October 16, 2019 - Bobby -
I’ve updated the portfolio diagram with a couple of recent changes, the main one being the development of PDA Data Science, which I recently announced. You can download the diagram here. I know that many schools and colleges plan their curriculums around this time of the year, so I’d like to highlight some things that might interest you. NPA Cyber Security is a few years old but it’s growing exponentially (particularly in schools). So, if you don’t already deliver this…
Read moreRead more about Qualification portfolio update
October 14, 2019 - Bobby -
It’s been a while since I last updated you on the new materials to support NPA Cyber Security. Firstly, my apologies for the delay. I hoped to have them ready for the new term. The delay has been caused by a number of factors. The good news is that the materials are complete and ready to publish. The enhanced materials not only look (a lot) better than the original materials but we’ve also plugged some of the gaps in the…
Read moreRead more about NPA Cyber Security support materials update
October 11, 2019 - Helen -
Two Assessment Support Packs (ASPs) for this graded unit are under development and will be made available early 2020. Since HND Cyber Security is a multi-disciplinary qualification covering a wide range of topic areas, a thematic approach to course delivery was recommended in the HND Group Award Specification. The unit specification for this graded unit has been written very openly due to the same reason, therefore, we have decided to apply the same (thematic) approach to the assessment development. One…
Read moreRead more about Cyber Security Graded Unit 2 ASPs
October 9, 2019 - Bobby -
I’m pleased to let you know that we’re about to commence the development of a new suite of Professional Development Awards (PDAs) in Data Science. The new awards will be available at SCQF Levels 7, 8 and 9. This development follows the successful introduction of the new National Progression Awards in Data Science, which has attracted a lot of interest from schools and colleges. At the end of the development, there will be national qualifications in data science available at…
Read moreRead more about Professional Development Awards in Data Science
October 9, 2019 - Helen -
The Digital Skills Partnership (DSP) will be running the following events in November and December 2019: 1. Industry Current Practice on Cloud Architecture and Cloud Services: take place at 1-5pm on 6/11 at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. will be repeated with a different speaker at 1-5pm on 13/11 at Inoapps, 2 Fountainhall Road, Aberdeen, AB15 4DT. include presentations from Pulsant (in Glasgow) and Inoapps (in Aberdeen) on current practice they are implementing in this area; include presentations illustrating how our…
Read moreRead more about Digital Skills Partnership’s CPD events
October 7, 2019 - sqablogs -
If Cyber Resilience is up your street, then the College Development Network has the thing for you. They are organising three days of Cyber Escape Rooms this month. They are aimed at college staff initially, but they have now opened it up to staff/students too. The Cyber Escape rooms will be held at Strathclyde University as follows: Date: 22nd to 24th October Location: Strathclyde University Times: Date AM (2 sessions running in parallel) PM (2 sessions running in parallel) Tuesday…
Read moreRead more about Cyber Escape Room Challenge
October 3, 2019 - Bobby -
The Qualifications Development Autumn conference was held yesterday in Glasgow. This annual event provides an opportunity for SQA staff to get together to reflect on things and plan for the future. I attended a number of workshops, one of which was about SQA’s values. Our values are: Trusted Enabling Progressive. We normally score highly in external surveys for trust and equipping people but less highly for innovation, which was borne out at the workshop (SQA staff think likewise). I plan…
Read moreRead more about SQA values
October 1, 2019 - Bobby -
SQA’s remit is to develop and maintain national qualifications. We also produce some support materials (assessments) for centres and, of course, provide the annual diet of examinations. Our support role is normally limited to these activities but every now and again we’re able to go further and provide additional support to centres in the form of teaching and learning material. Thanks to extra funding from the Scottish Government, we were able to provide significant additional support for NPA Cyber Security,…
Read moreRead more about Support group for NPA Data Science
October 1, 2019 - Bobby -
I recently posted about Emma’s return to the team. I had an extra team member for a couple of weeks (when Helen, Emma and Lorraine were working for me) but that has now come to an end and I am back to my original team. So, from this point on, it’s me, Emma and Helen. Operationally, this means that we’re “back to normal”. Emma is responsible for non-advanced qualifications (National Units, NPAs, NCs) and SVQ/CBQs, and Helen is responsible for…
Read moreRead more about Team changes
September 16, 2019 - sqablogs -
Further to Bobby’s blog post a couple of weeks ago, we have managed to secure some funding to produce additional support materials for the newly developed NPA Data Science. We are currently producing support materials for all of the mandatory units, so the additional funding will go towards producing materials for some (most) of the optional units, ie: J2G6 45 – Machine Learning (SCQF Level 5) J2G6 46 – Machine Learning (SCQF Level 6) J2GT 45 – Data Science Project…
Read moreRead more about NPA Data Science – Additional Support Materials