As part of Bristol tech hub Engine Shed’s ‘Diverse Workforce For the Future’ campaign, eight potential partners have been selected to pitch to an audience their project plans to encourage and inspire young people from diverse backgrounds to follow careers in the digital and tech industries.
The potential partners submitted their project plans this summer and were shortlisted from 18 initial applicants. The pitching event will be held on 10 October and is free to attend – and Engine Shed is encouraging all with an interest to get involved so that the audience helping to decide the winner is as diverse as the ideas presented themselves.
Of course, expert help will also be at hand with seven cross-regional and cross-sector judges in attendance to ultimately decide the winner of up to £15,000 to make one project’s idea a reality.
But with a £500 People’s Choice award also on the cards, decided solely by the audience, it’s definitely one to get on board with.
The shortlist
Get an idea of the eight shortlisted projects getting ready to pitch below:
Digilocal– Digilocal wants to work with industry specialists to develop high-quality project resources, which would be used by Digilocal clubs and other projects to excite young people about tech.
Engine Shed Roadshow – Boomsatsuma already has a bus fitted with computers and film making equipment, and want to expand its provision across the West of England, with a focus on building awareness of and aspiration towards careers in the creative, digital and high-tech sectors.
- You may like: Profile: boomsatsuma – the digital agency that’s fuelling the next generation of creative innovators
Future Workforce Platform– clwb.org wants to develop a platform and workshops (like the AI demystified talk, pictured left) that will give students and industry partners a place to solve real-world problems.
Girls on Purpose– Simply Happy wants to develop and deliver a series of workshops in schools, enabling girls to be more engaged in their own learning process, grow their self-confidence and self-esteem, creating skills that will support them in their future.
Maths Hackers– ‘Eidos’ and Babbassa want to develop and deliver a series of workshops aimed at making maths exciting, and developing other 21st Century skills like collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity, and resilience.
Teaching Futures School Direct Career Changers into Education – Light Up Learning wants to develop their PGCE teacher training to span primary and secondary school levels, and to deliver this to career changers from diverse backgrounds, helping them become industry savvy teachers.
Target My Future– My Future My Choice and Mufti Games want to develop an interactive decision-making pinball machine to tour the region. Teams of young people will work together to navigate life choices, which can lead to or hinder future success.
Young Genius– ‘Cognitive Paths’ want to “bring high-tech to the street corners” by increasing awareness of opportunities and skills by delivering exciting product development workshops in community settings.
You can watch the projects pitch live and take part in helping to decide the winner by registering for a place on the Engine Shed Eventbrite page. To stay tuned with Engine Shed events, you can also follow them on Twitter here: @EngineShed_BB.
