All University Information Services - Staff Learning & Development courses

This online workshop is tailored for line managers and aspiring managers, to empower them to unlock their full potential and enhance both individual and team performance. Through participation, you'll elevate team dynamics, nurture individual growth, and foster a culture of collaboration and accountability.

You will be introduced to the techniques of coaching and focus on the development of a range of skills that may be used to coach others effectively.

This course is highly interactive and will include the opportunity to practice your coaching skills in a safe space.

We are providing four workshops to learn new skills or refresh existing ones, with the Content Community.

During this session learn how to create accessible content for your users and avoid accessibility common errors.

Led by content designer Chris Watson and content design team lead Joanne Back from UIS.

See related courses below.

During this session, find out about accessibility best practices for content on social media.

Content on all the University's channels needs to be accessible, whether it's on a website, social media or paper.

Our speaker this month, SJ Ng, is part of the team that manages the University's central social media accounts. She'll talk about best practices to follow so that your content is accessible to as wide an audience as possible. The formats covered will include images, videos and audio.

There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.

We are providing four workshops to learn new skills or refresh existing ones, with the Content Community this month. You'll also put knowledge into practice with interactive examples.

During this session discover how to get the most out of Google Analytics and how you can use the data to make your content even better.

Led by content designers Lucy Moore and Lauren Parnell from University Information Services (UIS).

See related courses below.

With enough initialisms to drown in, the data privacy and protection legislation that affects our apps, online services and websites can seem impenetrable. So how do we demonstrate that we understand our users' concerns, comply with regulations and strike the balance between business and user needs?

In this session, we'll provide a refresher on cookie consent and data privacy compliance on web channels. We will review the current www.cam.ac.uk cookie and privacy setup. We will also explore when you might need to adopt local versions.

During this session find out what competitor analysis is, how you can do it, and what the benefits are.

Competitor analysis is a technique you can use to research your competitors' strengths and weaknesses. It's a useful way to get ideas for improving your content. You can also use competitor analysis to find gaps in your existing content.

Are you comfortable writing and editing content? Do you feel ready to make your content more accessible for people with disabilities and improve the overall user experience for everyone?

If you are, we'd like to invite you to join us for this month's content accessibility workshop.

Together we'll work through a piece of your own content, from your website or intranet, to make it more accessible wherever we can. We'll use a handy checklist to help us, which includes:

• heading styles
• text styles
• colours and contrast
• alternative text for images
• captions and transcripts
• internal and external links
• file links and downloads

Please note:

Workshop places are limited. Only book a space if you're sure that you can attend. If you do need to cancel, please cancel 48 hours in advance so that someone else can attend.

We are providing four workshops to learn new skills or refresh existing ones, with the Content Community.

During this session discover the most important process for improving and maintaining your site: the content audit.

Led by Lauren Parnell, content designer in UIS communications team.

See related courses below.

During the summer the UIS content design team worked with the team in the Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre to refresh their website.

During this session find out how we reduced, reorganised and rewrote the website to create a new user experience.

We’ll tell you about the tricky aspects of the project, the successes and the things we’d do differently next time.

And of course we’ll answer your questions on how you can use these approaches too.

This session took place on 21 March. Attendees heard about our new training programme for Content Editors - Optimise your content.

This training programme will:

• get your site ready to move to the new Drupal content management system
• help you improve your web content
• embed content standards and introduce consistency
• reduce website maintenance for your team or department
• provide a better user experience

By signing up for the programme, you’ll get access to:

• 6 live, online sessions where we'll explain the tasks to do, give examples, and answer questions
• personalised information and data for your website
• templates and step-by-step instructions
• support from content designers and peers
• a dedicated Teams channel and drop-in sessions as you work through the tasks

Find out more and view the session recording on the Content Community SharePoint site.

For this session, we'll look at card sorting.

Card sorting is an established method that can help you find out how different people interpret and categorise information. You can use card sorting results to improve the way content is organised and labelled on your website.

Whether you're planning a new site in Sharepoint or want to improve an existing Drupal site, card sorting can help you.

