A mentoring scheme run by the School of Engineering and Digital Arts and supported by the Student Projects Fund is enhancing opportunities for young women.
The scheme offers opportunities for female students within the School to learn from leading industry professionals in a formal arrangement that is designed to boost their career prospects. With the support of experts in the field, the scheme helps female students to break through traditional barriers to working in male-dominated environments and develop the skills needed to kick-start their careers.
Funded by donations to the Kent Opportunity Fund, this year it is supporting Francesca Haselden and Rebecca Bull, two exceptional students who are in the final year of their Multimedia Technology and Design degrees.
Thanks to support from donors, these two promising students are receiving hands-on experience and mentoring from Kent alumna Liz Valentine-House, who graduated seven years ago and now works as a Research Scientist at the BBC. She works alongside scientists, engineers and designers to create new technology to deliver BBC programmes. Under Liz’s guidance, Francesca and Rebecca are investigating the uses of factual video content to increase interaction with the viewer. The work that they are carrying out will boost their confidence and improve their digital engineering skills, helping them to secure employment when they graduate.
The Student Projects Fund supports projects and activities at Kent that give students opportunities to develop their skills, confidence and career prospects. Established in 2012, the Fund has already supported a variety of projects including volunteering opportunities in the local community, career advice and support for students with autism, and vacation studentships in the NHS.
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You can find out more about Liz Valentine-House and her work at the BBC, including how her ideas helped children’s television channel CBeebies connect with young viewers, here.