Futures and Analytics Research (FAR) Hub

Crawford, Megan; Smith, Matthew

Abstract

Our team would like to present our recent development of an inclusive online learning centre for students and faculty, as a call to action, post-pandemic. The FAR Hub is an online resource for teaching, skill building, and knowledge exchange, with a primary focus on advancing undergraduate digital literacy. Digital poverty is a major concern across the UK and requires more proactive efforts to reduce the gap. Data science and digital literacy are rapidly becoming necessary and invaluable practices in all sectors, particularly in supporting Sustainable Development Goals and advancing equality and diversity in STEM. By integrating data analytics into The Business School (TBS) curriculum, students not only gain new skill sets, but as graduates have a strategic advantage in their future careers. The FAR Hub is designed with four main portals for development: courses, practical, workshops, resource centres. What makes the FAR Hub unique is that i) it is the first of its kind within TBS, ii) is integrated explicitly to ensure all students have the same opportunity to advance in digital literacy and data analytics, and iii) uses underrepresented real-world data to aid curriculum. The FAR Hub collaborates with private, public, and third sector organisations through data partnerships. Organisations that represent or support historically underrepresented populations provide access to their anonymised data and in return the FAR Hub uses their data as real-world studies for students to advance their skills in data analytics. The results are a student body highly educated in not just digital literacy, but the operational and social realities of underrepresented populations, and organisations receive analytic support that can be applied to policy advocacy and strategy development.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: OR63 Online: Creating a better future
• Start Date: Sep 14, 2021
• End Date: Sep 16, 2021
• Deposit Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Keywords: data science, teaching, skill building, knowledge exchange, pedagogy, STEM