It’s ‘match-point’ for first-class Tech Industry Gold degree graduate

Name: David Sint
University: Queen Mary, University of London
Degree Title: Tech Industry Gold accredited degree – Bsc (Hons) Information Technology Management for Business
Classification: First-class (Honours)
Title of Dissertation: Can Twitter be a Herald for the Stock Market? The predictive power of Tweet volume on stock volatility.

What was the best experience of your Tech Industry Gold accredited degree?

My placement year with IBM was fantastic. My job title was Creative and Front-end Development Assistant in the Watson IoT Sales Enablement team, where I was involved in many projects across teams. As part of my role, I led the technical side of registration and session booking for an event attended by 1000+ delegates. The event took place in Chicago and it was a privilege to be flown out there. I set up the systems and processes and they ran without a glitch. I also got to work with a team of world-class professionals who taught me so much. My experience will provide me with a solid foundation as my career progresses.

What was the most challenging experience of your degree?

Although I do not consider myself an excellent programmer, I really want to develop my knowledge and skills in that subject. For my dissertation I decided to challenge myself which meant I needed to use mathematical and programming skills. At the start of the dissertation, I knew very little about scraping websites for data, correlation, or artificial intelligence. However, as I developed my skills and knowledge, I was able to write an academic paper on all of these subjects.

What would you say now to yourself before you enrolled on your degree?

I would say: ‘Take advantage of the opportunities open to first years like company ‘spring weeks’ and do some online coding challenges daily, or at least weekly.’

What would you say to anyone considering a Tech Industry Gold accredited degree?

Choosing a Tech Industry Gold accredited degree makes practical and academic sense. As Tech Industry Gold is the industry accreditation for digital & tech degrees and the UK gold standard for employability, you should seize the opportunities available.

What are you planning to do this summer?

This summer I am working at The Championships at Wimbledon for my fourth year! The Wimbledon placement is exclusively offered to first year Tech Industry Gold degree students which continues each summer whilst at university. The experience has been the highlight of each summer over the course of my university degree. Together with the other members of our ‘Trojan’ team, we help set up, maintain and then rollback 200+ systems around the site for the players, coaches, broadcasters, public, and VIPs. Following on from my summer placement I was offered a graduate role at IBM as a Technical Consultant.

What are your career plans?

I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up! I also don’t think that in today’s environment it is wise to have a complete career plan since digital disruption makes the workplace ever changing. I want to be ahead of the curve looking out for opportunities. I am looking forward to my graduate role at IBM working in the digital commerce team as the role will provide me with a range of learning opportunities and experiences.

Who inspires you?

Many people inspire me! My friends, family, teachers, colleagues and fellow students. Everyone has something to offer and I try to tap into that.

Anything else to add?

Thank you to everyone at TP Degrees, past and present; my ITMB course director, Antonios Kaniadakis; placement year manager, Claire Revell; and, finally, QMUL alumnus and Tech Allies Network co-founder, Ryan Clifford. Thank you all for helping make my university journey such an incredible experience!