Queen Margaret University offer free short courses to people whose work has been affected by Covid-19

Queen Margaret University (QMU) will offer three credit-bearing short courses to help those seeking to upskill and develop professionally whose work or career plans have been affected by Covid-19.

From May 2021, with support from the Scottish government’s National Transitions Training Fund, anyone aged 25 or over who is unemployed, at risk of redundancy, on furlough, or a recent university graduate without graduate level employment is able to undertake the courses for free, which are being offered by the university’s school of arts, social sciences and management.

The three courses are designed to develop a participant’s specialist knowledge and practical skills in key areas of visual arts and events and will be taught via a blend of online lectures, self-directed learning and in-person class-based practical workshops delivered at QMU’s campus in Musselburgh.

A digital content creation and campaigns course will run for five weeks from June 21 until July 12.

Participants will develop video production skills, produce their own news-based, educational and promotional short films and learn about the social and ethical implications of film on digital platforms and the use of critical reflection.

A 10-week sustainable and safe event management course will run from June 7 until July 1 and is aimed at people working in the wider events industry who want to expand their knowledge in the areas of sustainable event management and health and safety at events. The course aims to improve individual practices that can impact the event industry as a whole and is designed with UK and Scottish government regulations in mind, focusing on the roles and responsibilities of participants as event organisers.

From May 24 until June 24, a five-week course on evaluating arts and cultural projects course will run.

It is designed to develop applicants with the in-depth knowledge and understanding required to effectively design and execute evaluations of arts and cultural projects. The course looks at both socio-political factors that impact evaluation of arts projects as well as the practical skills and qualitative methods required to design effective evaluation reports.

Students will have the option of putting this learning into action by designing and executing an evaluation (if they have a suitable live project to work on).

The deadline to apply for each is May 10 2021 and more information can be found on the QMU website.

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