After taking a 6-month hiatus from delivering public training courses, I’m delighted to announce details of two new events scheduled to take place in early 2022. They are open to anyone and everyone!
The first course is a virtual ‘Masterclass in Data Visualisation’. To accommodate the unique demands of learning online, the training will be delivered across a sequence of four days (Wednesday 19th, Thursday 20th, Friday 21st, and Monday 24th).
Each 3-hour daily workshops will blending teaching, in-class exercises, discussions, and practical activities. The final session is arranged after a weekend to offer delegates the option of using the extra offline time to work on course projects. The daily workshops will commence at 2:00pm (GMT time) and finish at 5:00pm on each day (3-6pm CET, 9am-12pm EST). The cost is £380+VAT per person.
The second course is a classroom-based ‘Masterclass in Data Visualisation’. This will take place across 2 full-days, Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th February. The course will be delivered in-person at the central London location of etc venues Marble Arch, and runs from 9:30 to 5pm on both days. The cost is £450+VAT per person.
The return to delivering face-to-face courses in a classroom environment is an exciting prospect as it is my favoured – and arguably the most effective – environment for teaching this subject. This will be my first such public event since February 2020 and I cannot wait to get back out there and interact with real-life people again!
However, my own excitable anticipation needs to balanced with the need to demonstrate reasonable caution in light of Covid-19. There is a balance to preserving the practicalities of delivering an optimum training experience with the need to ensure the comfort of those attending. The price for this course has been reduced compared to pre-pandemic rates to reflect the inevitable and understandable hesitation that may exist amongst many about returning to a classroom environment.
Firstly, in light of the uncertainties created by the pandemic, and the way this may undermine confidence people have towards booking to attend in-person events like this, short-notice cancellations will be accepted, right up to the day before the course, with refunds or registration amendments (switch date, switch delegate) offered without challenge.
The training room, which has the capacity to hold up to 24 people, will instead be limited to a maximum of 12 attendees for this course given each attendee their own double-desk space. Though some course activities will be possible to undertake in pairs or groups, this will not be forced on anyone who prefers to participate individually and doing so will not undermine the value you gain from the course. Attendees will not be asked to prove their vaccine status, but everyone will be asked to take a lateral flow test in the 24 hours before the course commences. The choice of wearing a mask during the course will be left to the individual judgment of attendees.
All measures will be reviewed in the run up to the event in February, depending on the status of the pandemic and also in accordance with the venue’s policies. If any reasonable changes are necessary to be introduced, these will be immediately communicated with all attendees.
More public training events, virtual and classroom, will be arranged in due course in respond to demand and schedule availability. I look forward to continuing to deliver ‘Masterclass’ and ‘Fundamentals’ training courses, both online and in-person, for private organisation groups – if your organisation would be interested in exploring options to arrange one for your colleagues, just get in touch.