Courses and Booking

To view our current course listing and to book on a course, please use the online course booking system at www.abdn.ac.uk/coursebooking .

This automated system allows you to:

• search for courses
• book directly onto a course
• join or remove yourself from a waiting list
• cancel a booking
• view and manage your bookings (forthcoming and past)
• check course venue
• and add a course booking to your own Outlook calendar.

• Please make sure you read and comply with the terms and conditions for booking, attending and cancelling courses.
  • University Course Booking Policy
• All our courses are open to Staff and Research Postgraduate students at the University of Aberdeen, at no cost.
• You must be a registered University of Aberdeen computer user and hold a valid personal username and password as issued by IT Services. In most cases, this is the username and password you use to login to your University email account.
• Some courses may be open to other categories, but please note that charges apply - see current rates.

Note: Additional registration is required for Student Records courses. You must complete a Student Records System Form , available on StaffNet (login required) at least 10 days before the course.

We are happy to create custom courses and workshops to fit the needs of your team, research group, department or School. Choose from, for example:

• Microsoft Office suite - Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint
  • any aspect of the above, for example creating charts in Excel, or using Styles in Word
• Working with long documents/theses using Word
• Creating research posters using MS PowerPoint
• Creating research posters using MS Publisher
• MS Teams - chat, audio and video calls, online meetings, and screen sharing
• Outlook - email and calendaring
• OneDrive for Business - working with files
• SharePoint - for Site Members and/or Site Owners

Contact us at digitalskills@abdn.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.

What about other software packages?

We may be able to source training for other software packages from external providers. Such training inevitably incurs cost. However, if there is sufficient demand, and the software can be installed in our training suites, we can arrange for a trainer to deliver training on site, significantly reducing the cost.

Please contact us at digitalskills@abdn.ac.uk if you have training needs that are not currently met by us.

If you're struggling with any aspect of MS Office, you can make an appointment for a 1-2-1 session with one of our trainers.

Choose from, for example:

• Microsoft Office
  • Any aspect of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint, for example creating charts in Excel, or using Styles in Word
  • Working with long documents/theses using Word
  • Creating research posters using MS PowerPoint or Publisher
  • SharePoint - for Site Members and/or Site Owners
  • Outlook Email and Calendaring
• MS Teams - chat, audio and video calls, online meetings, and screen sharing
• OneDrive for Business - working with files

Get in touch with us today at digitalskills@abdn.ac.uk and find out what we can do for you.

• Unless otherwise indicated, our courses are FREE to Staff and Students of the University.
• Prices for Non-University candidates are indicated in the table below.
• Charges are exempt of VAT.

We offer a mix of online courses (delivered via Microsoft Teams) and in-person courses (delivered in on-campus computer classrooms). Our on-campus venues include Taylor A1 on the Old Aberdeen campus, PC Classrooms 1 and 2 on Floor 2 of the Sir Duncan Rice Library and CR2 on the lower ground floor of the Medical Library at Foresterhill. Check  the Course Booking System for the venue for each session.

1. What courses do you offer?
2. Can you provide training for other software packages, other than those listed?
3. How often do you run courses?
4. How much do courses cost?
5. How do I book on a course?
6. When will I hear if I have a place on a course?
7. What happens when a course is cancelled, or fully subscribed ?
8. What should I do if I can no longer attend a course?
9. How do I contact the Digital Skills Team?

1. What courses do you offer?

Courses offered on a regular basis include:

• Microsoft Office suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access)
• Outlook Email and Calendaring
• MS Teams
• MS OneDrive for Business
• MS SharePoint
• Student Records

For details of courses offered this session, please login to the online Course Booking System .

We can also arrange custom courses or events, on any of the above, for your team or School. Contact us to discuss your options.

Return to top

2. Can you provide training for software packages other than those listed?

We may be able to source training for other software packages from external providers. Such training inevitably incurs cost. However, if there is sufficient demand, and the software can be installed in our training suites, we can arrange for a trainer to deliver training on site, significantly reducing the cost. Please contact us if you have training needs that are not currently met by us.

