Our Digital Skills Programme consists of over 110 courses open to staff and students. Our courses run throughout the academic year, and are delivered by trainers and experts from across the University. Themed training blocks for semester 1 Below you can find our themed digital skills training blocks for semester 1 in the 2026 to 2027 academic year. The blocks focus on specific audience groups and spotlight various digital skills topics. If you are unable to join a course during one of the dedicated blocks, do not worry, as most of our courses run regularly throughout the academic year, so other dates will be available.If you have any questions, please email the Digital Skills Team at is.skills@ed.ac.uk. Assessment and Feedback Week (24 to 28 August) Update your evaluation strategies through sessions on digital badges, media assessments, and peer moderation tools. Gain practical skills to streamline assignment management and enhance the student feedback experience across the university's learning platforms. Date and timeCourse title and booking linksMonday 24 August, 10am to 11amLearn: Peer moderation with WebPA (staff booking)Monday 24 August, 2pm 3pmLearn: Setting up and managing Learn assignments (staff booking)Wednesday 26 August, 10am to 10:50amBadgEd: Introducing the digital badge service for the University of Edinburgh (staff booking)Wednesday 26 August, 11am to 11:30amLearn: Using media assessments in Learn (staff booking)Wednesday 26 August, 12pm to 12:30pmLearn: Using media within your course (staff booking)Thursday 27 August, 3pm to 4pmLearn: Learn Ultra Basics (staff booking) Student Focus Fortnight (21 September to 2 October) Boost your digital capabilities through a diverse range of workshops covering data literacy, generative AI, research tools, and creative software. Take the opportunity to gain essential skills to enhance your academic workflow, secure your digital presence, and prepare for future career success. Date and timeCourse title and booking linksMonday 21 September, 12pm to 12:45pmExcel: Selected Excel functions (student booking)Excel: Selected Excel functions (staff booking)Monday 21 September, 1pm to 1:30pmDeveloping your Digital Skills - Students (student booking)Monday 21 September, 2pm to 2:45pmExcel: Further functions (student booking)Excel: Further functions (staff booking)Monday 21 September, 3:30pm to 4:30pmGenerative AI: Prompt engineering 101 for students (student booking)Tuesday 22 September, 10am to 11:30amEndNote for managing references (student booking)EndNote for managing references (staff booking)Tuesday 22 September, 11:30am to 1:15pmBuilding your profile with LinkedIn (student booking)Building your profile with LinkedIn (staff booking)Tuesday 22 September, 1pm to 2pmGenerative AI: Introduction to responsible use of Generative AI and ELM for students (student booking)Wednesday 23 September, 10:30am to 11:15amInformation Security: My neighbour hacked my toothbrush (student booking)Information Security: My neighbour hacked my toothbrush (staff booking)Wednesday 23 September, 11am to 12pmExcel: Introduction to Excel (student booking)Excel: Introduction to Excel (staff booking)Wednesday 23 September, 1pm to 2pmData literacy for beginners (student booking)Data literacy for beginners (staff booking)Wednesday 23 September, 1:45pm to 5pmWikipedia: Monthly Wikipedia editing workshop (student booking)Wikipedia: Monthly Wikipedia editing workshop (staff booking)Wednesday 23 September, 2pm to 3:30pmIntroduction to Python: Part 1 (student booking)Wednesday 23 September, 2:10pm to 3pmHow to use the Library & How to reference and avoid plagiarism (student and staff booking)Thursday 24 September, 10am to 11:30amIntroduction to LinkedIn Learning (student booking)Introduction to LinkedIn Learning (staff booking)Thursday 24 September, 11am to 11:45amDigital Life, Real Impact: Digital safety and citizenship essentials (student booking)Digital Life, Real Impact: Digital safety and citizenship essentials (staff booking)Thursday 24 September, 2pm to 3pmGenerative AI: ELM for Programming - Part 1 (student booking)Thursday 24 September, 2pm to 3:30pmIntroduction to Python: Part 2 (student booking)Friday 25 September, 