Westminster students receive Tech Insight career session from AND Digital

The University of Westminster was delighted to have AND Digital host an insight session for its students as part of the Inclusive Futures: Insights programme. 
AND Digital are an award-winning company that provides businesses from around the world with the technology they need to flourish. 

The purpose of this event was to provide 26 students from backgrounds typically underrepresented in Higher Education with the opportunity to grow their networks, build confidence and gain first-hand experience of what it is like to work in fast-paced Tech organisation. 

The event took place at AND Digital’s Curie Clubhouse in London and started with an icebreaker quiz on Tech which brought out the student’s competitiveness and created a lively atmosphere. This was followed by a presentation from Onyinye Amadi, an AND Digital Associate, on Busting Myths About a Career in Tech. Students were particularly surprised to learn that you do not need a Tech or Science degree to begin a career in technology. 

Onyinye said: “There is a place at the table for everyone regardless of your educational background. All you need is a passion for Tech, a willingness to learn and to be up to date with new technologies.” 

The next session was an overview of the Tech industry hosted by Zain Ali, a Product Analyst at AND Digital. Zain explained the key segments of the global IT market, how software gets built and delivered and the different types of roles in the industry. 

After a short break, Kate Etherington, People Lead at AND Digital, hosted an exercise whereby the students were asked to get into groups and solve a challenge from a choice of two briefs. The purpose of the exercise was to help students learn the role of agencies and clients, understand client briefs, and see how AND Digital works to solve briefs. The three steps students undertook were discovering, designing, and delivering. From the moment the timer was set, the room was buzzing with brainstorming, researching and debating. 

Speaking about the exercise, Kate said: “Throughout the session the students came up with creative solutions, worked collaboratively as a team and had a fantastic energy when working on their briefs. It was absolutely wonderful to hear that a number of students had a newfound desire to work in the Tech industry and had also gained an understanding into the next steps they could take to obtain a role.”

AND Digital Associate, Ruella Vas, led the final part of the insight session on job hunting and provided tips on using LinkedIn, graduate websites, networking, interviews and explained the graduate recruitment process at AND Digital. 
Students stayed long after the finish time to engage with and speak to all the employers there to either make new connections or receive valuable advice. 

Simran Sidhu, a Computer Science BSc Honours student at Westminster who attended the session, said: “The employees I met were very professional and helpful. They took the time after the insight session to answer questions I had, which I greatly appreciated. In addition to this, one of them helped me with my enquiries on the application process for their graduate schemes and what online tests may be carried out during the interviewing process. This was very beneficial to me as I wanted to know more about how this employer recruits people and what they look for in a candidate - information which I will keep in mind when I apply for their graduate scheme.”  

Manal Ali, an Interior Architecture BA Honours student, added: “The company's culture and values are both very honest, which I admired a lot. The way the team is organised into what they call 'clubs' allows for the members to collaborate much easier and in a more comfortable setting, while still getting the benefits of a large-sized company. They revealed that there are so many more roles that exist in the Tech industry than people usually think, and when AND Digital hire new members, they allow them to explore a role that they feel will suit them best, which still gives them the option to switch roles later on.”

The University would like to thank AND Digital for hosting this insight day which has both heighted the interest of those students who were already keen on a career in Tech and introduced others to a possible new career path.

Find out more about the University’s Inclusive Futures: Insights programme.