October 26, 2018 - Bobby -
I’m pleased to let you know that we have finalised the framework for HND Cyber Security. You can see it here. I think that it has shaped up well, being a nice mix of the academic (such as Cyber Security Mathematics and Professionalism & Ethics) and the vocational (such as Data Security and Blockchain). The next stage in the process is to ask for volunteers to write and vet the units, which will be a big task. There are 17…
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October 26, 2018 - sqablogs -
I have had a lot of queries regarding the publication of the HNC Cyber Security ASPs. I am aware these are becoming urgent for a lot centres. I have been in touch with the Assessment Support Team. Alison from the support team confirmed that Ethical Hacking is now ready for sign off and she hopes to get the following ASPs sent to me next week: Computer Architecture Professionalism and Ethics in Cyber Security Followed as quickly as possible by: Data…
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October 24, 2018 - Bobby -
I recently mentioned that we’re planning to enhance the existing support materials for NPA Cyber Security. The first stage is to find out what you want. Additional support for NPA Cyber Security To that end, I have devised a short questionnaire to find out what materials you currently use and how these can be improved. I would appreciate if you would take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire, which you will find on this link. The more responses we…
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October 22, 2018 - sqablogs -
Hi all, As previously mentioned about the upcoming Digital Skills Partnership (DSP) December events. We now have online booking information for these dates. Please see the links below to register: Glasgow Event on 6th December – www.events.cdn.ac.uk/ehome/374816?&t=c52b409c7572abbcdc2394f795074465 Edinburgh Event on 10th December – www.events.cdn.ac.uk/ehome/374819?&t=285e5f1b296acd4bac75b8d33d4effd9 Please contact Lesley if you want to know more about these events. Contact myself, Caitlin if you want to know more about the HNC.
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October 18, 2018 - Bobby -
I’m pleased to let you know that the Scottish Government has provided funding to develop additional support materials for NPA Cyber Security. This money will be spent improving the existing materials and, perhaps, devising some new materials. The focus will be on enhancement, rather than creating new materials, but this might mean, for example, creating more practical activities. I’m not quite sure what precise form these enhancements will take and I’m currently carrying out some research to find out what…
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October 18, 2018 - sqablogs -
Hello, I’m Lorraine McFadyen and have recently joined the Computing team to cover Emma’s post whilst she’s on maternity leave. I previously worked for SQA as a Contract Officer dealing with the Maritime & Coastguard Contract. Whilst I’m not new to SQA, I’ll be familiarising myself with the vocational portfolio over the coming weeks and would appreciate your patience. Working alongside Bobby and Caitlin, I will be responsible for the non-advanced qualifications, my remit will include: National Units National Certificates NPAs…
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October 17, 2018 - Bobby -
We commenced the review of HND Computer Science in 2017 to address some of the issues that had been raised since it was first introduced in 2012. The main problem was that many people felt that it wasn’t “computer science-y” enough so we set out to address that issue. Unfortunately, the development took longer than expected — for a number of reasons, the main one being that the QDT wasn’t sure how “computer science-y” to make it. We had lots…
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October 12, 2018 - sqablogs -
Bobby previously mentioned the upcoming Digital Skills Partnership (DSP) events for November. DSP are also running Cyber Security events in December for lecturers. These events provide lecturers the opportunity to discuss the HNC Cyber Security framework with colleagues from other colleges, covering; what’s in the framework; sharing resources and expertise to aid delivery and a consideration of what is still needed for delivery. The dates for the December events are below; 6th December – from 13:30 – 17:00 in Glasgow,…
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October 10, 2018 - Bobby -
Lorraine joined the team on Monday. Lorraine replaces Emma, who is on maternity leave until next September. We’ve been under strength for a while and that has impacted on developments (and support to centres) so I appreciate your patience if we’ve been slow to respond to you during this period. Once Lorraine finds her feet, we’ll return to service-as-usual. So, the team now consists of me, Caitlin and Lorraine. Lorraine will introduce herself shortly. She has responsibility for non-advanced awards…
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October 8, 2018 - Bobby -
The Sector Panel for Computing met on Friday in Glasgow. The Panel is one of the ways that me and my team get feedback from stakeholders. It’s been around for a (very) long time — going back to the 1990’s, when I was a college representative on it. The Sector Panel’s main role is to provide strategic advice to SQA about what’s going on externally and what we should be doing in response. There are 27 members representing employers, universities,…
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