A student giving a presentation on coding

Coding Bootcamp for Growing Businesses

Over 6 weeks, learn how to improve the digital platforms integral to your business.

Key details
Location
Online
Course duration
6 weeks
Attendance
Part-time

Course overview

This online short course in coding has been designed specifically for people working in small or medium sized businesses looking to leverage the power of coding for business growth.  

Whether you are currently leading on web development within your company or are supporting on day-to-day activities as part of a wider role, this course will give you the confidence to introduce different methods of writing code into your web development strategy, to improve your company’s website, apps, data processing and more.  

Co-developed by experienced subject specialists and embedded in Falmouth University’s renowned creative and industry-focused environment, you will gain contemporary knowledge and skills to enhance your abilities in web development and give you insights to boost your day-to-day delivery. 

You will:

  • Gain a thorough understanding of web development and the different tools available to make improvements for your business 
  • Use devops (development and operations) approaches to publish your web applications 
  • Use Bootstrap to develop responsive web applications 
  • Explore user needs and understand the importance of user testing 
  • Develop an awareness of Django good practice to minimize common mistakes and security breaches

This course is not currently recruiting. You can register your interest for future intakes of our online short courses by clicking the button and filling in the form.

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Course details

This six-week short course will improve your coding knowledge and skillset, equipping you to contribute to web development within the small/medium sized business (SME) in which you are currently employed.  

In the first session, you will get a thorough introduction to web development, and throughout the six sessions will explore a number of different tools and approaches you can use to create and improve the design and function of web-based applications. You will also learn about user requirements, the importance of user testing and how to navigate common pitfalls and security risks within web development.   

You will finish the course with a greater confidence in your theoretical knowledge and practical skills, helping you feel empowered to make impactful changes to digital platforms and support the web development strategy within your current place of employment.  

 

Weekly topics

In this first session you will be introduced to web development; what it is, why there are so many options, and how to approach it as a beginner using the Django framework.  

In this session you will use the Heroku platform to host Django applications. You will get an overview of the Git Hub version control system for managing your development files. 

In this session, you will be introduced to Bootstrap, re-work existing content to include Bootstrap components and develop mockups using Bootstrap templates and themes.  

Working with Django’s view models and object relational mapping components you will build an application that features the model life cycle of CRUD (create, retrieve, update and delete). 

In this session you will be introduced to a user-centric approach to web app development, exploring how to capture and manage user requirements and apply them to functional user testing.  

In your final session you will learn about common security issues and how to use Django to reduce the likelihood of services becoming compromised.  

Course structures and specific weekly sessions can change as part of our course enhancement and review processes. If a certain session is important to you, please discuss it with our team: shortcourses@falmouth.ac.uk.

How you'll learn

Studying online is the ideal option for those looking for flexibility while elevating their career prospects. Our online short courses have been designed from the outset to be delivered online, meaning they're crafted specifically for you to study remotely. 

You'll spend approximately four hours a week completing your studies. This may include: 

  • Reviewing all core lecture content and sharing your reflections on the topics discussed 
  • Reading and responding to discussions and challenge activities 
  • Completing required reading 
  • Attending weekly webinars with your tutor and peers (or watching the recording if you can't attend) 
  • Asking questions and sharing your thoughts with your tutors and peers 
  • Completing quizzes to test your knowledge 

 

Through a combination of these teaching methods, you will be encouraged to push yourself, explore professional skills and develop expertise to take back into industry. 

You will access all materials via our dedicated virtual learning environment. This is also where you will find all key documentation and any course announcements.  

You'll be supported by your tutor, who will deliver weekly webinars and facilitate the online forums.  

How you'll be assessed

This short course will culminate in a multiple-choice quiz to test your learning and understanding. The quiz is taken and submitted online at the end of the course and certification will be presented upon successful completion of the quiz (70% pass rate).  

The quiz can be attempted as many times as required within a 30-day access period following completion of week 6 of the course. You will still be able to access your learning materials during this time to support completion of the quiz. 

Please note, this course does not offer university credits but successful participants will be awarded a certificate of completion alongside building key skills for the workplace. 

Staff

Our subject matter experts, who have developed and will deliver the course, have real-life experience of working within industry as well as experience of teaching. They are supportive and committed to helping you to develop digital competencies, and bring understanding of a range of modes of practice that specifically relate to SMEs. 

Facilities

The following resources are available to participants enrolled on our online short courses: 

  • Dedicated easy-to-use virtual learning environment (VLE)  
  • 24/7 support using Learn available through the VLE 
  • An online learning community  
  • Accessible online audio/visual content   
  • Optional weekly webinars 
  • Support via your online tutor for all course-related and academic queries.  
  • You can also contact our shortcourses@falmouth.ac.uk email if you require any support with any other aspects of your studies.  

How to apply

Eligibility criteria

Participants must be employed by a registered UK SME (small/medium enterprise) with fewer than 250 employees, and annual turnover that does not exceed €50 million (approx. £40 million).

Participants must be 18 years’ old or over to apply for this course. 

This course is taught in English. Participants will need a conversational proficiency in written and verbal English to get the most from this course. 

The company the participant is employed by must not have exceeded €200,000 in De Minimis aid in the last three fiscal calendar years.* 

*What is State Aid and De Minimis?
State Aid refers to forms of assistance from a public body, or publicly-funded body, given to organisations and businesses. Under the ‘De Minimis’ exemption businesses can receive up to €200,000 or equivalent of aid in a rolling 3 year period. If your company is close to exceeding this figure, please contact us to discuss the value of the courses and eligibility. Further information can be found here. 
 

Fees, costs & funding

Total course fee

  • £50 +VAT per learner per course for a Cornish SME (confirmed via eligibility check). 
  • £195 +VAT per learner per course for a SME based outside Cornwall. 

You will be required to pay the course fee in full upon receiving confirmation of your place to study on the course. You will be sent a link to make the payment online. Full instructions will be available on how to make the payment.

Typical course costs

You will need access to a laptop/desktop computer. It is an essential piece of equipment that you will need right from the start of the course.  

Our Virtual Learning Environment, Learn, only requires an operating system that can run the latest compatible web browsers. Your computer operating system should be kept up to date with the latest recommended security updates and upgrades. 

We recommend one with as fast a processor as you can afford (8GB of RAM minimum) and a reasonably sized screen (13" minimum, 15" is optimum), plus the following minimum computer specifications: 

Windows: 

  • Windows 10 
  • At least an i7 processor 
  • No less than 8-16 GB Ram  
  • Graphics Card (nVidia 1080 minimum, not Intel Iris integrated graphics) with at least 2GB  
  • 256GB hard drive space minimum  
  • 1920 x 1080 display resolution or higher (most displays offer a higher resolution than this) 

Apple MacBook: 

  • Mac OS 10.15 or newer 
  • At least an i7 processor 
  • No less than 8-16GB Ram  
  • Graphics Card 
  • 256GB hard drive space minimum  
  • 1920 x 1080 display resolution or higher (most displays offer a higher resolution than this) 
  • A dongle to plug additional resources into the laptop is also required for all modern MacBooks 

16 -32 GB memory stick so you can back up your work regularly (approx. £10-20) 

Along with compatibility and web standards, Canvas has been carefully crafted to accommodate low bandwidth environments. It is recommended to have a minimum Internet speed of 512kbps. 

Admin rights and permissions to install software to their personal and/or work device. 

Have a question about our courses?

You can get in touch with us easily using our online form. Click the button to fill out the form and we'll come back to answer your queries and help you choose the right short course for you.

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Student working on a laptop