Join us for this month's session to:

• get information about card sorting and how it works
• learn how to plan and run card sorting sessions
• be inspired by case studies
• have a go at card sorting by taking part in our card sorting exercise

For this session, we'll look at top tasks.

Top tasks are the things that matter most to your users. There are usually around 5 to 10 main ones. Once you identify them, you'll be able to create content that gives users what they need.

By the end of the session, you'll:

• understand what top tasks are
• be able to find your site's top tasks
• have some case studies and resources that you can read in your own time

We are providing four workshops to learn new skills or refresh existing ones, with the Content Community this month. You'll also put knowledge into practice with interactive examples.

During this session find out what Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is, why it is important and how you can use it to make your content more visible in search engines.

Led by content designers Lana Bozovic and Chris Watson from UIS.

See related courses below.

This session is a whistle-stop tour of common areas of Google Analytics 4, and the scenarios its data can help you analyse.

This session is suitable for complete beginners and those wanting to learn the basics of Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Universal Analytics has been replaced by GA4 and uses a whole new interface, those still using UA will need to switch over to GA4.

We will introduce you to Google Analytics 4 and how to set it up. We will look at what metrics are tracked for your website and how that is different to old Universal Analytics. We will explore how to use that data when optimising your website.

In the second half of the session, we will go through how to get Google Analytics 4 running on your website. This will include, creating a Google Analytics 4 property, sending in the request, and adding additional users.

Join us at the next Content Community event to get a checklist of regular website maintenance jobs that content editors can do. We will go through how to do the tasks and how they contribute to good user experience. Examples include how to find and address broken links, establishing a content review schedule, and things you should test regularly.

We are providing four workshops to learn new skills or refresh existing ones, with the Content Community this month. You'll also put knowledge into practice with interactive examples.

During this session learn how to create accessible content for your users and avoid accessibility common errors.

Led by content design team lead Joanne Back from UIS.

See related courses below.

Accessible content is easy to find, understand and interact with, regardless of the user's ability or the device they are using.

One common misconception is that web accessibility only helps people who have a permanent disability. Though 1 in 5 of us in the UK have a disability, all of us experience temporary and situational disabilities during our lifetime. This session builds on existing accessibility guidance from the content community.

This content community event will also cover:

• Updates about new WCAG 2.2 accessibility standards
• Common content accessibility issues in Drupal, SharePoint and Shorthand, and how to fix them
• Tools and tips for creating accessible web pages, videos, documents, social media posts and more

The session is for everyone interested in creating content.

A recording of this event will be available on the Content Community SharePoint site for anyone who cannot attend.

Metadata is a fundamental component behind search and reporting functionalities. This event will introduce the concept of metadata, provide examples of common types of metadata, and how metadata will help your intranet site function well.

Rob Ireland, SharePoint Developer, will host a show and tell to show how the new intranet will use metadata. There will also be other members of the Digital Presence Programme team available to answer questions.

Topics

• Introduction to metadata
• Functional examples of metadata
• Review how metadata will help your intranet function well

If you are already aware of these concepts and what they are used for, you may find the related event more useful: Metadata event for staff with a technical and data management background

A recording of this event will be available on the Content Community SharePoint site for anyone who cannot attend.

Join the Optimise your content training programme for website editors and owners.

This training programme will:

• get your site ready to move to the new Drupal content management system
• help you improve your web content
• embed content standards and introduce consistency
• reduce website maintenance for your team or department
• provide a better user experience

By signing up for the programme, you get access to:

• 6 live, online sessions where we'll explain the tasks to do, give examples, and answer questions
• personalised information and data for your website
• templates and step-by-step instructions
• support from content designers and peers
• a dedicated Teams channel and drop-in sessions as you work through the tasks

Sign up

To sign up, complete our form on Typeform

Once you've submitted the form, we'll book you onto the course here on training.cam.ac.uk. You'll receive an automated confirmation email when we've done that.

Find out how to research the way users talk about your topic and use your findings to optimise your content for search

Adding the sorts of words that your users understand and search for to your content makes it quicker and easier to use. This research can also help you select keywords, which you can put in the right places for search engines to make it easier to find.

