Industry-led pilot gives leaders digital confidence

From Open AI to augmented reality, technology is changing businesses and communities faster than ever before. And citizens are increasingly expecting governments to keep up.

To support government leaders to better understand the benefits and risks of emerging technology and digital tools, the DSO partnered with Microsoft to run a pilot training program for participants from federal and state and territory governments across Australia.

The program is based on a proven model developed and delivered by Microsoft for one of Australia’s largest banks. The program was adapted to align to the DSO’s Digital Skills Standards and the unique experiences of leadership in the public sector.

Participants choose which topics are most pertinent to them, with topics delivered by experts from industry and the public sector, providing insights from their hands-on experience in operationalising modern technologies in the public sector.

For the pilot, which was oversubscribed, over 90 executives from 13 diverse federal and state departments and agencies undertook the course (as at June 2023). The plan is to help more leaders across the country to improve their digital knowledge.

“Through working with public sector leaders across Australia, we aim to help them better appreciate the benefits of modern digital capabilities and support them to develop a level of confidence in achieving their digital outcomes.”

“I was excited to take part in the Digital Confidence for Government Executive Leaders Program trial. It was great to engage with a variety of presenters at the top of their digitally connected fields as well as connect with other like-minded leaders from various federal and state government agencies. The topics discussed in this Program are extremely relevant to all of our agencies and it increased my confidence in being able to ask that second and third question when making decisions around Aboriginal digital inclusion programs that I lead”.

“Also, being a part of this program not only increased my confidence, it also made me want to continue learning more about the digital space. So when I saw an Expression of Interest for a Scholarship to Harvard University and one of the options was learning more about ‘Artificial Intelligence and Policy’, I felt confident in applying. Out of hundreds of applications and a rigorous interview process, I was successful for this Scholarship opportunity and I look forward to connecting with more digitally-minded leaders across the world so that I can continue to better support and equip our Aboriginal communities and organisations for digital capability uplift.