Qlik’s Academic Program Drives Data Literacy Among Australia’s Future Workforce

Sydney, Australia – Qlik® today revealed significant growth of its Academic Program in Australia. Since 2019, university partnerships locally have grown by 73 per cent and an additional 1,500 students have signed up for the program to help them prepare for the modern workforce. These numbers rank Australia in the top four countries for the Qlik Academic Program, behind only India, the US and the UK.

The growth of the Academic Program shows Australian tertiary students are increasingly aware of the importance of data literacy and the need for digital skills for the future, regardless of their major or area of specialization. It also affirms Qlik’s commitment to equipping students across Australia with the data literacy skills required to succeed in the workplace.

This comes at a time when just 21 per cent of the global workforce are fully confident in their data literacy skills, according to research by Accenture and Qlik, and studies showing data-literate organizations have benefitted from increased corporate performance, resulting in a higher total enterprise value of 3-5 per cent.

Qlik’s program partners include leading universities such as Deakin University, Macquarie University, Swinburne University, University of Tasmania and University of Technology Sydney, among others. It provides students, educators and researchers with free Qlik software and resources to prepare students for the data-driven workplace.

The program also aims to provide students with real-life experience in using data analytics tools, which is achieved through incorporating data analytics into coursework and the delivery of workshops at partnering universities. One recent workshop saw Qlik experts conduct a session on data analytics for students completing their Bachelor of Business Analytics at Deakin University. The session began with an overview of the various platforms and tools available for professionals in the workplace. Qlik experts taught students how to easily kickstart the use of these platforms, including loading data as well as creating dashboards and apps. Ultimately, it provided students with practical hands-on experience on how professionals today are using and engaging with data in their various roles.

“Gone are the days where only data specialists or data analysts were required to be data literate; in the modern workforce, it’s important that all employees are data literate, as data-informed decisions are being made across departments and at every level,” said Paul Leahy, Country Manager, ANZ at Qlik. “As a leader in data analytics and data integration – and the founder of the Data Literacy Project – it is essential we help cultivate a data literate nation, and world, by educating tomorrow’s leaders on data analytics. As part of this program, we empower students to not only learn data skills from a theoretical standpoint, but a practical one too.”

“By enabling students to work with technology that’s being increasingly deployed in all types of organizations internationally, they develop employability skills that are in strong demand while getting a real understanding of what they’ll need to succeed,” said Dominic Canestrari-Soh, Lecturer at Macquarie University. “Having direct contact with industry experts through various Qlik workshops has been an invaluable experience for students. It takes their learning and engagement to a significantly higher level than would otherwise be achieved via more traditional classroom delivery approaches.”

“Qlik’s Academic Program has helped me develop practical data analytics skills, which are now essential in most professional sectors,” said Paola Framit, accountant and former Bachelor of Commerce in Professional Accounting student at Macquarie University. “More and more organisations require employees to report, reflect and make timely decisions based on data. Tools like Qlik are powerful in enabling workers to analyse and draw conclusions from many different data sources. No matter your career path, data-backed critical thinking is crucial, not just to your education, but also adds immense value to the company you will go on to work for.”

Dr. Van-Hau Trieu, Lecturer, Faculty of Business and Law at Deakin University added, “By enabling students to work with technology that’s being deployed in large organizations across the globe, they get a real understanding of the skills required to succeed.”

The announcement of the Academic Program’s success in Australia comes after Qlik announced its first-ever Professor Ambassador Class of 2021. The Ambassador Program aims to recognize and celebrate professors who have made significant progress in developing students’ data literacy skills and in turn, prepare them for a successful career.

For more information on the Academic Program, including how students or institutions can get involved, visit the website here or watch this video introduction.

About Qlik

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private SaaS company, Qlik provides an end-to-end, real-time data integration and analytics cloud platform to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik does business in more than 100 countries and serves over 38,000 active customers around the world.

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