We'll show you some ways to research how your users talk about your topic, and how to make a keyword map of your pages to avoid them competing with each other. We'll make the template available for you to use in your own work.

Topics

• Analysing enquiries to improve your web content
• Alternative sources to look at if you don't have access to enquiries
• Creating a keyword map for your website

We'll also provide a quick look at the forthcoming new style guide.

February's event will introduce you to the 2i checklist and explain how to use it. After introducing you to the checklist, we'll have a go at applying the checklist to a piece of writing.

This event has 25 spaces so that we can support the small-group exercise. There's a waiting list so that any cancellations go to someone else. We'll run a second session if there are five or more people on the waiting list. For the exercise, you're welcome to bring your own piece of content to look at in your group. There will also be an example to work on for those who do not have something they can share.

We'll record the main part of the event about the checklist for anyone unable to attend. The recording and event resources will be available on the Digital Presence Programme's SharePoint site as soon as possible after the event.

This event will introduce you to the 2i checklist and explain how to use it. After introducing you to the checklist, we'll have a go at applying the checklist to a piece of writing.

This event has 30 spaces so that we can support the small-group exercise and has been offered first to those who were on the waiting list for the first edition held on Monday 28 February. For the workshop activity in breakout rooms, we will be using a Miro board and reviewing a webpage (we have two examples to choose from). You can access both in your browser, and we suggest using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a smartphone to make switching between windows easier.

The event resources will be available on the Digital Presence Programme's SharePoint site as soon as possible after the event.

The Content Community is providing four workshops on Monday 31 July to learn new skills or refresh existing ones.

During this session find out how you can improve your users' experience by making it easier to find the things they want most.

Led by content designers Lana Bozovic and Lizzie Bruce from UIS.

See related courses below.

We all know that it can be impossible to understand data just by looking at a slew of numbers and stats. For data to be truly helpful, it needs to be presented in a logical, easy-to-understand way. This is where data visualisation comes in. It's the process of turning data into a compelling visual story through the use of graphics, like charts and graphs.

This content community event will cover:

• how to use data visualisation effectively in your content
• how to make your data visualisations accessible
• data, design and content tips for success

The session is for everyone interested in using data visualisation effectively.

A recording of this event will be available on the Content Community SharePoint site for anyone who cannot attend.

Most websites get the majority of their traffic from search engines. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is one key step to improving your content. This is where you consider how easy it is for users to find your website, what they are looking for when they do and try to make it easier for them.

During this event, we will introduce you to Google Search Console and how to gain access to it. We will look at what Google knows about your website, and what people are looking for on Google Search when they find your website. Finally, we’ll explore how to use that data when optimising a page on your website.

This content community event will also cover:

• how to access Google Search Console (and get verified)
• Google Search data you can see and what it means
• using Google Search Console to help you with SEO

The session is for everyone interested in using Google Search Console effectively.

A recording of this event will be available on the Content Community SharePoint site for anyone who cannot attend.

We can all write well. It’s our job! But how can we make our content more user centred? User-centred content helps our users and ultimately helps us.

Come to this session to:

• understand how cognitive burden affects comprehension
• use some of the methods and tools that we’ve been demonstrating over the past year
• get help and feedback from your Content Community colleagues

For this session you need to bring:

• a piece of content from your website or intranet
• any thoughts, feedback or queries you’ve had about the content
• your goals for the content. For example, you might want to:
  • improve readability
  • check that it’s accessible
  • re-organise the structure
  • test understanding of a complex subject

We all use search engines to look for information, whether it's to buy a second-hand sofa, or check when to repot the begonia.

If your content isn't optimised, people won't be able to find it easily through online search. Good SEO will help more people find your content more easily.

Come to this workshop to:

• Get a quick recap on best SEO practices.
• Try some of the SEO methods and tools that we’ve been demonstrating over the past year.
• Get help and feedback from your Content Community colleagues and us.

For this session you need to bring:

• one or two links to web pages that you want to optimise
• any SEO or keyword information you already have
• any ideas you have about why the content is or isn't performing well

We will also be running this workshop in August.

