Students about to embark on the second year of degrees run by the Wales Institute of Digital Information have spoken about how useful the course has been.
Second year student, Jess Marfell, said the opportunity has helped her to progress in her career, “Over the last year I’ve learnt skills that I’ve applied to my role, and I’ve successfully progressed in the organisation” she said, “It’s given me the confidence and technical knowledge to bring back to my professional career”.
Nine of the students on the second-year of the part-time degrees work for the NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS). All are completing courses in either Data & Information Systems; Business and Information Systems; Computer Networks & Cyber Security or Software Engineering.
The Wales Institute of Digital Information is a partnership between NWIS and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. It is supporting the development of a digital workforce for health informatics. The degrees are accredited by the British Computer Society giving graduates Chartered IT Professional (CITP) status. Additionally, the software engineering programmes gained partial Chartered Engineer (CEng) status.
Professor Wendy Dearing, Head of Workforce & Organisational Development at NWIS and a Professor of Practice at UWTSD said, “The relationship is becoming an organic process with new benefits emerging on a weekly basis. Masterclasses have been delivered by NWIS staff for UWTSD students and degree apprentices, and in return UWTSD academics have delivered short, specific development programmes for NWIS staff”.