I am a final year Computer Science (Data Science) student, and alongside my studies, I work with the Student Ambassador scheme at the University. My first connection came through involvement in student societies, after I founded the Women in STEM society. Through that, I had the opportunity to work as a Student Ambassador on many admin, events and student recruitment related tasks later taking on a research assistant role with the Centre for Safety, Resilience and Protective Security, run by the university’s Fire Safety Engineering Group. My role mainly involves analysing and recording data to support the modelling work for the project. It has really strengthened my interest in research and data science. My role has helped a lot with the more theoretical side of my maths modules. Formal statistics can feel very abstract but applying it to real data and seeing the impact has deepened my understanding.
One of my favourite experiences was working and presenting at the Digital Shark Expo, our end-of-year show. It was great to see so many student projects, celebrate friends’ successes, and speak with employers and senior staff. Another highlight was visiting the McLaren Technology Centre, thanks to the university’s partnership with Cisco. It was honestly a dream come true and inspired me to shift my focus towards motorsport and engineering, rather than big tech. Furthermore, my work as a Next Tech Girls ambassador has deepened my connections with industry experts and allowed me to support young girls moving into the tech space – especially those looking to go into higher education.
Through my student job, I’ve learned how to communicate with people at all levels, from students in the years below me to senior members of staff.
Working with such a wide range of professionals has helped me improve my communication style and taught me how to express my needs clearly and confidently. Some of the people I met on committees have become my closest friends, and I’ve also made great connections with students who share similar interests. When you interact with people from different departments, you start to recognise more friendly faces.
My advice to other students thinking about working for the university while studying would be to go for it. Whether you're a home or international student, the pay is helpful, but the real value comes from the connections and experiences. It genuinely makes a big difference.
