Inclusive. Diverse. Accessible. For Coventry University, these words mean more than ensuring a talented pipeline of future leaders; they motivate the institution to grant every student an equal opportunity.
Take Your Students’ Union, for example. With nearly 100 clubs and societies, it supports a wide range of interests, passions, and hobbies. The TableTop Society houses tabletop enthusiasts familiar with games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer, and Magic: The Gathering. The LGBTQIA+ Society aims to provide a safe space for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and other gender, sexual, and romantic minorities across campus.
Some even make students from all around the globe feel as if they’re home. The African Caribbean Society brings together both home and international students to promote, celebrate, and provide education on African and Caribbean culture. The Bhangra Society is a friendly and welcoming society dedicated to promoting Asian culture to the current generation of young people through music and dance.
The School of Computing, Mathematics and Data Science welcomes students from all walks of life to join its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes that cover an incredible breadth of computational disciplines. Dr Faye Mitchell, who heads the school, is confident in its approach to help aspiring professionals from various backgrounds succeed at university and beyond.
“The School of Computing, Mathematics and Data Science at Coventry University is a large school with a wide range of staff who are dedicated to supporting students and helping them achieve their best,” she shares. Pair that with the fact that real-world problems drive teaching and learning at the school, and students are ready to make a difference in the world.
Juliana Negrini de Araujo (Class of 2019) is one former student who felt the support from passionate faculty when studying for an MSc in Data Science and Computational Intelligence. As a mechanical engineering graduate, Araujo was initially hesitant to start the programme, which mainly focused on the ins and outs of data analytics, machine learning, and neural networks.
“However, the professors and staff provided all the support and guidance I needed to succeed in the modules,” shares the graduate. “I feel much more confident to continue my career in this area since the top required skills were covered in the programme. An online data science course could not have provided the same level of personal experience and quality.”
On top of this, technology helps to bridge the gap between various learning styles. Coventry University is the first institution of its size to use Aula, a mobile-first, interactive and engaging teaching and learning environment. Another is Inspera, an online assessment platform. “[It] allows us to produce authentic assessments that more closely model the tasks you do in the industry than is possible with traditional exam-based assessments,” Mitchell shares.
That’s not all. The university also uses industry-standard software and technology such as SAP, GitHub, Cisco, Xamarin, and PyCharm so that students learn with the same tools used in modern businesses. The university’s modern physical resources include the holodeck (a virtual reality studio), a dedicated cyber security range, specialist high-performance computer labs and open-access PCs.
It’s an environment that caters to a wide range of learners, including mature students such as Sahil Mathur (Class of 2023), who worked for two years after completing his undergraduate degree. Having developed a strong interest in data, he sought to pursue his master’s degree in data science. “On joining the course at Coventry University, I was relieved to know that this course was not a traditional textbook taught course but encouraged the students to do research about new topics and then come up with the solutions to a problem,” Mathur shares.
Likewise, Jamie Gunner (MSc in Cyber Security, Class of 2024) was impressed by how far his professors were willing to go to make lectures enjoyable. In his forensic module, he participated in a digital investigation — a competitive group work — that nurtured his passion for the subject and motivated him to start a career in this field. “When someone does not understand, they will help make sure they understand and don’t make them feel like they stand out which makes me feel respected,” says Gunner.
All in all, Coventry University elevates the learning experience for all students regardless of their background, gender, or orientation. Each of them will have an equal chance to make contributions in the real world and be equipped with the skills and knowledge employers value.
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