10am to 11:30amNVivo: Getting started with NVivo (student booking)NVivo: Getting started with NVivo (staff booking)Friday 25 September, 11:30am to 12:30pmMicrosoft 365: Getting started with OneNote Online (student booking)Microsoft 365: Getting started with OneNote Online (staff booking)Friday 25 September, 2pm to 3pmWikipedia editing: The basics (student booking)Wikipedia editing: The basics (staff booking)Monday 28 September, 2pm to 3pmIntroduction to Audacity: Audio recording and editing (student booking)Introduction to Audacity: Audio recording and editing (staff booking)Tuesday 29 September, 10am to 11:30amUsing PowerPoint to create an academic poster (student booking)Tuesday 29 September, 11:30am to 12:45pmIntroduction to data science (student booking)Introduction to data science (staff booking)Tuesday 29 September, 1:30pm to 3pmIntroduction to reference managers (student booking)Introduction to reference managers (staff booking)Wednesday 30 September, 9am to 10:30amExcel: Turning data into insights with Excel charts (student booking)Excel: Turning data into insights with Excel charts (staff booking)Wednesday 30 September, 10:30am to 11:15amInformation Security: Deep fakes (student booking)Information Security: Deep fakes (staff booking)Wednesday 30 September, 12:30pm to 1pmLibrary Bitesize: Reading lists: understanding your course resource list and accessing the sources (student and staff booking)Wednesday 30 September, 2pm to 4pmWikipedia: Women in Red - Publish your first article (student booking)Wikipedia: Women in Red - Publish your first article (staff booking)Wednesday 30 September, 3:10pm to 4pmHow to use the Library & How to reference and avoid plagiarism (student and staff booking)Thursday 1 October, 10am to 11amMicrosoft 365: Whiteboard for collaboration, planning and more (student booking)Microsoft 365: Whiteboard for collaboration, planning and more (staff booking)Thursday 1 October, 11:30am to 1pmMicrosoft 365: Getting started with Planner (student booking)Microsoft 365: Getting started with Planner (staff booking)Thursday 1 October, 1pm to 3pmProducing a thesis or dissertation using Word (student booking)Friday 2 October, 10am to 11amNVivo: Introduction to Cases and Classifications (student booking)NVivo: Introduction to Cases and Classifications (staff booking)Friday 2 October, 11:30am to 12:30pmMicrosoft 365: OneNote Online beyond the basics (student booking)Microsoft 365: OneNote Online beyond the basics (staff booking)Friday 2 October, 1pm to 2pmGenerative AI: Introduction to responsible use of Generative AI and ELM for students (student booking) Information Security and Digital Wellbeing Week (5 to 9 October) Strengthen your digital resilience by exploring critical topics ranging from hacker tactics and AI threats to mobile security and deep fakes. You can also learn practical strategies to protect your personal data and maintain a healthy balance through dedicated digital detox workshops. Date and timeCourse title and booking linksMonday 5 October, 10:30am to 11:15amInformation Security: How hackers attack (student booking)Information Security: How hackers attack (staff booking)Tuesday 6 October, 10:30am to 11:15amInformation Security: Hacking humans (student booking)Information Security: Hacking humans (staff booking)Tuesday 6 October, 12pm to 1pmDigital detox workshop (student booking)Tuesday 6 October, 2pm to 2:45pmDigital Life, Real Impact: Digital safety and citizenship essentials (student booking)Digital Life, Real Impact: Digital safety and citizenship essentials (staff booking)Wednesday 7 October, 10:30am to 11:15amInformation Security: Mobile phone security (student booking)Information Security: Mobile phone security (staff booking)Wednesday 7 October, 2:30pm to 3:15pmInformation Security: A.I. and cyber security (student booking)Information Security: A.I. and cyber security (staff booking)Thursday 8 October, 10:30am to 11:15amInformation Security: My neighbour hacked my toothbrush (student booking)Information Security: My neighbour hacked my toothbrush (staff booking)Thursday 8 October, 12pm to 1pmDigital detox workshop (staff booking)Friday 9 October, 10:30am to 11:15amInformation Security: Deep