Digital transformation programme launched for Scottish professionals 

A digital transformation programme has been launched by a Scottish university to help professionals embrace tech innovation in the workplace.

The University of Strathclyde’s portfolio of six courses will be delivered via its live virtual platform and will explore a range of topics including digital technologies and digital marketing strategies.

It comes after the Covid-19 pandemic forced organisations to rethink their business models and switch their services to online.

The Strathclyde Business School programme promises to “develop your career to the next level and become fluent in the knowledge and skills needed to better leverage digital in your organisations and lead your way through a digital transformation.”

Professor Kevin Page, director of Centre for Digital Transformation at Strathclyde Business School, said: “Digital transformation is high on the agenda of every organisation, for many it is their top priority. The pandemic has accelerated digital investment and changed expectations of what’s possible. However, we know that leaders remain concerned about their organisation’s ability to compete and thrive in this new digital world.

“Whether you’re in an SME or part of a large corporate organisation, our latest programme will help you to navigate and understand what digital transformation is all about and how you can make digital innovation work for your business.”

According to the university, some 300 leaders have already completed the first stage of the programme, which started in March, and have “endorsed its practical and thought-provoking style”.

Each module will be scheduled over a six-week period and completion offers a certified programme of CPD – continuing professional development – study in the chosen subject area.

Successful applicants can select just a single certificated course, combine any three to achieve a postgraduate certificate, or complete all of them to qualify for the award of a postgraduate diploma.

And in January 2022 the business school will launch a “groundbreaking” global Masters in digital transformation with best practices and live case studies from seven international centres linked together in its “global classroom”.

The new series of courses comes at a time when 70 per cent of Scots employers are currently experiencing a shortage in digital skills.

Three-quarters of Scottish businesses say this is already affecting productivity, and the same proportion expect the lack of skills to impact on their organisation’s agility and adaptability in the future.

This is a problem on a global scale, with only 13 per cent of leaders believing their organisations are ready to compete and thrive in the digital economy.

Strathclyde’s programme has been designed to fit around students’ work schedules, with the live sessions to be held during evenings and weekends.

A range of learning approaches will be used in the delivery of the courses, including in-class discussion during webinars, group working and practitioner guest lectures.

Directed reading and personal research will be encouraged to help students “engage with the very latest developments in this rapidly evolving field”.

The six modules are:

• Managing digital transformation
• Digital marketing strategy
• Customer engagement in a digital world
• Mastering digital technologies
• Leading digital – innovation, culture and delivery
• Designing digital strategies for business transformation

Students on the managing digital transformation course will learn to identify, appraise and prioritise strategic digital transformation initiatives for an organisation and be fully immersed in the terminology, possibilities and strategic rationale of possible responses to digital transformation.

Those on the digital marketing strategy course will learn to “develop and execute digital marketing strategies for startups, scale-ups, and large organisations”, while students on the customer engagement in a digital world course will “master new ways of engaging customers across all the digital touchpoints”.

To learn more about the digital transformation programme and other Masters offered by Strathclyde Business School, click here to register for its online evening information session on Thursday 29 July.