National Centre for Computing Education

Empowering the next generation: A day of digital skills and career inspiration

National Centre for Computing Education -

Last week we were excited to host an event at Ada College for 60 students from six different Harris Federation schools. The day was packed with insights, inspiration, and hands-on learning to help students discover the endless possibilities in the tech world.

About the day

We kicked the day off with a keynote speech by Regina Heap from Ada College, who highlighted the importance of digital skills in today’s job market and shared practical tips on how students can start building their tech careers now.

To highlight the types of wonderful careers that exist in the world of tech, Ian Brookes from Maven Insights explained his journey of creating the fibre-optic photo-plethysmograph, a device now used in hospitals worldwide. Following on from this, Yoelanda Lopes, from the Department for Energy and Net Zero discussed how AI is helping the UK advance nuclear power to create sustainable energy solutions, shortly before the Arcadis team taught students how to spot AI-generated images and craft effective AI prompts. It was a thoroughly insightful day, inspiring students to think creatively about solving real-world problems.

The highlight of the event was a panel featuring Computing Ambassadors Amarachi Okereke (CapGemini), Swechha Kansakar (Microsoft), and Kay NG (a cyber security business owner). These inspiring women shared their experiences and answered students’ questions about overcoming obstacles as black women in tech, the future of AI and jobs, and their experiences handling career setbacks. Their stories and advice provided students with valuable lessons on resilience, preparing for the future, and following their passions.

Feedback from students

After the event, we received feedback from the students, with comments such as:

  • “today showed me that if you don’t give up, you can reach your dreams"
  • “today has changed my feelings about working in tech significantly, there's more to it than I thought”
  • “background doesn’t matter, tech is for everyone"
  • “my favourite bit of the day was the in-depth learning about AI and experiencing what working in STEM is like”

These comments really speak for themselves, and we are so thrilled to see the next generation be inspired to take a career in STEM.

Get involved

Inspire your own students by getting involved in our very own online webinars. Here your students will get the opportunity to learn about specific topics and ask questions to the panel in live time.