fakes (student booking)Information Security: Deep fakes (staff booking)Friday 9 October, 12pm to 1pmDigital detox workshop (student booking) Data and Programming Fortnight (12 to 23 October) Master the full data lifecycle through expert-led sessions on Excel, Python, machine learning, and the ethical implications of AI. Develop the technical expertise to analyse complex datasets responsibly while discovering sustainable practices for green data analytics. Date and timeCourse title and booking linksMonday 12 October, 12pm to 12:45pmExcel: Selected Excel functions (student booking)Excel: Selected Excel Functions (staff booking)Monday 12 October, 2pm to 2:45pmExcel: Further functions (student booking)Excel: Further functions (staff booking)Monday 12 October, 2pm to 3pmBig data: Logistics, storage and ethics (student booking)Big data: Logistics, storage and ethics (staff booking)Tuesday 13 October, 10am to 11amGenerative AI: Introduction to crafting effective prompts for ELM (staff booking)Tuesday 13 October, 3pm to 4pmGenerative AI: Advanced use cases of Generative AI & ELM (staff booking)Wednesday 14 October, 9:30am to 10:30amExcel: Introduction to Excel (student booking)Excel: Introduction to Excel (staff booking)Wednesday 14 October, 12:30pm to 1pmLibrary Bitesize: Library sources for chemistry data (student and staff booking)Wednesday 14 October, 2pm to 3pmGenerative AI: Introduction to responsible use of Generative AI and ELM for students (student booking)Wednesday 14 October, 2pm to 3pmWikidata and Wikibase: An introduction to linked open data (student booking)Wikidata and Wikibase: An introduction to linked open data (staff booking)Wednesday 14 October, 3pm to 4:30pmExcel: Turning data into insights with Excel charts (student booking)Excel: Turning data into insights with Excel charts (staff booking)Thursday 15 October, 11am to 12pmData and AI ethics (student booking)Data and AI ethics (staff booking)Friday 16 October, 10am to 11amGreen data analytics (student booking)Green data analytics (staff booking)Friday 16 October, 11am to 12:30pmGenerative AI: Introduction to responsible use of Generative AI and ELM (staff booking)Monday 19 October, 12pm to 12:45pmExcel: Selected Excel functions (student booking)Excel: Selected Excel Functions (staff booking)Monday 19 October, 2pm to 2:45pmExcel: Further functions (student booking)Excel: Further functions (staff booking)Monday 19 October, 2pm to 3pmGenerative AI: Advanced use cases of Generative AI & ELM (staff booking)Tuesday 20 October, 10am to 11amGenerative AI: Prompt engineering 101 for students (student booking)Tuesday 20 October, 2pm to 3pmMachine learning - the basics (student booking)Machine learning - the basics (staff booking)Tuesday 20 October, 3pm to 4pmGenerative AI: Introduction to responsible use of Generative AI and ELM for students (student booking)Wednesday 21 October, 10:30am to 11:15amInformation Security: Hacking humans (student booking)Information Security: Hacking humans (staff booking)Wednesday 21 October, 2pm to 3pmWikidata for research datasets (student booking)Wikidata for research datasets (staff booking)Wednesday 21 October, 2pm to 3:30pmPython for data science: Part 1 (student booking)Thursday 22 October, 10am to 11amGenerative AI: ELM for Programming - Part 1 (student booking)Thursday 22 October, 11am to 12pmData literacy for beginners (student booking)Data literacy for beginners (staff booking)Thursday 22 October, 2pm to 3:30pmPython for data science: Part 2 (student booking)Thursday 22 October, 3pm to 4:30pmGenerative AI: Introduction to responsible use of Generative AI and ELM (staff booking)Friday 23 October, 10am to 11:15amIntroduction to data science (student booking)Introduction to data science (staff booking) Library Dissertation and Thesis Festival (26 to 30 October) Our Academic Support Librarian colleagues are delivering a programme of events to help you succeed with your dissertation or thesis. We are supporting the Dissertation and Thesis Festival with a number of digital skills courses. Find the full programme on the Dissertation and Thesis Festival website, or browse our supporting digital skills courses below. Date and timeCourse title and