Online course in Data Visualisation for Professionals

The University of Edinburgh is hosting a university-certified, 10-credit, online course in data visualisation with flexible schedule. The course runs from June 15-July 17 (5 weeks) and is primarily dedicated to professionals in, among others, finance, the sports industry, the creative industry, journalism, education and the public sector.

This online course teaches how to

• visually explore data
• criticise data visualisations,
• design visualisations, and
• implement data visualisations.

It covers the fundamentals of

• human perception and data visualisation,
• exploratory data analysis,
• the importance of interaction in exploration,
• techniques for data visualisation (networks, temporal data, geographic data, etc..),
• storytelling and communication,
• tools for data visualisation,
• evaluation.

With an aim to build skills that allow participants to directly apply their learning, the course features online videos and reading material, mini tutorials, drop-in sessions, complementary online teaching material, and seminars by guest speakers. More about the course organisation and its schedule …

Learning Outcomes

1. Analyse: Describe a challenge for a visualisation project and the reasons why visualisation is required.
2. Structure: Break down the project considering its context (target audience, usage scenario), potential tasks that the visualisation should facilitate, and the characteristics of the data set.
3. Design+Implement: Create a visualisation through one of various media (website, interactive, infographic, etc.) and through a self-selected set of tools (e.g., Tableau, D3.js), to match the earlier identified challenge.
4. Evaluation: Critically reflect on a visualisation design and suggest constructive solutions.
5. Apply: Competently apply a wide range of visualisation techniques and tools, also knowing their particular features and drawbacks.

Takeaways

• A certificate to reflect a 10 credit-bearing course at Masters-level (SCQF Level 11)
• Visual representation of your dataset that enables you to answer the challenge you defined around it before and during the course.
• Skills to develop further visual literacy to support data-driven work.

Browse further detail on the course structure.

Submit Application

Applications are now being accepted for the course. Please note that you must state that you are registering for the course Data Visualisation for Professionals in the “Supporting Statement” section of the application form.

Tasters

Prior to course start, we are working with participants to shape the course to best accommodate the specific needs of working professionals. We are currently carrying out interviews with participants who registered interest over the last month, and are feeding the information being collected into preparation of a virtual workshop. If you would like to take part in these taster sessions please indicate this using the brief interest survey.

Course Delivery Information

• Start Date: 15 June 2020
• Course Duration: 5 weeks, complementing self-directed online learning with two hands-on sessions per week via a virtual classroom
• Total Hours: 50-100 (Lecture Hours 10; Tutorial Hours 20; Independent Study Hours 30-70)
• Method of Assessment: Coursework 100%, which is the submission of your final project.
• The course does not give grades, but rather a PASS/FAIL.

Entry Requirements

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent.
If you do not meet the minimum academic requirement, you may still be considered if you have relevant work experience preferably with one or more of:

• basic knowledge of programming in Python or JavaScript,
• experience using Adobe Illustrator or equivalent,
• experience creating basic visualisations in, e.g., Excel, SAS, Tableau or PowerBI,
• or other similar experience working with data

If you are unsure whether you meet these criteria please send your CV to bayes-training@ed.ac.uk.

Financial Support

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) Upskilling Fund is providing fee waivers; participants normally resident in Scotland or the EU may be eligible for funding. Please see eligibility requirements for funding, or contact bayes-training@ed.ac.uk for more detail.

English Language Requirements

You must demonstrate English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence. Find out more about our language requirements.