UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 10 MARCH 2016
Hundreds of students have been creating innovative new apps, getting grilled in interviews and meeting some of the region’s biggest employers as part of a drive to sharpen their skills ready for the workplace.
Students at Birmingham City University have been put through their paces during a week-long initiative which will help prepare them for employment - with some already teeing up jobs with major organisations.
As part of the week students from the University’s Faculty of Computing Engineering and the Built Environment created dozens of working web apps during a 24-hour ‘hackathon’ – just days before it was revealed the University ranked fifth out of 300 establishments in the European Major League of Hacking.
Among the creations were a random activity selector to cure boredom, a website which automatically displays unique questions from Twitter and a game which uses a virtual reality headset to give users the experience of climbing a rock face.
Collaboration and creativity
"The hackathon was amazing! Everyone was super helpful to each other and there was a real community atmosphere." Pandelis Zembashis, a Computer Science student, shares his experience.BCU Hackathon blog
Others entered competitions held by computer giants Microsoft, learned how Galifford Try will build Birmingham’s new £56 million Conservatoire and met recent course graduates now employed in a number of high-profile roles.
The week also aims to help support the regional economy by making sure graduates are prepared to enter the world after completing their studies.
Students met with dozens of employers including household names Jaguar Land Rover, the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Navy.
“From my experience with the Computing students, they've benefited greatly from all of the opportunities provided during employability week.
“We've had excellent entrepreneurs, speakers and the genuine companies that employ our students involved throughout, providing real motivation for the students.
“The highlight for me was leading the Birmingham City University Hack, a 24 hour programming competition, supported by several of our industrial partners.
“This challenged students to work in teams to expand their skills and develop something new. The software, websites, mobile apps, computer games and hardware implementations produced far exceeded my expectations and showed the immense talent that exists within our student body."