BCS are continuing to work with training providers across England on their Digital T Level programme, developing young people for their career by bridging the gap between curriculum and industry.
Last month a competition saw BCS team up with National Highways, the Government-owned highway agency that plan, design, build, operate and maintain the 4,300 miles of roads, to offer Digital T Level students the opportunity to impress a panel of judges that included Data Science Principal Product Owner, Gergely Raccuja.
After seeing many commendable entries from 16-17 year old students, the winning entry came from Thorpe St Andrew, a sixth form college in Norwich, and was submitted by Digital T Level students Sam Ward, Sonny Linstead, Ben Morgan and Adon Hardy.
Their entry went above and beyond the expectations of the judges at National Highways, who described it as ‘remarkable’. The students went on to score an impressive 97%, showing clear business acumen through addressing key business imperatives, data analysis and a good understanding of National Highways as an organisation.
Gergely, said: "I got involved because I wanted to pay forward the opportunity I had earlier in my career to take part in a competition. I was also curious about what's on the mind of the next generation, who are digital native. The winners blew us away with their sharp insight about the current state of the roads and their awareness of future technologies. We were also impressed about their ability to articulate their thoughts and experiences and would love it if they decided to apply for an apprenticeship with National Highways Digital Services after they completed their T-levels."
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Curriculum Leader of IT and Computing at Thorpe St Andrew and teacher, Mr Neil Tiddy said: “The group of students are a motivated group of friends who showed great initiative to impress the judges and also great teamwork in working together to build an entry that impressed an industry leader to that level.”
“Last year we entered BCS’s competition and had a group who were highly commended, so it’s amazing to have the winning group this year. We use the competition to develop students team working skills in preparation for industry placement, and it’s great for my students to work with industry on a project and the chance of winning a prizes and improving their CV at the same time.’
When quizzed on their winning entry, the boys said: “Fully understanding the task or problem is the most important and hardest part. I think it helped us figure out the best way to function as a team and create something to be proud of together.”
BCS work with industry to support the Government’s new Digital T Levels programme, bridging the gap between curriculum and industry through insights, resources, competitions and events.
One aspect of the support programme is creating an environment where employers can set a scenario based task for students to tackle. This scenario is linked to real life version of what happens in industry, testing the how the young people can turn theory they’ve learnt from the curriculum to a digital solution that could be implemented in industry.
