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New Speed Networking Event launches at UCL Computer Science

23 June 2022

The event was an exciting opportunity for Black, Asian and minority ethnic students to connect with industry professionals from similar backgrounds.

Image of industry professionals speaking to UCL CS students

The UCL Computer Science Race Equality Working group recently held its first ever speed networking event creating opportunities for students from the Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to meet computer science professionals from similar backgrounds. 

Students gained insight into career pathways and engaged with industry professionals from EY, EDF, Sky, NTT Data, Clarksons Platou and UCL researchers.

The event began with a warm welcome from the UCL Computer Science Race Equality Working Group Lead, Ashley Bedeau, followed by a well-received human bingo ice breaker session led by another Working Group member, Sophie Martin.

Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees commenting that it was “incredibly insightful” and “fun, educative, and the food was absolutely lovely!” 

The group believes that these positive initiatives have an incredible impact on students from marginalised groups, giving them the chance to connect with potential role models from similar backgrounds and inspiring them to succeed on their own career journeys.  

Image of two competition winners and Alan Institute member

Janis Wong from the Alan Turing Institute joined the event to present first prize award to Linta Rahman and Abu Bakar Bin Qushem, winners of the Coding Curriculum Hackathon 2022

Linta said: "it was great to have the chance to inspire young minds to give them a glimpse of what the world of tech awaits them". 

Thank you to all the members of the working group, Ashley Bedeau, Sophie Martin, Raymond Ojinnaka, Marc Deisenroth, Kiran Ahmed, Dimitrios Kanoulas, and Segun Sowemimo for organising the event. 

The Working Group would also like to thank Temi Olugbade, Mairi Tejani, Afnan Alsubaihin,  Dawn Bailey, Wendy Riches, Dean Mohamedally, Tim Bodley-Scott, Sam Stockdale, and Vajeeha Farooq for supporting the event. 

The Working Group looks forward to hosting events like this again in the future.