The Qlik Education team have launched a brand new, globally recognised data literacy certification. This completely free examination is open to anyone who wants to showcase their data literacy skills in the modern workplace. Regardless of your industry or function, the certification can test both your hard and soft skills from understanding and interpreting data, to creativity and communication. You can read more about the new certification here: https://itbrief.com.au/story/the-data-literacy-project-and-qlik-launch-new-certification-for-data-literacy For students, this is a great way to make your CV stand out from the crowd in job applications! In addition to the data literacy certification, students and academics can also access further Qlik qualifications and learning resources all for free as part of the Qlik Academic Program. For more details and to sign visit qlik.com/academicprogram      ... View more

This year the Academic Program got the opportunity to present to Qlik customers and partners  about what the program provides and how its made an impact to one of our professors.  The presentation was hosted by Angelika Klidas, a professor from  Hogeschool van Amsterdam who is also a Qlik customer and a Qlik Luminary!  Angelika has been teaching her students about the importance of learning Data Literacy and how to use Qlik Sense as a means of visualizing data! Angelika brings a unique perspective to the program because she is also a Qlik customer who uses Qlik Sense at her company so she understands the importance of understanding data literacy and Qlik Sense.  In fact, Angelika said that teaching  students offers her a wonderful opportunity to select her top students for employment upon  graduation!  Since she began teaching she has hired 5 of her students to work for her. The presentation was a hit!   There were no empty seats and a line had formed after she was done for additional Q&A.  To learn more about how you can enhance your course with Data Literacy and Qlik Sense, visit    qlik.com/academicprogram.  To learn more about Angelika you can visit training the next generation of BI specialists   ... View more

As exam season comes to an end and with graduations on the horizon, you inevitably have to think about the months and years to come, and life beyond University. If you still don't have an action plan or a job lined up, then fear not! There is lots of advice out there for you to assess your options, including this particularly useful piece from LinkedIn on The Skills Companies Need Most in 2019. If you can master one or more on the list, you'll be landing yourself your first opportunity in no time! And the even better news? There are several of these skills that the free Qlik Academic Program can help with. Read on to find out more:  (Note: to access some of the links below, you must be a member of the Academic Program) Business Analysis - More and more companies are relying on Analysts to help inform their strategic decision making. The Qlik Sense Business Analyst Qualification will not only get you hands on with our industry leading analytics software, but it will also help you to showcase your newly found skills to future employers with a certificate and digital badge for your LinkedIn profile.  Data Science - For a solid foundation in the analytical aspects of data science, take a look at our free our free data literacy courses, which includes a data analytics certification.   Sales Leadership - Sales skills are always in demand, but having the ability to make decisions based on your sales data is the new hot topic. Our Business Analyst learning pathway is a great place for future sales leaders to start, and you can also find example sales visualisations on our demo site.  Analytical Reasoning - Our Data Analytics Curriculum is packed full of content to get you up to speed on the general theories and concepts in data analytics, including specific sessions on Critical and Analytical Thinking.  If you are currently a student and looking to build on any of the above skills, or an academic looking to integrate these topics into your courses, sign up to the Academic Program for free Qlik software and training resources: qlik.com/academicprogram ... View more

Last week an article by Qlik's very own CEO Mike Capone was published on Forbes.com. Mike discusses  the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is society’s transition from industrial-based to information-driven business. This is a direction that we have been heading in for a number of years, but more recently the velocity and volume of data that is being generated is surpassing the expectations of many.  This is leaving businesses faced with the question of how to take advantage of this mass of data to propel their organisations forward and to stay ahead of the competition.  Currently there is one key issue that is blocking businesses from using these enormous amounts of data to drive their success- the data skills gap. The WEF Future of Jobs  highlights the increase in technology jobs expected over the coming years across all sectors, but currently only 21% of 16-24 year olds deem themselves to be data literate.  Not everyone needs to become a data scientist, but they do need to be able to understand how to read, work with, analyse and argue with data in order to make informed business decisions. Without these skills, students will be under prepared for the expectations of the modern day world of work.  You can read Mike's full article here:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/05/03/data-skills-and-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/#6bc32352509d To bridge this skills gap, Qlik is committed to The Data Literacy Project and The Qlik Academic Program. The Academic Program is a free initiative to improve student data literacy and employability by providing University students and academics with free Qlik software and training resources. If you are a student or academic looking to get involved, you can join the program for free here: qlik.com/academicprogram.  ... View more