booking linksMonday 26 October, 2pm to 3:30pmNVivo: Getting started with NVivo (student booking)NVivo: Getting started with NVivo (staff booking)Tuesday 27 October, 10am to 12pmProducing a thesis or dissertation using Word (student booking)Tuesday 27 October, 11:10am to 12:40pmAI-powered literature searching for your Dissertation or Thesis: Search smarter, use responsibly (student and staff booking)Tuesday 27 October, 2:10pm to 3:30pmStudy resources for literature reviews (student and staff booking)Wednesday 28 October, 9am to 9:50amManaging your references using Zotero (student and staff booking)Wednesday 28 October, 10am to 11:30amEndNote for managing references (student booking)EndNote for managing references (staff booking)Wednesday 28 October, 10:30am to 11:15amInformation Security: A.I. and cyber security (student booking)Information Security: A.I. and cyber security (staff booking)Wednesday 28 October, 2pm to 3pmWikisource & OCR: A new life for historic Edinburgh texts (student booking)Wikisource & OCR: A new life for historic Edinburgh texts (staff booking)Thursday 29 October, 10am to 11:30amIntroduction to LinkedIn Learning (student booking)Introduction to LinkedIn Learning (staff booking)Thursday 29 October, 10am to 11:30amUsing PowerPoint to create an academic poster (student booking)Thursday 29 October, 11:30am to 12:30pmNVivo: Introduction to Cases and Classifications (student booking)NVivo: Introduction to Cases and Classifications (staff booking)Thursday 29 October, 12:30pm to 1pmLibrary Bitesize: PICO and other question frameworks for structuring literature reviews (student and staff booking)Friday 30 October, 10am to 11:30amIntroduction to reference managers (student booking)Introduction to reference managers (staff booking)Friday 30 October, 12:30pm to 1pmLibrary Bitesize: Cited reference searching (student and staff booking) Media and Creativity Week (2 to 6 November) Unlock your creative potential by mastering tools for graphic design, audio editing, subtitling, and animated gif creation. You can gain hands-on experience with platforms like Canva, Audacity, and Media Hopper to produce engaging multimedia resources for both academic and professional projects. Date and timeCourse title and booking linksMonday 2 November, 3pm to 4:30pmCanva: An introduction for beginners (student booking)Canva: An introduction for beginners (staff booking)Tuesday 3 November, 10am to 11amSubtitling for media creators (student booking)Subtitling for media creators (staff booking)Tuesday 3 November, 11am to 12pmDigital detox workshop (student booking)Tuesday 3 November, 1pm to 2pmMicrosoft 365: Whiteboard for collaboration, planning and more (student booking)Microsoft 365: Whiteboard for collaboration, planning and more (staff booking)Tuesday 3 November, 3pm to 4:30pmOER: GIF it up - Introduction to GIF making (postgraduate student booking)OER: GIF it up - Introduction to GIF making (staff booking)Wednesday 4 November, 10am to 12pmSharePoint: Planning and designing a SharePoint site (staff booking)Wednesday 4 November, 1pm to 2pmDigital detox workshop (staff booking)Wednesday 4 November, 1:10pm to 1:40pmLibrary Bitesize: Navigating the digital page: Enhancing comprehension and retention of online information (student and staff booking)Wednesday 4 November, 2pm to 3pmWikidata in action: Visualising Scotland's hidden history (student booking)Wikidata in action: Visualising Scotland's hidden history (staff booking)Wednesday 4 November, 2pm to 3:15pmIntroduction to Audacity: Audio recording and editing (student booking)Introduction to Audacity: Audio recording and editing (staff booking)Thursday 5 November, 10am to 12pmTeaching workshop: Good practice with media (staff booking)Thursday 5 November, 11am to 12:30pmMedia Hopper Create: Introduction (student booking)Media Hopper Create: Introduction (staff booking)Thursday 5 November, 1pm to 3pmSharePoint: Groups and Permissions - introduction and best practices (staff booking)Friday 6 November, 10am to 11:45amBuilding your profile with LinkedIn (student booking)Building your profile with LinkedIn (staff booking)Friday 6 November, 1pm to 3pmSharePoint: Lists and document library management (staff