Return to top

3. How often do you run courses?

We publish a fresh schedule of IT courses and workshops three times throughout the year: September-December and January-May, and June- August.

Return to top

4. How much do courses cost?

Unless otherwise stated, our courses are free to Staff and Students of the University.

For other categories - see the Charges tab, above.

Return to top

5. How do I book on a course?

You will use the online Course Booking System . See the Current Schedule and Online booking tab above for guidance.

Return to top

6. When will I hear if I have a place on a course?

The online Course Booking System is fully automated. If places are available, the booking system will send you an automated confirmation email. This email includes:

• Instructions on what to do if you need to cancel
• How to add the course to your Outlook calendar - recommended

Return to top

7. What happens when a course is cancelled, or fully subscribed?

We reserve the right to cancel a course if we do not have sufficient bookings.

• Most courses require a minimum of 5 persons to run. We will notify you of cancellation by midday, 2 working days before the course date.
• You can book on a later course if you wish.

If the course you want to book on is full, you can choose to join the waiting list for that course.

• If places become available on the course, they will automatically be assigned to those on the waiting list in order of booking.
• The booking system will also send you an automated confirmation email if you are assigned a place.

Return to top

8. What should I do if I can no longer attend a course?

If you are unable to attend a course:

• Please login to the online Course Booking System to cancel; we can then offer your place to somebody else.
• You will not receive an email confirmation about the cancellation.
• If you added the course booking to your Outlook calendar, you will need to remove this manually.

Return to top

9. How do I contact the Digital Skills Team?

Please direct enquiries about IT training to digitalskills@abdn.ac.uk in the first instance.

Return to top

“We just wanted to send our thanks for putting together the Skype Session yesterday, we have had great feedback from attendees, so thank you very much.”
Skype for Business, bespoke session

“I found this session really useful and presented in a very accessible way. Thank you!”
Excel Introduction II: Formulas, Functions, Charting

“I liked the format of the course ... the two people who delivered the lecture made it simple and easy to understand.”
Focus on... Excel: Summarising and analysing your data with Pivot Tables

“...I thoroughly enjoyed the course and found it extremely useful! ... absolutely spectacular! ... perfectly prepared examples, delivered competent explanations ... a perfect mixture of enthusiasm and a very good sense of humour. On top of the actual course topics, I learned about very useful shortcuts that will make my work with Excel much easier in the future ... Utterly brilliant - I am looking forward to my next course...”
Focus on... Excel: Using Lookup functions to retrieve data

“Thank you very much for the excellent PP training yesterday. It was really helpful and you made it most enjoyable.”
Presentations using PowerPoint 2013

“…thank you … for the entertaining and extremely informative PowerPoint course you gave us the other day. Everyone … had lots of positive things to say about it and feel they learned a huge amount in the two-hour slot.”
PowerPoint using UoA Corporate Templates

“Thank you for the training session today on SharePoint. It was very well planned, informative and enjoyable.”
SharePoint for Site Members

“The course was extremely useful and very interesting. Thanks again for arranging the course so quickly.”
Photoshop Elements Image Editing Basics

“This was a worthwhile class, especially for the extra-curricular discussion on mindjet mindmanager software…”
Creating Posters using PowerPoint

“Excellent course … with fabulous delivery by both staff members. Easy to follow instructions, their teaching method kept you fully engaged whilst being taught easy ways to remember tips and advice.”
Excel Introduction I: Basics

“The Excel Pivot Tables session was incredibly useful, thank you. I have already recommended the course to a couple of colleagues.”
Focus on... Excel: Summarising and analysing your data with Pivot Tables

“Really good course and lovely people, looking forward to the next one. Been invaluable, all my Excel spreadsheets are looking fantastic now!” Excel 2013 Further I: Functions and Formulas

“Thank you … for today's session, which was excellent - so helpful to be able to work through something at one's own pace and know that help is at hand if needed. The materials were fabulously clear (a lot of work went into that I imagine), and the atmosphere was really nice and relaxed and welcoming, so thank you for making everything work so well!”
OpenText CMS

“Information was very clear and well presented. Just the right balance between initial overview and allowing us to work through at our own pace. Helpful support.”
OpenText CMS