UTC Swindon is boosting its digital curriculum with courses, facilities and partners that will give students an advantage in digital and cybersecurity careers.
UTC Swindon announced that its digital curriculum is expanding with courses, facilities and partners that will give students a unique advantage in digital and cybersecurity careers. Four new courses will be available in September to support its Digital Technologies Specialism, launched earlier this year. The UTC will also introduce new facilities including the Fujitsu Innovation Hub which will be officially opened on 27th June, and launch the Cyber Security award. Since it opened its doors in 2014, UTC Swindon has specialised in engineering taught alongside the national curriculum. Computing and programming have always been part of the core syllabus but now UTC Swindon has expanded the courses, facilities and partners it offers to cover all aspects of digital technologies and cybersecurity.
The new courses
The BTEC Tech Award in Digital Information Technology enables Year 10 students to explore the digital technology sector while developing technical skills and techniques and planning a digital solution for a digital problem. The course also helps students develop an understanding of cyber security and the importance of legal and ethical considerations when using modern technologies.
The three other courses will be available for Year 12 students. The BTEC Level 3 National Certificate /Extended Certificate in Information Technology is an Applied General qualification equivalent to up to two A Levels and designed for learners who are interested in an introduction to creating IT systems to manage and share information, with a view to progressing to a wide range of higher education courses/apprenticeships.
The Foundation Technical Level Award in Cyber Security is a technical qualification aimed at 16 to 18-year-old learners who are seeking to develop skills and access a range of cyber security roles in a variety of employer settings.
Finally, the A Level Computer Science is aimed at students who are excited about learning how to code and how computers work, offering a range of dynamic practical skills, an emphasis on coding using C#, theoretical knowledge of programming, data structures, algorithms and computation.
As part of its digital curriculum expansion, UTC Swindon will introduce the Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) certification. The certification is positioned to become the premier credential for individuals seeking to explore and pursue a career using Microsoft technology, or to augment related pursuits such as business or other fields where technology is needed.
Students will have the opportunity to boost their employability skills and take advantage of the employer talent pipeline that has been set up to support potential recruitment across a range of different sectors with partner organisations such as BMW, Fujitsu and Nationwide.
The new facilities
The expansion doesn’t stop here. A new Education Innovation Hub will open on 27th June 2018 at UTC Swindon, under the Fujitsu Education Ambassador Programme, supported by Intel, Brocade and Kyocera. The hub follows the announcement at Bett 2016 of the growth of the Ambassador Programme and UTC Swindon is the latest educational institution to open its Innovation Hub in the second phase of the programme.
The Ambassador Programme is a national engagement initiative led by the four global IT leaders that aims to highlight the use of computing power to underpin knowledge in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects and drive forward innovation and digital skills development at UTC Swindon as well as in its wider community.
The Innovation Hub will form the central piece of an ongoing partnership between UTC Swindon, Fujitsu, Intel, Brocade and Kyocera. The hub will be equipped with a range of the latest computing technology and will be used to promote the use of technology and development of digital skills.
The Cyber Security Award
To meet the growing need for cybersecurity professionals to combat international cybercrime, UTC Swindon has joined forces with other cyber UTCs across the country to form the UTC CYBER GROUP, which will officially launch in September 2018. Each student who is accepted onto the prestigious Cyber Pipeline Programme will receive meaningful work experience in the field, mentoring, soft skills training, and technical skills training from some of the biggest companies in the world. UTC Swindon’s cyber teachers will be trained by specialists, so that they can support students and facilitate learning. Students will also have access to a cyber skills training platform, which will rank UTC Swindon against the other cyber UTCs, and universities in the UK and abroad.
UTC Swindon believes that it is its mission to deliver more talented youngsters into degree apprenticeships and specialist degree programmes at university to build a sustainable national capability. Jon Oliver, Principal at UTC Swindon comments:
“We are looking for highly talented young students to make Swindon a town to be reckoned with! It goes without saying that we expect our students to hit grades, but we expect them to also push themselves to become highly knowledgeable, highly skilled, and ultimately, highly employable. We are actively recruiting students who are curious, thirsty for knowledge, motivated to learn. Our broad digital curriculum and the exciting new facilities, including the Fujitsu Innovation Hub, put us at the forefront of specialist technology education in the UK, offering Swindon students an education that few other areas in the country can provide.”
Prospective students and their parents are invited to find more about UTC Swindon’s digital curriculum and be inspired about their future careers at the Open -Event on Saturday 30th June from 10am to 1pm. Visitors will have the opportunity to tour the UTC’s outstanding facilities with current students and hear about the distinctive, workplace-style environment of the UTC and the way the school prepares its students to pursue exciting careers.
