We returned to in-person events on Wednesday 16 March with Tech Industry Gold Live. Hosted by BT at their prestigious Snow Hill offices in central Birmingham, the event was packed with inspirational and motivational talks from entrepreneurs, research specialists and industry gurus. It was the first such event in over two years.
With a theme of innovation, inspiration and motivation, the day brought together universities from across the UK including the universities of West London, West of England Bristol, Aston, Lancaster and Loughborough. As well as being held in-person, a live stream of the morning session was broadcast to those who couldn’t attend.
Centered around degree students, the event was introduced by new TechSkills CEO, Kelly Nicholls. Welcoming students to the room, she encouraged all those present to make the most of every opportunity presented to them. The day was ‘packed full of insights and networking’, she said. An Employer Village with representatives from Amazon, BT, Informed Solutions, Capgemini, IBM and Tata Consultancy Services was created – giving attendees the opportunity to make connections, enquire about post-graduate opportunities and learn about the latest skills required – this even included some hands-on VR experiences too.
Amy Caton from BT kicked off the speaker sessions with tips on how to prepare for the world of work. Amy, with a decade of experience in work-readiness at BT, is currently programme director for Fast Futures. Combining innovation, inspiration and motivation was Danny Manu. Danny created the world’s first live translation ear buds – combining technology and audio excellence (he is a music producer among other things!). Danny talked about culture, the importance of knowing yourself and how he grew the business by building a team.
On the theme of self-belief, determination and passion, was Naomi Timperley, voted third most influential woman in technology by ComputerWeekly.com, Naomi energetically shared that hard work wasn’t enough, the skills needed for success were interpersonal, teamworking and grabbing every opportunity. Naomi and Danny took Q&As from the audience which covered topics such as technology and career changing at a later age.
Finishing up the morning session was Matthew Wallwork who works as a research specialist for BT’s Adastral Park in Suffolk. Matthew works on Internet of Things (IoT) projects around health. A wealth of knowledge and insight about the opportunities IoT could bring to help the well-being and safeguarding of the vulnerable and elderly was fascinating. All possible by the greater connectivity of 5G and full-fibre broadband.
Prior to the afternoon session, delegates were encouraged to network and visit the employer village and make the most of the fantastic catering and BT facilities on the seventeenth floor of Three Snow Hill.
The afternoon sessions built on the morning learnings with a skills and personal brand workshop run by the team from Capgemini. Students were quickly working together building complex models and using problem solving skills. A parallel session was the Tech Titans Competition, the bi-annual challenge set by TechSkills for those on Tech Industry Gold accredited programmes.
Eight teams from across all years pitched their ideas to a panel of Tech Titans featuring Danny Manu, Naomi Timperley, Luke Pilford-Thomas (Aitemology), Nick Chadwick (Informed Solutions), Corinna Jacobs (Capgemini) and Joel Thomas (IBM). The Tech Titans were impressed by some of the practical solutions using technology to meet the challenges of disability, mental health and mobility. Loughborough University final year students Lara Pearson, Luke Eason and Toby Oates took the final year prize once again for their innovative mental health approach for young people. See below for a full list of winners!
The day was ended by an uplifting and motivational talk by BT’s Early Careers Manager, Reace Wade. Reace encouraged degree students to make the most of the Tech Industry Gold community and be proud they were on an industry-backed degree programme recognised by top UK technology employers.
With an average 4.8/5 rating for the day, the TechSkills team is delighted to be back live and we’re looking forward to our next events later in the year where we hope to inspire, innovate and motivate once again.
View the event photo gallery on flickr.
Make sure you keep up to date with all events and activities by registering for updates and following us on our social media channels. Our LinkedIn Tech Industry Gold Community page connects employers, alumni and students – make sure you engage regularly.
Competition Winners and Spot Prizes
First Year (Sponsored by BT)
- 1st Prize (Trophy, Credentials and £500) – Lancaster (Kibolink): Komatsu Fujimoto and Mario Uesaka on facetime
- 2nd Prize (Credentials and £300) – UWL (Self Serve): Midhun SudheerBose, Sthiti Pragyan Panda, Namira Shrestha
- 3rd Prize (Credentials and £200) – UWE (BusTag): Ibrahim Maina, Caden Turner and Vivian Brenda
Second Year
- Special Commendation (Awarded £100 Amazon Voucher by Aitemology) – Loughborough: Tsun Nok Cheung
Final Year (Sponsored by BT)
- 1st Prize (Trophy, Credentials and £500) – Loughborough (Cub Creek): Lara Pearson, Luke Eason and Toby Oates
- 2nd Prize (Credentials and £300) – UWE (Solar Charging Roads): Callum Terrill
- 3rd Prize (Credentials and £200) – UWE (AssistAHome): Camilo Pires
Additional Competition Spot Prizes
- Sthiti Panda – UWL (Amazon Voucher) – Awarded by Aitemology
- Camilo Pires – UWE (Amazon Voucher) – Awarded by Informed Solutions
Skills Session Spot Prizes
- Tatenda Gobe – Hertfordshire (Amazon Voucher) – Awarded by Capgemini
- Khaing Hsu Hlaing- UWE (On line Coaching Session with Capgemini) – Awarded by Capgemini
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