Springboard courses. Free college courses sponsored by the Irish Government

chicken foot · 03-09-2020 2:11pm

cefh17 wrote: »

I haven't heard a thing since the initial email from NUIG back at the start of August yet registration were supposed to be open at the end of Aug

Also havent heard a thing from NUIG. My status has gone to "accepted" and my application has been downloaded multiple times - most recently 21st August. I also expected to hear before now but ill sit tight another day or two.

kilburn · 03-09-2020 2:45pm

onrail wrote:

Excellent thanks! I canâ€™t find mention anywhere of how many hours of â€˜autonomous learningâ€™ are recommended in addition to lecture time? That might swing it for me

If you contact the course director they will give you an idea

cefh17 · 03-09-2020 3:41pm

chicken foot wrote: »

Also havent heard a thing from NUIG. My status has gone to "accepted" and my application has been downloaded multiple times - most recently 21st August. I also expected to hear before now but ill sit tight another day or two.

I'm not sure did you get word today, but my course admin got in touch with my ID# and to register as soon as possible. Hopefully yours will be soon too

Gadge · 03-09-2020 4:00pm

DK man wrote: »

Hi Gadge - I'll join your gang Blanch rocks!

Everyone else sucks!

Have you heard anything lately from them? Last communication to me was to take my deposit. I've emailed them a few times with regards to modules etc as I wanted to get a head start but they're useless to get back. I don't eve. Have a start date.

AngryLips · 03-09-2020 4:19pm

onrail wrote: »

Has anyone completed, or is anyone completing the HDip in Science in Data Analytics in NCI (Blended - 1 year) while working a full-time job?

I've been accepted to the course (subject to me confirming), but having second thoughts as to how feasible it is to complete well while working full time with a young child.

Also wonder what the likelihood is of there being actual classroom sessions this year? I've applied with the hope that all will continue to be delivered fully online, as I live about 90 mins from the campus.

I've just finished this course but not the online version (however final semester was online, plus second half of the second semester due to COVID). The college have confirmed that all classes will be online for the first semester, with the option to come in for some labs, however anything that requires coming in will also be made available through distance learning if at all possible. They haven't said anything about second semester but I expect there's a good chance you won't have to be on site for that either. Wait, are you applying for the January in-take? I don't know what the situation will be for that, but I think there's a 100% online version of the course too.

I think your experience of the course will depend on what expectations you bring to it. Be prepared for a lot of statistics and programming, it's definitely the type of course that you need to apply yourself to. You could coast it, but then what's the point? You're not going to learn any of the programming languages that way and you won't get that much from it.

Most of the people who completed the course seem to agree it's one of the most stressful things they've have to do. That's pretty much my experience too. It was very demanding, I did it while working and without kids. Don't know how you'd manage with the extra responsibility of children though there were people in your situation doing the course. There was a high drop-out/deferral rate I believe in my year.

onrail · 03-09-2020 8:11pm

AngryLips wrote: »

I've just finished this course but not the online version (however final semester was online, plus second half of the second semester due to COVID). The college have confirmed that all classes will be online for the first semester, with the option to come in for some labs, however anything that requires coming in will also be made available through distance learning if at all possible. They haven't said anything about second semester but I expect there's a good chance you won't have to be on site for that either. Wait, are you applying for the January in-take? I don't know what the situation will be for that, but I think there's a 100% online version of the course too.

I think your experience of the course will depend on what expectations you bring to it. Be prepared for a lot of statistics and programming, it's definitely the type of course that you need to apply yourself to. You could coast it, but then what's the point? You're not going to learn any of the programming languages that way and you won't get that much from it.

Most of the people who completed the course seem to agree it's one of the most stressful things they've have to do. That's pretty much my experience too. It was very demanding, I did it while working and without kids. Don't know how you'd manage with the extra responsibility of children though there were people in your situation doing the course. There was a high drop-out/deferral rate I believe in my year.

That's really helpful, thanks. While I'm not a complete beginner at coding, I'm definitely a novice - so everything is screaming to me that it would be a tough ask to balance everything.

