Tech professionals inspire the next generation of young women to work in IT

Bring IT On brings together tech professionals to inspire the next generation of young women to enter the sector

The Bring IT On team returned with their ‘Girls in Tech’ event this year with a sold-out event at the Clayton Hotel, Belfast. Dedicated to female school students from across Northern Ireland, ‘Girls in Tech’ aims to overcome stereotypes and inspire young women to consider a career in the tech sector.

Attended by 130 pupils and teachers from 13 schools across Northern Ireland, this year’s event was an immense success thanks to the fantastic line up of professionals who kept the audience engaged. These professional women who work in the Digital IT sector inspired the young women with interactive sessions that explored the many reasons why they should consider a career in Tech.

Speakers included Sapphire Duffy, Global Community Manager at Women Who Code, who explained in detail her own career journey into the tech sector. The school pupils were eager to find out more and were very open to discovering as much as they could about the many career opportunities open to women.

Following this, MCS Group Belfast delivered an interactive session to the young women around ‘Building for the Future’. This session gave the attendees an opportunity to engage in group activities aiming to change their perception of what it means to be a ‘Women in Tech’. Following a quick lunch break the attendees were welcomed back with a comedic song from Emer Maguire, reenergizing the girls ready for a packed afternoon of activities. The third speaker, Siobhan Mulvenna, owner of SMT Solutions, provided a very engaging session around ‘The Confidence Code’.  This included confidence building activities and equipped the young women with the tools to explore and develop their strengths and improve their self-esteem.

The event closed with a speed networking session, where representatives from leading Tech companies rotated around the tables and talked about their own career journeys, giving the girls an insight into what their jobs are really like. There were female role models from Aflac, AllState, Angola, Citi, Civica, Core Systems, HighRoads, iEngageIT, Kainos, LibertyIT, PwC and Version 1 who provided an invaluable contribution to the event.

This was a fantastic opportunity for the students to meet successful female role models from the sector, and ask questions about roles, pathways and opportunities whilst further challenging some of their previous stereotypical beliefs about the industry. The school children from Downpatrick, Carrickmore, Belfast, Armagh, Tyrone, Dungannon, to Newcastle and Lisburn, all benefitted greatly from this experience.

Catriona Houston, a teacher at St Patrick’s College in Dungannon who attended the event said:

“Thank you so much for the event today! Our girls had a ball and loved every minute of it! Such a worthwhile event!”

Colette Walker, teacher at Ashfield Girls High School, confirmed: ‘Our Year 13 ICT students have enjoyed hearing from inspirational speakers from the IT industry at Bring I.T. On’s ‘Girls in Tech’ event.’

Find out more about Bring IT On here

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