We all use search engines to look for information, whether it's to buy a second-hand sofa, or check when to repot the begonia.

If your content isn't optimised, people won't be able to find it easily through online search. Good SEO will help more people find your content more easily.

Come to this workshop to:

• Get a quick recap on best SEO practices.
• Try some of the SEO methods and tools that we’ve been demonstrating over the past year.
• Get help and feedback from your Content Community colleagues and us.

For this session you need to bring:

• one or two links to web pages that you want to optimise
• any SEO or keyword information you already have
• any ideas you have about why the content is or isn't performing well

Join content colleagues to talk about how we can use data that seems quite abstract to tell us about our content. Come to this workshop to:

• recap some general principles
• discuss some examples and sources of data
• do small-group exercises in Microsoft Teams break-out rooms

You will want to be able to look at the exercise information, and possibly some example websites in your browser, while in the MS Teams meeting. If you have access to a desk offering a second screen, that may be the most convenient.

This session is for beginners who are not confident in interpreting analytics or similar data. No preparation is required. You do not need to be familiar with any software other than MS Office 365 and your browser.

Join content colleagues to talk about how we can use data that seems quite abstract to tell us about our content. Come to this workshop to:

• recap some general principles
• discuss some examples and sources of data
• do small-group exercises in Microsoft Teams break-out rooms

You will want to be able to look at the exercise information, and possibly some example websites in your browser, while in the MS Teams meeting. If you have access to a desk offering a second screen, that may be the most convenient.

This session is for beginners who are not confident in interpreting analytics or similar data. No preparation is required. You do not need to be familiar with any software other than MS Office 365 and your browser.

During this session, you'll practice the skills we use in our content design work that you can use when creating or editing your website.

We'll provide sample content for you to re-write, so you only need to attend. You'll have a go in small groups in break-out rooms. Each one will have a content designer on hand to help.

Spaces are limited, to ensure that everyone is able to participate in the small-group activity, so please book as soon as possible.

We are providing four workshops to learn new skills or refresh existing ones, with the Content Community this month. You'll also put knowledge into practice with interactive examples.

During this session find out how to improve engagement with your content by using tactics that account for how people read differently online.

Led by content designer Eloise Hayes from University Information Services (UIS).

See related courses below.

My Cambridge Application is a ‘Go’ for launch in September for the 2024 admissions cycle.

Join us online for an overview of the project and what to expect from the September release.

We'll walk you through the application process and the improvements we've made to make it easier to complete, understand, administer, audit and trust. We'll cover:

• our vision and goals for My Cambridge Application
• what we have delivered and what that means for applicants and colleges
• what will be delivered post launch, and what will be done by the 2025 admissions cycle
• show the video walk through for My Cambridge Application
• take any questions

Find out more about Digital Admissions and the My Cambridge Application project: https://universityofcambridgecloud.sharepoint.com/sites/UoC_DigitalAdmissions

The Digital Admissions project aims to support the transformation of the information systems, processes and tools used in the undergraduate admissions process.

At this 'town hall' event, you will hear from project members who will show the progress made to the service and invite you to ask questions.

On World Accessibility Day, understand why inclusivity and accessibility is important and the University’s plans to increase the accessibility of its online content and things we can all do to improve our documents, publications and online content.

The Digital Presence Programme is a five year programme responsible for improving how we provide and support websites and intranets for the University of Cambridge (amongst other things). It's important that departmental and institutional heads are aware of the programme's goals and intentions to make significant changes to the University's digital landscape.

This presentation will offer you an opportunity to feed into the programme, and provide answers to your questions about it.

The Digital Presence Programme has been busy since 2020 exploring and researching how we could better build and support the University's intranets and websites. Join us for a day of demonstrations and hands-on workshops where we'll share with you our progress so far and help you to prepare for migration to the Intranet in a Box and Website in a Box templates, due for release in 2024.

We'll share;

• programme objectives and the roadmap
• intranet in a box progress and demonstration
• website in a box research, progress and demonstration
• interim guidance and expert led workshops

Join us in person at The Triangle Building, Cambridge University Press & Assessment's spectacular headquarters near Cambridge Train Station.