Out of interest, how did you find employment prospects afterwards? To be honest, if I knew that a year of effort would lead to a decent start in a new industry at the end, I'd put up with it!

bren2001 · 03-09-2020 10:25pm

onrail wrote: »

Excellent thanks! I can’t find mention anywhere of how many hours of ‘autonomous learning’ are recommended in addition to lecture time? That might swing it for me

If you know the ECTS credits for each module or the course it's relatively easy to work out how many hours the University estimates that the average students should be undertaking. 1 ECTS = 25 hours of work. So a 5 credit module is 125 hours of work. A 30 credit course is 750 hours divided over the term (from day 1 to the end of the exam period).

Of course, some students don't need to devote that much time to get a high mark and others need to devote much more. It really depends on where your base starting point is.

AngryLips · 03-09-2020 10:44pm

onrail wrote: »

Out of interest, how did you find employment prospects afterwards? To be honest, if I knew that a year of effort would lead to a decent start in a new industry at the end, I'd put up with it!

Well I only submitted my final project like a month ago and graduation isn't until November, plus I've only been casually looking at other work because I'm already employed. That said, I doubt it will do much career-wise except to get you an 'in' for entry level positions in the field. For me, that's not what I'm after so I can't say. One of the best things about NCI is that it seems to have a really strong careers office compared to my previous uni.

dazzday · 04-09-2020 9:25am

Anybody hear back from NUI Galway for the Data Analytics course? Have been accepted but yet to hear any details regarding registration etc etc.

bleuhh · 04-09-2020 9:54am

Hi guys, staying on the Bargain Alerts topic - if you have your college email set up now don't forget to change your Spotify to Spotify Student - it's half price!

Im_OnYa · 04-09-2020 12:40pm

Hey,

Has anyone heard back from Limerick IT and the MSc in Quantity Surveying? I got an email two weeks ago saying they were reviewing my application and I am still waiting to hear more. The course starts in 10 days

tritium · 04-09-2020 12:43pm

onrail wrote: »

That's really helpful, thanks. While I'm not a complete beginner at coding, I'm definitely a novice - so everything is screaming to me that it would be a tough ask to balance everything.

Out of interest, how did you find employment prospects afterwards? To be honest, if I knew that a year of effort would lead to a decent start in a new industry at the end, I'd put up with it!

just on the coding, I don't know if you made the online open evening earlier in the week (I went along for more general info). the view from the course lecturer was that the level 8 course didn't require an extensive coding skills background as they'd start from the basics: emphasis was that R, Excel and some SPSS possibly would be the main tools used.

On the R side if you haven't used it before I'd suggest checking out the free online introduction on EdX. Its quite good and R itself is relatively intuitive to use.

Not sure what your current industry or qualifications are but in my current role I'd see a fair few CV's for entry level analyst roles with this or similar qualifications - there's a huge demand for analytics skills in financial services, manufacturing tech and pharma. It would be enough to get you an interview, with the caveat that there's a lot of folks doing similar upskilling. There's also a lot of grad programmes it would get you into. If you have real world work experience (even in a different sector) that's a plus also.

AngryLips · 04-09-2020 1:45pm

tritium wrote: »

just on the coding, I don't know if you made the online open evening earlier in the week (I went along for more general info). the view from the course lecturer was that the level 8 course didn't require an extensive coding skills background as they'd start from the basics

This is true. My point is just that to learn it you still need plenty of time to apply yourself.

RodFlanders · 04-09-2020 5:49pm

Gadge wrote: »

Everyone else sucks!

Have you heard anything lately from them? Last communication to me was to take my deposit. I've emailed them a few times with regards to modules etc as I wanted to get a head start but they're useless to get back. I don't eve. Have a start date.

Hi Gadge, I'm starting this course too and I've heard nothing. I emailed back in July enquiring whether I need to buy a laptop with a certain level of specs and got no response, won't be too happy if they expect me to buy one at the last minute.

There's a thread on the TUD section of Boards (won't let me link, it's the most recent thread over there) where someone e-mailed TUD about confirmation emails and TUD said they're having IT problems. Bit annoying not hearing anything this close to starting but at least that's something.

Gadge · 04-09-2020 10:32pm

RodFlanders wrote: »

Hi Gadge, I'm starting this course too and I've heard nothing. I emailed back in July enquiring whether I need to buy a laptop with a certain level of specs and got no response, won't be too happy if they expect me to buy one at the last minute.

There's a thread on the TUD section of Boards (won't let me link, it's the most recent thread over there) where someone e-mailed TUD about confirmation emails and TUD said they're having IT problems. Bit annoying not hearing anything this close to starting but at least that's something.

