DSC3001 : Data Innovation Bootcamp
- Offered for Year: 2026/27
- Available for Study Abroad and Exchange students, subject to School approval at module registration
- Module Leader(s): Dr Paul Goodman
- Lecturer: Professor Barry Hodgson
- Owning School: Mathematics, Statistics and Physics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Pre-requisite
Modules you must have done previously to study this module
Pre Requisite Comment
N/A
Co-Requisite
Modules you need to take at the same time
Co Requisite Comment
N/A
Aims
The primary aim of the Data Innovation Bootcamp module is to introduce students to innovation methods and tools that explore how to create products and services that customers want. The module enlists a number of external organisations to pose a real-world business problem, supported by a data set that students can explore. The emphasis of the module is on experiential learning – learning by both reflecting on, and engaging with, the business problem directly, and applying their knowledge of data science, to the data, to propose potential solutions to the problem owner. The module builds on previous, successful innovation bootcamps, run by the National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD).
Over the course of the module students will be introduced to the problem, given tools to think innovatively about the problem, given data that may be used to address the problem, and be asked to work collectively in groups to present solutions to the problem.
Outline Of Syllabus
Students will undertake self-directed individual and group project work to provide an innovation solution to a previously unseen organisational or business challenge. The challenge will be underpinned using digital data which must be analysed and examined for insight into developing the proposed solution. At the end of the module students will be expected to pitch their solution proposals to a mixed audience of both the problem owner and their peers.
The curriculum will include:
Experiential-based collaborative working.
Identifying a problem through root-cause analysis.
Identifying customers and stakeholders.
Identifying customer needs and understanding the customer journey.
Working with customer data, performing exploratory data analysis to gain insights.
Ideation around a problem, informed by data analysis.
Developing a Value Proposition.
Building a Business Model around the Value Proposition.
Selecting and developing a Minimum Viable Product from multiple Value Propositions.
Communicating with clients – making an ‘elevator pitch’.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 2 | 6:00 | 12:00 | Preparation for final presentation |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Final Presentation |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | Lectures introducing the business problem and specific topics for workshops |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 4:00 | 4:00 | Completion of individual reflective reports |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 1 | 31:00 | 31:00 | Working individually and in teams to review business ideas from workshops |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 3 | 2:00 | 6:00 | Longer, free-form workshops for ideation and data analysis |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | Focused/guided workshops of completing specific tasks – e.g. completion of a particular ‘canvas’ |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 6 | 0:30 | 3:00 | Group surgeries with problem owner – Q&A + Feedback |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 30:00 | 30:00 | N/A |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The purpose of the module is to provide students in an experience that is somewhat outside of a ‘typical’ academic setting – introducing students to a real-world problem they will not have seen before and encouraging them to think about that problem together in their groups in innovative and novel ways.
The various lectures and workshops will introduce students to a variety of concept that will provide them with frameworks and guidance for decomposing business or organisational problems into underlying issues and then allow for creativity and innovation in attempting to design solutions to address those issues. Finally, the module will give students the experience of clearly and succinctly presenting their ideas to a diverse audience – a skill that will be valuable to them in their future places of work.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Presentation | 1 | M | 80 | Group presentation. 15 minutes presentation, 5 minutes question. |
| Report | 1 | M | 20 | Personal diary reflecting on daily progress, describing learned experience and giving indication of contribution of contribution towards final presentation. Format: Daily bullet points, with a maximum of 500 words. |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report | 1 | M | Each workshop will expect progress to be made towards the workshop’s goal (e.g. completion of a particular canvas). |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The use of group work is designed to foster collaboration in the face of a previously unseen problem. Students will have to collaborate and cooperate to achieve success in the module, and have a collective sense of pride in their achievement at the end of the bootcamp module.
The Q&A/surgery sessions, as well as the final presentation give the students the opportunity to conduct and present themselves professionally to a client outside of the usual academic classroom context. The presentation format also challenges students to pitch their selected approach to the client in a collegiate environment, prior to entering the workplace. Effective communication and presentation skills are a pre-requisite for many industries, but especially in data science, where the practitioner may be acting as a bridge between both technical and non-technical audiences.
The personal diary allows a greater element of individuality to be brought into the assessment, beyond the final presentation. It also allows students to provide feedback on their own experiences of the module, what worked, and what didn’t, as well as enabling an element of peer-review – e.g. to praise or critique the contributions of other individuals within their group.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- DSC3001's Timetable