Kubrick partners with Microsoft once again

Kubrick and Microsoft’s EduConnect team joined forces to deliver and encourage students on the opportunities that are within their reach and the advantages a career in tech can offer, in our efforts to foster a diverse and inclusive industry.

Returning to Leyton Sixth Form College after a successful pilot in the summer, Kubrick and Microsoft delivered a day of learning, challenging students to think creatively whilst putting their soft skills to the test.

Taking place over a day and in collaboration with Waltham Forest Council, the programme engaged over 50 students undertaking their BTEC IT qualification. The hackathon provided students with a real-life business challenge, drawing inspiration from the Covid 19 Pandemic and its effect on the aviation industry. Ahead of the challenge students were given a lesson on Azure, AI, and HoloLens presented by Microsoft specialists and through the guidance of our consultants were encouraged to apply this knowledge, before presenting their solution to the class.

The hackathon was delivered by Microsoft interns and Kubrick consultants during their 15-week training period, who used this opportunity to hone their leadership and communication skills, with the support of senior staff from across Kubrick HQ & Microsoft.

Reflecting on the day Jessica Wooninck, Microsoft Azure Core Specialist said: “It is being able to bring what I do on a day-today basis to a younger profile, because at the end of the day they are the future and we need to make sure they know what is critical to businesses and bring that from the bottom up. Bringing in women to these events demonstrates that they are women in the tech industry, and this hopefully can motivate and inspire.”

Kubrick organised the hackathon in tandem with Business Education Events, Waltham Forest Council, and the Mayor of London to fund the programme. Collaborating closely with Microsoft, students from the winning teams were awarded the opportunity to step inside the Microsoft Experiential centre, for an opportunity to experience cutting-edge technology first-hand.

Kubrick exists to help solve the global technology skills emergency, through cultivating and fostering diverse talent. As a Gold Partner of Microsoft, Kubrick is working to bridge the technology gap, making technology skills more accessible and driving social mobility by getting students from underrepresented backgrounds into technology roles.

Speaking about the day a student said: “It was a great experience, and it was great to see so many female leaders in tech taking part.”

To take a closer look at how the day went head over to our YouTube