Every year, the University of Stirling invites students to take part in the Jisc Digital Experience Insights Survey – a national initiative designed to understand how you use technology in your studies, how it supports your learning, and what digital skills you’re developing along the way.
This post will concentrate on the feedback we received about Digital Skills, and how we have been asked to pull together Digital Skills training for all students and staff into one place.
In the summer we launched our re-worked Digital Skills Hub is designed to help staff and students assess and grow their digital skills in a structured and personalised way.
What’s inside the Hub?
At the heart of the hub is the Jisc Discovery Tool, which allows users to reflect on their current digital skill levels. After completing the tool, each user receives a personalised report with tailored recommendations for training and development. This includes links to curated materials aligned with the seven capabilities outlined in the Digital Skills Framework:
- Digital proficiency and productivity
- Digital creation, problem solving and innovation
- Digital learning and Development
- Information, data and media literacies
- Digital communication, collaboration and participation
- Digital identity and wellbeing
- Digital Security
Whether you’re looking to improve your online collaboration, enhance your digital teaching methods, or explore new tools for research, the hub provides a clear pathway to help you grow. This is also a really important tool to make sure that as a student you have the correct set of digital skills for academic success and future employment.
Digital skills in AI & generative AI
Jisc have also made available a question set around digital skills in AI & Generative AI which covers the use of AI in every element within the Digital Skills Framework. You can take this survey from within our Digital Skills Hub
Collaboration across campus
This initiative has been a collaborative effort. We’ve worked closely with colleagues across departments—including the Information Services, Institute for Advanced Studies, and Student Learning Services —to ensure the hub reflects the diverse needs of our university community. In the hub we’ve also included links to digital skills training offered outside of Information Services, from providers such as LinkedInLearning so you can explore a broader range of opportunities.
Your personalised report from the discovery tool has links to in-place training materials that have been identified as areas that could be improved.
Supporting student success
The hub complements other digital initiatives on campus, such as the updated Stirling Essentials Workshops which were highlighted during the Student welcome: staff information session, and publicised to new students in the Online orientation sessions. These efforts aim to ensure students are well-prepared for academic life and confident in navigating university systems and services.
Or the Researcher Development Hub, which will allow access to developmental opportunities and support the ongoing needs of the diverse University of Stirling Researcher Community.
We want to do the very best we can for our students during their time studying with us, but also we want them to develop a strong digital skillset to make them more attractive to potential employers and give them the digital skills to prosper in their lives.