Thanks for the info, the only reply I ever got off them was confirmation they received the first payment. Fair frustrating actually. I'll check out that thread, thanks a mill.

un5byh7sqpd2x0 · 04-09-2020 11:47pm

bleuhh wrote: »

Hi guys, staying on the Bargain Alerts topic - if you have your college email set up now don't forget to change your Spotify to Spotify Student - it's half price!

Don’t forget Amazon Prime for 3.99 for as long as you tell them the course is (up to 4 years!)

maisiedaisy · 05-09-2020 8:03am

oopsies wrote: »

Anyone know much about the Digital Marketing Institute?
I got accepted onto their Postgrad Level 9 program, but wondering if its worth it? Or maybe Id be better looking into CIM...?

I’m looking at this too! Did you find out any more about it?

JrdiH · 05-09-2020 10:01am

Applied to the online only 2 year Hdip in CS with WIT, hopefully I get accepted!

TinyTot165 · 05-09-2020 2:02pm

Has anyone heard back from AIT for the Hdip in Data Analytics, I applied just before the closing date any my application was downloaded on Thursday for the first time.

DK man · 06-09-2020 12:12am

Gadge wrote: »

Everyone else sucks!

Have you heard anything lately from them? Last communication to me was to take my deposit. I've emailed them a few times with regards to modules etc as I wanted to get a head start but they're useless to get back. I don't eve. Have a start date.

No word Gadge - I wasn't asked for payment yet. Maybe Covid has them running behind schedule.

I'm sure the'll get moving over the next week or two.

It would be nice to have a few pointers alright

Best of luck in the course

DK man · 06-09-2020 12:19am

RodFlanders wrote: »

Hi Gadge, I'm starting this course too and I've heard nothing. I emailed back in July enquiring whether I need to buy a laptop with a certain level of specs and got no response, won't be too happy if they expect me to buy one at the last minute.

There's a thread on the TUD section of Boards (won't let me link, it's the most recent thread over there) where someone e-mailed TUD about confirmation emails and TUD said they're having IT problems. Bit annoying not hearing anything this close to starting but at least that's something.

Hi RobFlanders - you will need access to a desktop or laptop. And you usually need something with decent enough specs for programming, If you live near the college you might be able to get in to do your work on one of their PCs but COVID is going to make this a bit trickier,

Best of luck with the course

oopsies · 06-09-2020 10:07pm

[PHP][/PHP]

maisiedaisy wrote: »

I’m looking at this too! Did you find out any more about it?

Well I've accepted it and my job has paid for it. So its fully online, seems to cover a lot. I decided to go for it after I seen a lot of connections on LinkedIn with courses from DMI. Also UCD do a digital marketing course but it's actually done through the digital marketing institute.
Starts on Oct 5th.

BonnieSituation · 06-09-2020 10:14pm

Three weeks of coding starting in Maynooth on the HDip tomorrow. So this is gonna be something.

Best of luck everyone with what you've picked. No better time to get more education or switch careers than during an economic downturn.

mad m · 07-09-2020 7:49am

To all best of luck. I finished up my exams two weeks back. I cant believe how its flown.

Hopefully results are out in two weeks and Ill have a level 7 in BEng Tech.....Onward and upward.

achbons · 07-09-2020 9:54am

DK man wrote: »

No word Gadge - I wasn't asked for payment yet. Maybe Covid has them running behind schedule.

I'm sure the'll get moving over the next week or two.

It would be nice to have a few pointers alright

Best of luck in the course

Hi DK man, Gadge, RodFlanders,

I emailed the course coordinator last week and heard back from her. She explained that usually once students are registered (in a normal year this would happen around middle of September), they go to the campus to collect their student cards. With Covid, though, it's not certain that this will happen before the induction day on Saturday 26th September, so we might get our student cards on the day.

I's going to be a full day onsite (9am-4pm) with a chance to meet her, the lecturers, and get set up for the semester. We'll need student cards/numbers to log on to the campus PCs anyway, so I expect everything will get sorted out in the next two weeks. She also confirmed that the other onsite dates (which I think were mentioned on the Springboard website too) will most likely be 19 October, 21 November and 12 December. The rest of the course will be fully online via Moodle. That's all I know so far.