It’s becoming more and more obvious that analytics can be used in any business area and indeed any organisation to drive informed decision making and positive change. So it’s well worth getting to grips with software like Qlik as the demand for analytical skills continues to grow. But if you’re tired of looking at boring example data sets that don’t have much relevance to you, then read on. Here are a few ideas as to how you can use Qlik in your day to day life. Not only are these a great way to practice using the software, but you can also make some discoveries that might just make life a little bit sweeter! 1. Fitness- If you use any type of activity tracker you can get some deeper insights into your performance with Qlik. Whatever sport you’re into, or whatever fitness goal you have, you can dig into the detail you need to create your strategy to go for gold. Many trackers such as Fitbit have an API so that you can connect your data directly to your Qlik application. 2. Curating your collections - Do you have an embarrassingly large shoe or trainer collection? By creating some simple fields such as style, colour and occasion, with Qlik Sense you will easily be able to see what your best options are for each day, whatever your plans might be. And if you’re looking to cut back on your habit, this can be a handy point of reference when you’re in-store tempted to make your next purchase. 3. Personal Banking – This might not be the most exciting option but using your bank statement data to create Qlik visualisations can be a great way to really analyse your spending and to see where you can start saving a few extra pennies. One too many morning coffees or Friday night pints? You’ll soon discover it here.   4. Foodies – Whether it’s cheese, wine, burgers or beer, you could use Qlik to find out where your taste buds should lead you next. Take a look at this example Qlik Sense application on beer in America   which gives information on everything from production by brewery to prices. 5. Just for fun – If you’re obsessed with any TV show or movie series like Game of Thrones or the Marvel Universe, there is plenty of publicly available data that you can pull into Qlik to impress your friends with new facts and figures. Check out sites like Kaggle to get yourself started. If you are a student or academic who would like to get started on one of the above projects, make sure that you sign up for our Academic Program. Not only will you enjoy free Qlik software but you’ll also get access to a whole range of training resources to make you an expert in no time. Sign up here:  qlik.com/academicprogram ... View more

Last week we shared Qlik's involvement in Philadelphia's DataFest and this week we wanted to share more information regarding the winners of the weekend long challenge! The turnout for DataFest was impressive! DataFest brought in 15 teams consisting of 60 students from 11 local colleges and universities!   Winning categories included Best Insight, Best Visualizations, Best Use of External Data, Participants Choice, and Best Data Sleuthing!  Best Use Of External Data- Bucknell University Excellence In Data Sleuthing- Bucknell University Participants Choice Award- Temple University Runner Up- Best Insight- Franklin and Marshall College Best Data Visualization- Bucknell University Best Insight- Villanova University ... View more

Students from all over Pennsylvania gathered at Villanova University this past Friday to kick of the 2019 DataFest- Philadelphia. What is DataFest:   DataFest brings together the data science community and undergraduate students by putting together a weekend long hackathon!  Students from universities break up into groups and are all given the same data sets to analyze. Consultants ranging from statisticians to visualization and analytics experts are also there to help the students analyze and pull together their findings.  After two days of intense data wrangling, analysis, and presentation design, each team is allowed a few minutes and no more than two slides to impress a panel of judges. Prizes are given for Best in Show, Best Visualization, and Best Use of External Data.    The Qlik Academic Program was present and helped many of the students who decided use Qlik as their analysis and visualization tool!  Many of them took advantage of building easy Qlik Sense charts and they even used Qlik's storytelling function to deliver their presentations! Universities in attendance included Villanova, Penn State, Bucknell and many  more!   For access to software and resources, students and professors can join the program by visiting qlik.com/AcademicProgram Stay tuned for more pictures and winner information! ... View more

This week I was back in the classroom at Ravensbourne University London, introducing Qlik to first years studying for a BSc in Digital & Technology Solutions. But this wasn't the typical student audience. Mid-week lie-ins and late night partying isn't such a reality for this lot. This is a Higher Apprenticeship Degree course which means that the students are employed by a company and have a combined routine of work and study. On this particular course many of the apprentices are employed by BT, and they have a cycle of 4-6 weeks of full time work and then 1 week of full time study at University.  This new approach offers a valuable alternative to university, with the qualification to match. But apprentices will not be burdened with student debt, as their tuition fees are paid by the employer and the government. What's more, degree apprenticeships have proven that they can increase female participation in male dominated subjects  (34 per cent compared with 29 per cent in similar traditional degree courses.) So what's not to love!? Well it looks as though many schools and colleges still do not provide students with the same levels of information around degree apprenticeships as they do about the traditional university route. Also, family and friends can sometimes have a stigmatised view of apprenticeships which can heavily influence students decision making. So it seems like there is still a way to go to have degree apprenticeships seen in the same light as traditional university courses. Jassiem Moore, a Higher and Degree Apprenticeships Officer gives his opinion here: https://feweek.co.uk/2019/04/03/how-to-move-more-school-leavers-towards-degree-apprenticeships/ If you are a studying for a degree apprenticeship or lecturing on a degree apprenticeship course you can access the free Business Intelligence software and training resources offered by Qlik as part of our Academic Program: qlik.com/academicprogram ... View more

This week Qlik and WIT a Qlik Partner presented at Madonna University in Michigan.  The university hosted a panel session focused on analytics within different industries and WIT was there to represent Qlik as a leading visualization and analytics tool. Scott Smith, Analytics Practice Director at WIT joined the discussion and later presented to a group of undergraduates about Qlik in the classroom.  The Academic Program was in virtual attendance to enable the students on the programs free software, training, and Qlik Sense certificate! ... View more