Refreshments will be available.

Hear an update on recent activities from members of the Digital Presence Programme. You can post your questions in advance and during the event via the Teams Live Q&A feature.

Hear an update on recent activities from members of the Digital Presence Programme. You can post your questions in advance and during the event via the Teams Live Q&A feature.

Join us for an exciting session of discovery and celebration, as we showcase the hidden talents of our colleagues at University Information Services (UIS). In this one-of-a-kind event, we will unveil the diverse and creative talents that often go unnoticed in our day-to-day work and their impact on our workplace culture and the professional development of our colleagues. By recognizing and encouraging these talents, we create a more inclusive and supportive environment that values individual strengths and diverse perspectives.

In July's content community session, we look under the hood of email marketing. Whether you're sending newsletters to your staff or event invitations to an external audience, this session is for you, with a blend of the strategic and the operational.

Email continues to defy the prophecies of its impending demise, surviving Slack, instant messaging and even WeChat/Weixin (for the most part). As email turns 50, we'll explore whether iOS 15 will end the newsletter boom, where trustworthiness and personalisation fit in to your email strategy, and if you even need email when there are social media, messenger apps and collaboration tools?

• Liam Morgan will describe how he creates high-quality newsletters that are both effective and audience-centric
• Ashley Coidan will discuss how a strategic approach to the channel can have benefits for recipient and sender alike (and he'll be seeking volunteers to be involved in developing guiding principles for the University's email marketing)

The Staff Review and Development (SRD) process provides the opportunity for Line managers to engage in constructive discussion with their staff about current and future work and their learning and development. This interactive online course will focus on an overview of the process, practical advice and useful reminders of good practice to help you to make the most of SRD

We will show you how to build a content inventory and do a content audit on your website or intranet.

You might be migrating to a new content management system (CMS), or just want to tidy up your site, an inventory and audit reveals gaps and opportunities. It’s the first step to understanding user behaviour and gathering evidence to help you make decisions about your content.

Join us for our monthly 30-minute coffee morning session! It's a safe space for mentors to clarify doubts, share best practices, and resources, and receive ongoing support to enhance their mentoring relationships. Grab your coffee or tea, connect with fellow mentors, and let's grow together.

Learn more about the barriers people face when they read content. We will show you how to write content that’s accessible and do a few practical exercises. Making content accessible, makes it better for everyone.

Join us on Friday 22 October for a whistle-stop tour of common areas of Google Analytics and scenarios its data can help you analyse.

We will focus more on the Universal Analytics interface than Google Analytics 4, as that's the version we believe most people with Google Analytics on University websites are using.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) for beginners. SEO 'is the process of improving a website or web page so it increases organic traffic quality and quantity from search engines' (Webopedia).

Put simply, the goal of using SEO tactics, for many web editors across the University, is to help users find the content that they are looking for when they use a search engine. In practice, this means a webpage appears as high up the list of relevant search results as possible. To do this, content editors need to have a basic understanding of how search engines work and what users are searching for.

This session will include a potted history of SEO and practical tips to use on your webpages. Attendees will also be able to ask questions.

The session will begin with a quick update from the Digital Presence Programme.

An informal guidance session for anyone thinking about joining the IT Community and UIS Mentoring Scheme. Professional Development Manager, Rinku Raina will give a brief overview about what you can expect from joining the scheme. You'll have the chance to ask informal questions and hear from previous members of the scheme.

An informal guidance session for members of the IT Community and UIS Mentoring Scheme. The session will provide the opportunity to meet with other mentees enrolled on the scheme. You’ll be able to talk openly as a group and share any successes or challenges while being a mentee. Please think of examples before coming along so we can discuss in the session and this will hopefully encourage confidence to help you gain the most out of your mentoring relationship and the scheme.

An informal guidance session for members of the IT Community and UIS Mentoring Scheme. The session will provide the opportunity to meet with other mentors on the scheme. You’ll be able to talk openly as a group and share any successes or challenges while being a mentor. Please think of examples before coming along so we can discuss in the session and this will hopefully encourage confidence to help you gain the most out of your mentoring relationship and the scheme.