Will let you know if I hear anything else. I haven't been asked to pay any fee (yet) either.

Gadge · 07-09-2020 10:05am

achbons wrote: »

Hi DK man, Gadge, RodFlanders,

I emailed the course coordinator last week and heard back from her. She explained that usually once students are registered (in a normal year this would happen around middle of September), they go to the campus to collect their student cards. With Covid, though, it's not certain that this will happen before the induction day on Saturday 26th September, so we might get our student cards on the day.

I's going to be a full day onsite (9am-4pm) with a chance to meet her, the lecturers, and get set up for the semester. We'll need student cards/numbers to log on to the campus PCs anyway, so I expect everything will get sorted out in the next two weeks. She also confirmed that the other onsite dates (which I think were mentioned on the Springboard website too) will most likely be 19 October, 21 November and 12 December. The rest of the course will be fully online via Moodle. That's all I know so far.

Will let you know if I hear anything else. I haven't been asked to pay any fee (yet) either.

Thanks for that, I emailed John Durkin over the weekend about start dates and registration/induction and this was busy reply:

Hello Garret

Apologies for the delay, this is due to Covid you will be starting the week of the 28th September, All going well I will be sending out the emails on Friday

Regards

John

achbons · 07-09-2020 10:31am

Gadge wrote: »

Thanks for that, I emailed John Durkin over the weekend about start dates and registration/induction and this was busy reply:

Hello Garret

Apologies for the delay, this is due to Covid you will be starting the week of the 28th September, All going well I will be sending out the emails on Friday

Regards

John

Good to hear, thanks!

mp3ireland2 · 07-09-2020 6:14pm

Anybody else having trouble with Sligo IT emails? I go an email last week to say it shoudl be active today but am unable to log in

bennyx_o · 07-09-2020 7:18pm

Haven't heard anything from Sligo since mid August, dropped them a mail earlier so will wait and see

fast_eddie · 07-09-2020 7:22pm

I got a large email from Letterkenny IT today about the Postgrad Dip in Cybersecurity.

Lectures online on Monday and Tuesday evenings for the first 10 weeks approx, starting next Monday 14th.

Registration details etc were mentioned as being posted out to arrive today, but when I rang the admissions office, they said that this info would instead be emailed today/tomorrow.

Good luck to all...

CBear1993 · 07-09-2020 10:43pm

I know resources are stretched and so on.

But did anyone else find the response time from colleges to be absolutely shocking or else non existent ?

I’d say out of about 7 course i emailed to find out about the timetable, two got back. I’ve followed up with the ones that didn’t and still got nothing back. I even tracked down the course contacts email as the springboard addresses seem to just be a black hole where no response ever comes out

This is it · 07-09-2020 11:00pm

CBear1993 wrote: »

I know resources are stretched and so on.

But did anyone else find the response time from colleges to be absolutely shocking or else non existent ?

I’d say out of about 7 course i emailed to find out about the timetable, two got back. I’ve followed up with the ones that didn’t and still got nothing back. I even tracked down the course contacts email as the springboard addresses seem to just be a black hole where no response ever comes out

No issue myself. Got replies within about 2 working days from.two different colleges. I'd say they're all over the play trying to sort out the colleges and get everything online for the near future.

Officer Giggles · 07-09-2020 11:36pm

CBear1993 wrote: »

I know resources are stretched and so on.

But did anyone else find the response time from colleges to be absolutely shocking or else non existent ?

I’d say out of about 7 course i emailed to find out about the timetable, two got back. I’ve followed up with the ones that didn’t and still got nothing back. I even tracked down the course contacts email as the springboard addresses seem to just be a black hole where no response ever comes out

I dealt with Letterkenny IT and UL. Had no issues with either.

Horusire · 08-09-2020 6:55am

Officer Giggles wrote: »

I dealt with Letterkenny IT and UL. Had no issues with either.

I also death with letterkenny and found them very responsive. I think they had prior experience with online teaching so they probably struggled less with organisation then other places.

py · 08-09-2020 7:17am

DCU have been good with responses. Most colleges are in unchartered territory with delivering courses online so I'd say they're hesitant to provide details they don't yet have.

Skidfingers · 08-09-2020 8:29am

mp3ireland2 wrote: »

Anybody else having trouble with Sligo IT emails? I go an email last week to say it shoudl be active today but am unable to log in

Same as this. I emailed them last night, will probably hear back today, will let you know.

