Last week copywriters from CopyHouse joined BIMA’s Digital Day to bring an insight into digital careers for those between the ages of 11 to 16.
During the day, students competed in a sponsored, nationwide digital challenge for the chance to win a £500 cash prize for their school and some fantastic prizes for themselves.
This digital challenge was sponsored by WWF and EPAM, who tasked the students to create a digital solution for the current environmental crisis the world is currently facing.
CopyHouse were excited to join BIMA on this day and do our bit to push digital careers in the UK further.
“BIMA’s vision is very close to CopyHouse’s heart. As a community of businesses, agencies and start-ups that want to impact and drive the future of digital industries in the UK, we felt that it was a no-brainer for CopyHouse to join this great network of like-minded people.
As a content marketing agency that specialises in technology and FinTech, we see first-hand the challenges this industry faces and the amazing potential it has for the UK and the rest of the world.
When we came across BIMA’s Digital Day, we knew straight away that it’s something we would like to get involved in, by showcasing the amazing opportunities of digital careers to young people who are literally the driving force behind the UK’s future.
It really is amazing to be involved in this day, and encourage young people to drive this industry forward!”
- Kinga Kusak, Marketing Manager, CopyHouse.
According to The Centre for Economics and Business Research, the shortage of technology and digital talent is costing the UK £21.8bn.
Putting the pandemic aside, the world is rapidly moving towards a more digital age. Technology is becoming a huge part of conducting day to day affairs to using technology on a much bigger scale.
Despite digital growing at twice the rate of the broader economy, without the skills to support this rapid growth, it can halt the evolution of technology.
BIMA aims to combat this by making technology and digital careers more accessible to the younger generation through education.
That’s where CopyHouse comes in. Our copywriters attended local schools to help educate the students on digital careers and how far technology can take us when paired with the environment.
“Kinga informed me about part taking in Digital Day and I thought this was a great opportunity to support the community and get involved in pushing digital careers further.
A great advantage of a digital career is the ability to work remotely. As I’m from a small town, the population is decreasing due to people moving out to find work, despite not wanting to. Having a digital career can offer a more flexible career path for the upcoming generation.”
- Jeanne Loganbill, Senior Copywriter at CopyHouse.
“I took on this experience as I thought it would be a great opportunity to show students all the benefits that come with digital careers, first hand. As I’m a recent graduate, I could offer a fresher perspective of digital careers and relate to students more.”
- James Kilgour, Junior Copywriter at CopyHouse.
Jeanne worked with a class of 15 to 16-year-old students at Tarbert Academy, Scotland, to deliver her presentation on all things digital and support students in creating a digital project that supports the environment.
At first, the students were not as excited about the day’s activities nor interested in the digital subject. However, I think that was due to the lack of exposure to a career path in digital.
Once we started discussing all the fantastic digital opportunities available and how it can benefit their future, the students began to engage more and ask more questions.
When it came to creating the project, that’s when their creativity really shone through. The students came up with some brilliant ideas on how technology can help save the planet and push sustainability.
For example, the winning team came up with an app called 'Easy Local'. This is where local independent food producers register their businesses with the app. The public can then find locally produced food by zooming into the map and retrieving directions to their local shop or farm. The user is also told how much their actions have reduced their carbon footprints in contrast to purchasing food from over-produced supermarkets.
I enjoyed discussing climate change and how we can prepare for it and tackle the issues with climate change.
I noticed a lot of students were worried about what the future holds when it comes to the climate, and that the media always portrays the negative effects of climate and never focuses on the solutions or ways that we can prepare for it.
It was really thought-provoking having these discussions with the children and figuring out ways we can use technology to better prepare for the future and prevent the increase of carbon emissions.
I selected Tarbert Academy because it was a local school that I knew lacked knowledge of technology and career paths formed within the digital space. Despite it being a great school, I wanted to broaden the students’ horizons by introducing them to digital opportunities.
I learnt that despite never having taught people, I have the capacity to encourage young people to solve problems and push their efforts further.
Although I have experience leading adults, teaching children is a whole new ball game as you have to keep them engaged and push them towards collaborating.
I also saw an excellent opportunity for teenagers to start getting involved in making a change. There can be a negative stigma surrounding teens, and that’s far from the case. Once you start allowing them to get involved, they are able to think outside the box and find creative ways of dealing with important and even urgent matters.
James worked alongside CreateFuture to deliver a kickass presentation on Digital Day and help the students get stuck into the project set. They took on a class of 14 to 15-year-olds from Inveralmond Community High School.
Similarly to Jeanne, we started the day by going over technology and discussing all the fantastic things tech has to offer. For example, self-driving cars. I then went on to discuss with the students what it would be like to take such inventions and place them in different circumstances. E.g. self-driving ambulances.
It sparked questions, got the students engaged, and I saw a spark in their eyes when they began to think about the endless possibilities technology has to offer.
When we moved onto the project stage, the presentations they put together were extremely creative. The runner ups even thought deeply about user experience and how the public will have access to the product, which I thought was incredibly impressive.
I enjoyed seeing the spark in students’ eyes when they began creating and developing their projects. They came up with some phenomenal ideas, and when they started to think about all the endless possibilities technology has to offer, they lit up.
I also enjoyed watching them discuss technology in its entirety. Some students had their doubts and were sceptical about technology and how it can be intrusive. The debate surrounding it was interesting to watch.
CreateFuture was great to work with! We had discussed the presentation in the weeks leading up to the Digital Day, and although we didn’t have all the equipment needed for the presentation, we improvised and pulled together a great day.
It was interesting to see the generation differences between them and myself. The way they tackle problems and the solutions they come up with.
I have learnt that students are more engaged and cooperative during the creative process of it all, and if I have the chance to lead another Digital Day, I would shorten the research element and let them get stuck into the creative side.
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