We are looking for volunteers to write and vet new SOLAR assessments for the following units within the PDA Data Science: It is paid work. If you are interested or have any queries, please get in touch with me.
The PDA Data Science development at SCQF levels 7, 8 and 9 is well underway and validation will take place at the end of the month. We are now in a position to share more details with you regarding this development, such as the aims, frameworks and units. We would be interested in your views, which you can provide through the consultation form below: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=2LTEKxW0bE-LuCwphdcXHznh9ZB__vhLoPF9ACVVFIxUMzVXSEZVMkpMTUVUMDJGT0xVNVFaMlRGNSQlQCN0PWcu You will be able to access a ‘Qualification summary’ document once you are in the…
I made my first visit to CodeClan yesterday. CodeClan has recently became an SQA centre and is offering the new PDA in Software Development to its students. It’s the first centre of this type in the world (there are similar ones in cities across the world) to offer a national qualifications to learners. I was asked along to participate in a press day and also to provide advice about assessment. I was impressed with the facilities and the dedication of…
The subject page for the Professional Development Award in Software Development (SCQF Levels 7, 8 and 9) was made live this morning. You can find out more about this new qualification on that page, such as its structure and how it is assessed. There is also a link to the Group Award Specification. I’m pleased about how this suite of qualifications has turned out. They have a simple structure, they’re short (240 hours), sharply focussed (on coding), and flexible (you can…
The Units within the recently validated PDA in Software Development have now been published on the SQA website. There are nine new Units in total. These are: Software Development: Analysis & Design (SCQF Level 7) Software Development: Analysis & Design (SCQF Level 8) Software Development: Analysis & Design (SCQF Level 9) Software Development: Implementation & Testing (SCQF Level 7) Software Development: Implementation & Testing (SCQF Level 8) Software Development: Implementation & Testing (SCQF Level 9) Software Development: Project (SCQF Level…
I am delighted to announce that the PDA in Software Development has now been validated. I got the good news today. The validation took place in December and resulted in a few conditions for the QDT to address, the main one of which was to validate all of the component Units. All of the conditions have now been addressed. This development commenced in June, so today’s news brings to an end a project that has taken six months and produced three new qualifications: GL15…
One of the conditions arising from the recent validation event for the new PDA in Software Development was to finalise the component Units. We’ve been working on them since then and they’re almost ready for publishing. The PDA (at each level) consists of three, double credit, Units in Analysis & Design, Implementation & Testing, and a Project unit. SQA units are written by practitioners, checked by vetters, and validated by SQA officers so they go through a rigorous quality assurance…
The validation event for the new PDA in Software Development took place yesterday in the SQA offices in Glasgow. The validation panel consisted of representatives of colleges, universities, employers and SQA. The purpose of a validation event is for a group of independent experts to scrutinise a new (or revised) qualification. I’m pleased to report that the panel liked the proposed award, describing it as “needed” and “very good”. Some improvements were suggested (but none that related to the structure or…
I recently posted about the forthcoming validation of this new suite of awards. It will take place on Tuesday, 15 December in the SQA offices in Glasgow. A strong panel has been selected to scrutinise the awards. The development was announced in June but, due to the academic calendar, didn’t commence until late August. So, it’s been a speedy development. But, I think, it’s been thorough. Almost 100 representatives participated in the research (including 28 employers) and the results are…
The training for unit writers involved in the new PDA in Software Development took place on Friday in Glasgow. We’re developing nine new HN Units in total: Software Development: Analysis & Design, Software Development: Implementation & Testing, and Software Development: Project. Each Unit is a double credit Unit and is repeated in each of the three levels (SCQF Levels 7, 8 and 9). The team is a mix of the very experienced, the less experienced and the new. It was…
The Qualification Development Team (QDT) for the PDA in Software Development met for the second time this morning. I announced the development in June and the first meeting of the QDT took place in August. The purpose of the meeting was to review progress. We’ve done a lot in a short time. A QDT has been formed, a Lead Developer selected, the aims of the award have been decided, a structure agreed, and the entry requirements have been discussed. The…
I’ve previously announced the development of a new PDA in Software Development. The Qualification Development Team (QDT) met for the first time this morning in the Glasgow office. It’s a good team, consisting of representatives schools, colleges, universities, professional bodies and employers, with a wealth of knowledge and experience in this field. The meeting covered the role of the QDT, the qualification development process, and tasks and timescales. We had a particularly good conversation about what should be in the…
You might have seen the media reports over the weekend about a new Digital Skills Academy (DSA) for Scotland. We’re delighted to be part of the exciting development. We will be working with the Academy to produce the qualifications that learners will gain during the intensive 16 week programme. There are similar academies all over the world, including Paris and New York. The first one in Scotland will be based in Edinburgh. Scotland’s Academy will be one of the few in the…
I’m pleased to announce that we will be developing a suite of awards in software development. These new qualifications will be Professional Development Awards (PDAs) at SCQF Levels 7, 8 and 9. The working title of the qualifications will be: PDA in Software Development at SCQF Levels 7, 8 and 9. The business case was recently approved so I am now in a position to begin this development. The qualifications will focus on programming skills to address the skills shortage…
The web log of the qualification team for Computing within SQA. Look out for news about Computing qualifications and related information.
