Students Showcase Creative Digital Solutions to Real-world Issues in Competition Final
Hugh Baird College Digital Development students showcased their creativity and innovation at the final of the annual Digital Skills Project challenge, held at Wavemaker's Head Office in central London.
Over 100 students from further education colleges across the UK collaborated in small groups over the past 12 weeks to develop digital solutions to real-world issues affecting them and their peers, focusing on the theme of 'addiction' this year.
Participants from Hugh Baird College, alongside their peers from Barking & Dagenham College, City College Plymouth, Birmingham Metropolitan College, and Coleg Gwent in Wales, were supported by a team of industry experts through advice, workshops, and masterclasses. Their projects covered a wide range of addictions, including alcohol, vaping, social media, shopping, drugs and gambling with each group designing a unique app to support young people affected by these issues.
The event was led by Julia Von Klonowski, CEO of Digital Skills Consulting, who said:
Today’s event demonstrates the amazing talent of young people in FE colleges. Working in a team for twelve weeks on a real-world project, requires hard work and the development of many skills - from communication to people management, as well as the technical and digital element.
Every group gave a fantastic presentation, sharing their ideas and the reasons for developing their unique solution. The judges and I were blown away by both the quality and the confidence shown by these young people. Many had never presented to such a large group before, or even been to London, making their achievements even more impressive.
Hugh Baird College students presented their solutions to a panel of twelve judges from various industries, demonstrating their understanding of the issues and their technical skills in developing their apps. The judges were impressed by the quality and confidence of the presentations, making it a challenging task to choose the winners.
Julia continued:
Choosing the winners was a difficult task; I’m so proud of every single young person who has taken part in this project. The skills they have developed are exactly what employers want and need - and will absolutely support these young people into fantastic careers. I want to personally thank Wavemaker for supporting the Project and providing the venue for the Final.
Special recognition was given to several projects, with the Best Run Project award going to A.I.D.A from Hugh Baird College, and the Best Presentation award shared by SANA from Hugh Baird College and Ponderer from Barking & Dagenham College. Hugh Baird College's student of the year for the competition was awarded to Tajus Trainauskas.
