Advancing digital skills and building successful careers

Our partners, The Access Foundation and The Hg Foundation, are providing funding for Birkbeck’s Careers and Enterprise team to deliver the Access to Digital Skills and Careers Programme. The programme delivers:

Tech Insights workshops with industry leaders for students to learn about careers of the future
Training in collaboration with Microsoft to enhance digital skills
Paid micro-placements for hands-on employment experience in the sector

The innovative programme won the Not for Profit Initiative of the Year and the Early Careers Initiative of the Year categories at the British Training Awards 2024.

James Turner, CEO of The Hg Foundation, said: “Widening the pipeline of talent into tech is not just the right thing to do, it’s also crucial to meet the skills needs of the future. It’s great to support initiatives like this at Birkbeck that open doors which might otherwise have been closed.”

Rob Parkinson, Head Trustee of The Access Foundation, added: “It is great to see underserved students having the opportunity to reach their full potential in the tech sector by allowing them access to a career path that would have previously been difficult to reach.”

David Adediji, who is studying MSc Advanced Computing at Birkbeck, took part in a placement as a software developer at hixai.io, a startup aiming to provide tailored personalised guidance to entrepreneurs starting their own businesses by incorporating industry knowledge.

He started the two-month placement in April 2024 and is now working for them part-time.

He said: “It’s been beyond what I could have hoped for. I am getting to learn what it is like to work at a startup and the fact that you have to learn so much by yourself. It’s hard but it’s rewarding when you figure it out.

“It’s been really good for me to get that real-world experience to move higher in my career. I am really proud of where I have got to.”

Ezgi Demirer, who studied MA Digital Media Design at Birkbeck, also took part in a placement with hixai.io as a product designer.

She said the internship worked perfectly for her as it allowed her to work part-time in accordance with her visa status.

She said: “I have had the chance to apply and combine the skills I learnt in my degree, such as user testing and user experience design.

“I’ve had a real sense of achievement working on the user journey and seeing the product ready for launch.

“I am now looking for a full-time job, as my visa will be changed to a graduate visa, and a lot of the job descriptions ask for someone who has experienced product launch. So it has been brilliant to get that experience.”

Max Kelly, who co-founded hixai. io with business partner Tom Fairey, said: “It has been extremely beneficial from a technical point of view to get David and Ezgi on board.

"We have been able to build something where we can showcase and get real user feedback.

“It’s moved us forward. It’s been a really useful way of supporting our business at this very early stage. The flexibility has been excellent for us.

“Plus, David and Ezgi have been able to get exposure to this really popular sector.”

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