Digital understanding, knowledge and competencies (DIGI)
Technology is transforming all industries, the way we conduct research and educate. We believe that the combination of specialized expertise and digital understanding will be crucial in the current and future job market. Decisions will increasingly be made based on knowledge produced by digital tools and methods.
By offering the DIGI course package to our students, staff, and the general public, the University of Bergen is committed to preparing them to take the lead in adopting society for the demands of the future.
Digitalization is changing the way we conduct research and educate, both in terms of methods, tools, and content. Simultaneously, Norwegian employers' demand for digital competencies is rapidly increasing, with half of NHO's members stating that they will need a workforce with more ICT competence in the coming years.
Algorithms and artificial intelligence are being increasingly used in decision-making processes across all industries. Understanding the methods behind these tools, as well as knowledge of data privacy and GDPR, are essential prerequisites for performing tasks in the most efficient way, regardless of the profession. Digital understanding, knowledge, and competence are equally important whether one is a student, university staff or simply a citizen in an increasingly digital world.
Therefore, the University of Bergen, as the first Norwegian institution, is offering eight dedicated courses to all our students and staff.
Drawing from the breadth of competencies in UiB's departments and faculties, the "Digital Understanding, Knowledge, and Competence" (DIGI) course package include topics related to data analysis, programming and algorithms, artificial intelligence, GDPR, digital security, democracy in a digital world, medical data science and language models.
The goal is for graduates to be able to comprehend the technology and methods behind the tools they will encounter in their future and current jobs. In this way, they will also be better equipped to assess margins of error in decisions and risks of bias and discrimination.
We cannot predict how the labor market and society will be in 20 or 30 years, but we can be sure that digital understanding, knowledge, and competence will be essential. With this offering, all UiB students will have the opportunity to acquire fundamental skills in this field.
For the University of Bergen, it is crucial that our education programs adapt to the new reality so that we can educate the workforce of the future. These courses offer 2.5 ECTS credits each and are scheduled in the afternoon to ensure that all students can participate regardless of their weekly schedules. The digital skills offered through this course package are meant to complement the education students receive in their respective programs.
The current DIGI portfolio includes:
DIGI110 Fantastic Data | DIGI111 Algorithms and programming | DIGI112 ICT-security | DIGI113 GDPR and Privacy | DIGI114 Artificial Intelligence | DIGI115 Data and Democracy | DIGI116 Medical Data Science | DIGI117 Natural language processing
And the 0 ECTS introduction courses DIGI100 Digital student - Online course in digital tools, methods and technology to enhance learning and DIGI101 Digital Source Criticism.
