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Upcoming open days

Undergraduate Postgraduate
Colchester Campus
Saturday 22 June 2013 (booking soon)
Saturday 21 September 2013 (booking soon)
Saturday 26 October 2013 (booking soon)
Southend Campus
Saturday 14 September 2013 (booking soon)
Colchester Campus
Wednesday 6 March 2013 (booking now)

Personal details




No open days are available for booking yet. You will be able to book your desired open day online three months before the date.


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Colchester Campus
Southend Campus

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European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)

The University of Essex is an Accredited Test Centre for the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL).

What is the ECDL?

The ECDL is an internationally recognised qualification that will enable you to demonstrate your competence in a range of IT programs that will help you in your work, develop your IT skills and enhance your career prospects.

The ECDL has seven modules:

  • Module 1: IT security for users
  • Module 2: Using the computer and managing files
  • Module 3: Word Processing
  • Module 4: Spreadsheets
  • Module 5: Databases
  • Module 6: Presentation
  • Module 7: Information and communication

Taster session

Come along to our "What is ECDL?" taster session, run in conjunction with Learning and Development, to find out more about the qualification. See if it's right for you and your CV, or relevant to your staff and their development.

Joining ECDL

Who can take part?

Any member of staff or student registered at Essex can participate in both the training and testing aspects of ECDL. You will be given a personalised ECDL account when you are registered. The account is not tied to the University, so if you move on you will still be able to access your account.

What does it involve?

  • Registering

    Before you can take any exams, you must register with the British Computer Society who manages the ECDL in the UK. The registration fee is £30 and is processed by staff in the IT Training office. There are no other charges for individual modules for staff or students.

    Note for staff: This is a recognised qualification and may be part of your personal staff development, so it is worth asking your department if they will pay your registration fee.

  • Training

    You will be sent the syllabus for each of the seven modules via e-mail. You are encouraged to go through these materials and identify any gaps in your skills set. If you feel you are comfortable enough you may wish to sit an exam without further study materials.

    We also offer the module materials online through our web-based training system and you may find that attending some of our IT training courses will improve your knowledge and skills and help you pass the ECDL modules. Although our courses are not ECDL specific, they do cover many of the same tools and techniques.

  • Examinations

    An exam will last up to 45 minutes and you can retake an exam should you fail. All modules must be completed (in any order) over a 3 year period.

    We have an excellent pass rate of 97 percent and the web-based training system and IT Training Clinic ensures you are supported throughout the testing process.

  • Your certificate

    Upon successful completion of all seven modules a certificate will be awarded.  Certificates usually take around three weeks to arrive and a member of IT Training will notify you when it is ready for collection.

Web-based training

We have purchased a per-module web-based training system from the British Computer Society. Each of the seven ECDL modules are covered in the training and you register to study each specific module in turn, as required. As these are web-based, you can study at home as well as on campus. Each training module is valid for up to three months.

This training is provided free for those who have registered for ECDL, subject to the following:

  • anyone registering for a module is expected to take the test by the end of the three month period;
  • failure to take the test will incur a charge of £10.

Participants wishing to use this online system should contact IT Training to receive a login name, password and details of how to access the course.