Digital Discovery Week

Posted on: 28 February 2020 in Connections in action

The key objectives of the week long programme was to deliver a high-profile, high-impact week of creative activities on campus, designed to inspire students & graduates into exploring careers in tech.

The Employer Connections Team are always open & enthusiastic to opportunities to working with organisations in order to provide students with opportunities to gain insight & experience and enhance their employability.  Back in the autumn of 2019, we were pleased to collaborate with business & technology consultancy firm FDM Group in order to develop & deliver a tech-themed week of employability activity, enabling students & graduates to engage with relevant organisations & their opportunities.  A key motivating factor behind the development of our first Digital Discovery Week was the shortfall in the supply of students & graduates for roles in IT, tech, & digital, compared to the demand for them from the early-careers recruitment market.  Indeed, ISE’s 2019 survey revealed that, whilst recruiting to such roles in increasing numbers, member organisations identified these roles as amongst the “hardest to fill”.

The key objectives of the week long programme was to deliver a high-profile, high-impact week of creative activities on campus, designed to inspire students & graduates into exploring careers in tech – the focus was on providing information & motivating content, and showcased a range of employers to students from a wide-range of degree-disciplines.

Drawing upon our wealth of employer contacts, the Employer Connections Team engaged large-scale student & graduate recruiters, local SME’s, and charitable & voluntary organisations in order to develop a programme of employer-led activity.  FDM’s activity comprised a ‘BitBot Grand Prix’ on University Square, strength-based interview masterclasses, participation in a tech-panel, and hosting fast-track interviews for their Technical Graduate Programme.  Bank of America, THG, and The Very Group joined FDM for the panel discussion, whilst also hosting their own tech-focused masterclasses and mock interviews during the week.  Alongside this, the Careers & Employability Digital Skills Coaches ran a programme of tech workshops on topics such as digital organisations, online surveys, starting a blog, and more, before also demonstrating their own skills & experiences for local SMEs at a ‘reverse careers fair’.  The week also featured Adobe and Creative Rebels’ ‘Showcase Your Passion’ event, as well as events focused on Health Tech, Women in Tech, Experiential Gaming, and a trip to the Liverpool City Region’s 2020 Digital Summit.

Digital Discovery Week proved popular with organisations and students alike, with eighteen employers and almost 700 students engaging in around 30 events.  Feedback demonstrated that students & graduates had gained insight & encouragement from the week’s events, with over 90% having “learned something new” and over 95% interested in persuring a tech-related role. 

Digital Discovery Week is just one example of the many ways in which organisations are able to engage & collaborate with Career & Employability at the University in order to engage with our students & graduates.