I already had experience with Excel, however I didn’t use any of its advanced features. I found the one-day bootcamp extremely helpful, I learnt everything at once, in one day, which gave me the ability to focus on just one thing without any interruptions.”
Aubrey Hamilton, another fellow student taking part in the pilot project, loved learning Power BI with Nedelin, Learning Development Lead at the Digital Skills Lab and his team. “The learning is very practical; it’s a learn as you go approach. I loved that I manipulated data while I was learning. I also knew that I needed more in-depth knowledge in certain areas, and I was able to delve into them with the help of a tutor in our group sessions. It was a collective effort between the students and the DSL team to solve a puzzle together and I found this method gratifying.”
“The Digital Skills Lab is the best part of the services at LSE. The support I received went above and beyond what was originally agreed by the International Development department. I received excellent advice from the team regarding the skills I needed to acquire to enhance my studies and future-proof my next professional move.”
The feedback from the students was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the effectiveness of the DSL modules in enhancing their data skills set. The collaboration between the International Development department and the DSL successfully addressed the need for data analysis and visualisation skills among students. The tailored approached, practical learning and supportive environment were all key factors in the program’s success. The Digital Skills Lab is now looking at expanding its offer to future cohorts and other departments and exploring ways to improve the program further.
N.B. The famine pilot project has evolved into Famine, Data Skills and Analysis, a module part of the MSc in International and Humanitarian Emergencies.
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