Preparing for a new digital normal: Rolls-Royce opens its Digital Academy for free training

Rolls-Royce is publishing, for free, its world-class digital skills training programme to help people and businesses around the world prepare for a potentially digital-centric recovery from COVID-19.Bringing together its trusted training partners and platforms, the first suite of courses includes introductions to data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, coding and digital culture. Courses range from ‘bitesize’ 20-minute sessions, to extended fully certified training programmes.

This release by Rolls-Royce follows its founding role in establishing the global Emergent Alliance, a voluntary group of technology companies and data science specialists working together to find new ways to accelerate and smooth the path to economic recovery as the pandemic passes.

The Rolls-Royce Digital Academy has trained 20,000 of our employees in the last two years as it assists our transformation into one of the world’s leading industrial technology companies – and these are the training courses that are helping make that change happen.

Head of the Digital Academy at Rolls-Royce, Manisha Mistry, said: “Many people and businesses are experiencing incredibly tough circumstances and these free training packages are a tangible way for us to offer some help. Many have been tried and tested by Rolls-Royce employees. They can help people prepare for work and businesses transform ready for a digital future, just like we’ve been doing at Rolls-Royce for the last couple of years.

“Whether you’re 8, 18 or 80 years-old, these training packages will help you during this disruptive period of isolation: whether you need to keep your kids occupied, need new skills for a future job or just want to learn more digital skills in anticipation of the future.”

Supporting partners for this open learning programme, and the tools they are offering, are:

DataCamp – an opportunity to experience the top data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning courses used by Rolls-Royce employees
edX – Rolls-Royce’s own CPD-accredited digital skills fundamentals programme containing six key courses including data awareness, the power of data and agile mindset.
Google for Education – Google Applied Digital Skills helps teachers and students learn practical digital skills using the free project-based video curriculum. The ready-to-use video lessons teach digital skills that have immediate, real-life applications that provide students with the skills needed to succeed in the classroom and on the job, from researching to analysing data.
IBM – Machine Learning for Kids: it will soon be normal for machine learning systems to drive our cars and help our doctors to diagnose and treat illnesses. This course provides hands-on experience in an easy-to-use guided learning environment to the people who will be programming the machines of the future.
Learning Tree – Delivered by an award-winning industry leader, immerse in a suite of e-learning modules, white papers, skills assessments, live and recorded webinars on topics from agile to data analytics.
TeenTech – For students 11-19 years, there are weekly insights into world-class organisations and the opportunities that lie within them. Each session will be themed and hosted by sponsors and industry experts with Rolls-Royce leading an Innovation at Home day on 18^th May. Students can ask questions, develop their own solutions to global challenges and learn more about different careers.
TechWeCan –free, easy to use and fun lesson plans for home schooling children (aged 10-13); children can learn about the opportunities a career in technology can offer; or join weekly Tech We Can Tuesday live lessons from 28^th April at 10.30am; taking part in the City of Tomorrow challenge, where students apply their knowledge of science, technology, and engineering to create their City of Tomorrow where no ideas are too big, and everything is smarter, kinder, and safer than before.