EDIT:

They doing upgrade work on Wednesday so will be available some time on Thursday.

evster · 08-09-2020 1:38pm

Has anyone else been accepted onto the Athlone AIT masters in Software Design with Cybersecurity? If so any progress so far

mrm · 08-09-2020 4:47pm

bennyx_o wrote: »

Haven't heard anything from Sligo since mid August, dropped them a mail earlier so will wait and see

I received my acceptance email mid august, no course related correspondence received since but my springboard application has update from 'accepted' to 'enrolled' in the last few days. It is moving along but slowly and without any direct correspondence from the college. I guess I'll expect an email about the enrollment shortly.

CBear1993 · 08-09-2020 5:14pm

Anyone doing supply chain management at IT Carlow? I’ve emailed them 2 times in the last 10 days asking if we will have to attend IT Carlow as I live in Dublin.
It’s evening classes and says blended. With Covid however this could mean its all online

bennyx_o · 08-09-2020 5:52pm

mrm wrote: »

I received my acceptance email mid august, no course related correspondence received since but my springboard application has update from 'accepted' to 'enrolled' in the last few days. It is moving along but slowly and without any direct correspondence from the college. I guess I'll expect an email about the enrollment shortly.

Mine shows as enrolled on the Springboard website too, not sure when that changed. I'd assume they're flat out and likely working from home, reckon we'll hear something soon

Blizzard · 08-09-2020 7:26pm

I'm waiting for further info from NUIG also. My course doesn't start until mid-October so I'm sure they're up to their eyes dealing with registrations going by start date. After seeing the above two replies, I checked the Springboard site and saw that my application has gone from Accepted to Enrolled as of yesterday so I'm sure I'll be hearing from them soon.

zweton · 08-09-2020 7:29pm

Blizzard wrote: »

I'm waiting for further info from NUIG also. My course doesn't start until mid-October so I'm sure they're up to their eyes dealing with registrations going by start date. After seeing the above two replies, I checked the Springboard site and saw that my application has gone from Accepted to Enrolled as of yesterday so I'm sure I'll be hearing from them soon.

What course did ya go for?

bennyx_o · 08-09-2020 7:46pm

bennyx_o wrote: »

Mine shows as enrolled on the Springboard website too, not sure when that changed. I'd assume they're flat out and likely working from home, reckon we'll hear something soon

Checked when mine changed to enrolled and it was 4th August, same day I got an email from them saying they'd be in contact late August / start of September. Still 3 weeks until the course starts so plenty of time to hear something

Blizzard · 09-09-2020 9:17am

zweton wrote: »

What course did ya go for?

Change Management; are you taking a course there this year?

shanec1928 · 09-09-2020 9:42am

mrm wrote: »

I received my acceptance email mid august, no course related correspondence received since but my springboard application has update from 'accepted' to 'enrolled' in the last few days. It is moving along but slowly and without any direct correspondence from the college. I guess I'll expect an email about the enrollment shortly.

dont count on it mines been enrolled since the start of july and the form download everyday since. Still waiting for some contact from the college.

py · 09-09-2020 12:16pm

py wrote: »

DCU have been good with responses. Most colleges are in unchartered territory with delivering courses online so I'd say they're hesitant to provide details they don't yet have.

DCU emailed within the last 24 hours with details of registration. Got that completed and paid over the €338 for my course. Now for the hard work to begin next month.

bleuhh · 09-09-2020 12:19pm

NCI have been very good they sent over registration details very quickly, got set up on e-mail etc then. So far so good.

Skidfingers · 10-09-2020 8:59am

Moodle for Sligo IT is meant to go live at some stage today when they complete maintenance.

Blizzard · 10-09-2020 9:25am

I got an email from NUIG yesterday late afternoon which advised the registration details for my course. I can't register as yet as I wasn't given my student number so I guess I'm waiting for that next. Still have lots of time though as course doesn't start til mid-October.

shanec1928 · 10-09-2020 10:04pm

shanec1928 wrote: »

dont count on it mines been enrolled since the start of july and the form download everyday since. Still waiting for some contact from the college.

Finally registered. Someone must be working very late!

Springboard courses. Free college courses sponsored by the Irish Government

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