booking) A.I. Week (9 to 13 November) Transform your academic workflow mastering generative AI tools for literature searching, prompt engineering, programming, and ethical research practices. You will learn to leverage ELM and other AI technologies responsibly to enhance your productivity while navigating the critical challenges of data ethics and machine learning. Date and timeCourse title and booking linksMonday 9 November, 12:10pm to 1pmAI-powered literature searching: Search smarter - Using AI to scope and run your literature search (student and staff booking)Monday 9 November, 2pm to 3pmGenerative AI: Prompt engineering 101 for students (student booking)Monday 9 November, 3pm to 4:30pmGenerative AI: Introduction to responsible use of Generative AI and ELM (staff booking)Tuesday 10 November, 9:30am to 11:30amGenerative AI: ELM prompt clinic - Bring a task, improve your prompts (Staff booking)Tuesday 10 November, 1pm to 2pmData and AI ethics (student booking)Data and AI ethics (staff booking)Tuesday 10 November, 2pm to 3pmWikipedia and AI: The future of free knowledge (student booking)Wikipedia and AI: The future of free knowledge (staff booking)Wednesday 11 November, 12:10pm to 1pmAI-powered literature searching: Trace further - Using AI tools and alerts to expand your literature search (student and staff booking)Wednesday 11 November, 3pm to 4pmGenerative AI: Advanced use cases of Generative AI & ELM (staff booking)Wednesday 11 November, 3pm to 4pmGenerative AI: ELM for Programming - Part 1 (student booking)Thursday 12 November, 10am to 11amGenerative AI: Introduction to crafting effective prompts for ELM (staff booking)Thursday 12 November, 11:30am to 12:30pmMachine learning - the basics (student booking)Machine learning - the basics (staff booking)Thursday 12 November, 3pm to 4pmGenerative AI: Introduction to responsible use of Generative AI and ELM for students (student booking)Friday 13 November, 12:10pm to 1pmAI-powered literature searching: Know the risks -The ethics of using AI in your academic work (student and staff booking) Digital Skills for Staff (16 to 20 November) Upgrade your professional toolkit by mastering advanced data analytics, collaborative Microsoft 365 features, and secure digital practices. Take the opportunity to gain the expertise to streamline workflows, manage complex research data, and responsibly integrate generative AI into your daily administrative and teaching tasks. Date and timeCourse title and booking linksMonday 16 November, 12pm to 12:45pmExcel: Selected Excel functions (student booking)Excel: Selected Excel functions (staff booking)Monday 16 November, 2pm to 2:45pmExcel: Further functions (student booking)Excel: Further functions (staff booking)Monday 16 November, 3pm to 5pmMicrosoft 365: Getting started with Planner (student booking)Microsoft 365: Getting started with Planner (staff booking)Tuesday 17 November, 10am to 11amBusinessObjects: Introduction to BusinessObjects (staff booking) Tuesday 17 November, 11am to 12pmIntroduction to Audacity: Audio recording and editing (student booking)Introduction to Audacity: Audio recording and editing (staff booking)Tuesday 17 November, 12pm to 1pmDeveloping your digital skills (staff booking)Tuesday 17 November, 1pm to 2pmGreen data analytics (student booking)Green data analytics (staff booking)Tuesday 17 November, 2pm to 3pmGenerative AI: Advanced use cases of Generative AI & ELM (staff booking)Tuesday 17 November, 2pm to 4pmSharePoint: Planning and designing a SharePoint site (staff booking)Wednesday 18 November, 10am to 11amMicrosoft 365: Working collaboratively with Word (student booking)Microsoft 365: Working collaboratively with Word (staff booking)Wednesday 18 November, 10:30am to 11:15amInformation Security: Deep fakes (student booking)Information Security: Deep fakes (staff booking)Wednesday 18 November, 11am to 11:45amDigital Life, Real Impact: Digital safety and citizenship essentials (student booking)Digital Life, Real Impact: Digital safety and citizenship essentials (staff booking)Wednesday 18 November, 11am to 1pmSharePoint: Lists and document library management (staff booking)Wednesday 18 November, 1:30pm to 3:30pmMedia Hopper Create: Introduction (student booking)Media Hopper Create: Introduction (staff booking)Wednesday 18 November, 2pm to 2:30pmLibrary Bitesize: Diverse library resources for staff (student and staff booking)Wednesday 18 November, 2pm to 3pmWikipedia: Teaching with Wikipedia (for staff) (Postgraduate research student booking)Wikipedia: Teaching with Wikipedia (for staff) (staff booking)Thursday 19 November, 10am to 12pmBusinessObjects: BusinessObjects advanced (staff booking)Thursday 19 November, 2pm to 3:15pmIntroduction to data science (student booking)Introduction to data science (staff booking)Friday 20 November, 10am to 11amSubtitling for media creators (student booking)Subtitling for media creators (staff booking)Friday 20 November, 11am to 11:45amMicrosoft Bitesize: Mastering your inbox with automated rules in Outlook on the web (student booking)Microsoft Bitesize: Mastering your inbox with automated rules in Outlook on the web (staff booking)Friday 20 November, 11am to 1pmSharePoint: Groups and Permissions - introduction and best practices (staff booking)Friday 20 November, 2pm to 3:30pmGenerative AI: Introduction to responsible use of Generative AI and ELM (staff booking) Learning Technology Week (23 to 27 November) Enhance your teaching practice by discovering how to leverage platforms like Media Hopper, LinkedIn Learning, and Wikipedia to engage students and transform traditional learning environments. You can explore Open Educational Resources, Creative Commons licensing, and copyright essentials to create inclusive and legally compliant course materials.Date and timeCourse title and booking linksTuesday 24 November, 12:30pm to 1pmOER: Copyright and Exceptions quick start: A short introduction to UK Copyright and Exceptions (postgraduate student booking)OER: Copyright and Exceptions quick start: A short introduction to UK Copyright and Exceptions (staff booking)Wednesday 25 November, 10am to 11:30amMedia Hopper Create: Introduction (student booking)Media Hopper Create: Introduction (staff booking)Wednesday 25 November, 12:30pm to 1pmOER: Creative Commons quick start: A short introduction to using Creative Commons licenses (student booking)OER: Creative Commons quick start: A short introduction to using Creative Commons licenses (staff booking)Wednesday 25 November, 2pm to 3pmWikipedia: Teaching with Wikipedia - Wikipedia as learning technology (staff booking)Thursday 26 November, 10am to 11:30amIntroduction to LinkedIn Learning (student booking)Introduction to LinkedIn Learning (staff booking)Thursday 26 November, 1pm to 2pmOER: How to find and use Creative Commons licensed Open Educational Resources (Postgraduate student booking)OER: How to find and use Creative Commons licensed Open Educational Resources (staff booking)Friday 27 November, 2pm to 3pmSubtitling for media creators (student booking)Subtitling for media creators (staff booking) Generative AI and ELM Training Courses Did you know we provide a wide range of training opportunities for staff and students looking to learn how to use Generative AI tools and the University's ELM service? If you're interested in finding out what's available, visit our dedicated Generative AI and ELM training webpage. Browse our collection of Generative AI and ELM training courses Programme and bookings You can see a full list of the Digital Skills Programme courses in our flyer:Digital Skills Programme flyer (SharePoint) Our student courses can be booked through the University’s Event Booking system: Digital Skills Programme courses for students (Event Booking) Most staff courses can be booked through the People & Money Learning app (note that a few staff courses are bookable via Event Booking – these are indicated in our flyer): Digital Skills Programme courses for staff (People & Money) For instructions on how to book onto a course, please see our People & Money course enrolment guide in written and video format:People & Money course enrolment guide (SharePoint) Propose a new course Can't find what you're looking for? If you would like to propose a new digital skills course, please complete our form:Propose a new course (Microsoft Forms) This article was published on Tuesday 8 October 2024
