Berlin Innovation Challenge: Zack

Posted on: 20 June 2024 by Shannon Cheung in Student experiences

Computer Science student Zack took part in this year's Handshake Innovation Challenge in Berlin. Read about his experience here.

Hello! I’m Zack, a third year BSc Computer Science student at the University of Liverpool. Alongside various student-staff roles across the university, I work in a local technology start-up called Jamescape as the Executive Team Manager. Jamescape is a software development company empowering businesses and charities through built-for-purpose digital solutions.

I recently took part in the Handshake Innovation Challenge in Berlin, and am pleased to share my experience here:

What was your favourite part of #berlinnovation?

I really enjoyed how much it pushed me outside of my comfort zone! We were thrown in random groups of students from across the three universities, and it was great to meet people from across the world and collaborate together on the challenge. I also grew closer to the small handful of people I already knew on the trip. I don’t travel much, so visiting Berlin was a another highlight of the trip. 

As a student, what do you look for when using career platforms like Handshake?

In my opinion, online platforms are only as good as the content and opportunities available on them. Students are looking for an active userbase posting high-quality content and top employers sharing job positions. Handshake is great for part-time campus jobs from the University of Liverpool, and it’s where I found some of my student-staff roles such as Disability Coach and Liverpool Advocate.

What skills have you developed as a result of taking part in #berlinnovation?

Teamwork and communication are the two key skills that the challenge pushed, particularly working with peers who you’ve never met before. As our group had different backgrounds and experience, we each had a lot of different ideas and opinions to offer.

Prior to the challenge, I had never formally pitched before a panel of judges, and while this is something I struggled with, it was valuable to go through the process of creating an idea, developing it using business models and stakeholder analysis, and then trimming it down into a four-minute pitch.

Creating innovative solutions will be a key part of my career aspirations to be an EDI (equality, diversity, inclusion) lead, so Berlinnovation was great experience for me!

If you could sum up your #berlinnovation2024 experience in 3 words what would they be?

Collaboration, iInovation, Challenge!