University Academy 92 Partners with LPI for Disruptive Learning

«It’s my role to disrupt the status quo in education,» says Aaron Saxton. In fact, his job title at the University Academy 92 in Manchester, England is the «Director of Disruptive Learning.» UA92 has been partnering with the Linux Professional Institute for many years, but most recently they have bumped up their partnership level to a Gold Academic Partner.

In contrast to the lecture and exam format of traditional education, UA92 mixes class time with a great deal of hands-on practice to «make learning more interactive, engaging, and adaptive.» A little over a year ago, they started up an apprenticeship programme with local employers. The focus is on DevOps, along with CyberOps and other similar disciplines. This apprenticeship is defined as DevOps Engineer Level 4.

Because LPI certifications test real-world knowledge and expect exam-takers to have practiced their skills in the field, the LPI philosophy melds well with UA92’s teaching practices.

Aaron Saxton, Director of Disruptive Learning, University Academy 92

UA92 is a “deliberately different” higher education institution that is enabling education for all, enrolling more than 20% of its students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. All UA92 students take part in the «92 Programme» that teaches them life skills: how to excel in the workplace, manage projects, be resilient, and be a great team member. Furthermore, UA92 provides employers with an enriched curriculum that prepares students for the world of work.

Future LPI certifications for which UA92 is planning to train include the LPIC Linux series, DevOps, and Web Essentials.

Some 18 months ago, UA92 launched digital bootcamps that last between 10 to 16 weeks and teach cloud, web dev, cyber, and data analytics skills. UA92’s computer science and apprenticeship programmes also let students run computer labs on a variety of GNU/Linux distributions, launched through the AWS Academy. Skills include bash scripting, PHP, Python, security, networking, databases, containers, web technologies, CI/CD, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC).

«Linux drives life,» Saxton expounds enthusiastically. «In the real world, 96.3 percent of the top 1 million web servers are running Linux, and companies need Linux Engineers.» UA92 is focusing on LPI’s Linux Essentials certification. Twenty-one apprentices took the LPI Linux Essentials exam this Spring, and 95% passed.

UA92 is cofounded by Lancaster University and the «Class of 92.»

«We really want to celebrate our relationship and partnership with the Linux Professional Institute. We see LPI as a vehicle for innovation and change. It’s about enabling Education for All: through great partnerships like this, enabling everyone to excel in education regardless of their background.”- Aaron Saxton, Director of Disruptive Learning, University Academy 92.

“The partnership with University Academy 92 is a splendid opportunity to accomplish LPI’s mission. By educating and training the less privileged young people, we can actively support them in building a future-oriented career in Linux and open source.” – Aida Rosenthal, Regional Customer Success Manager, Linux Professional Institute