M247 have partnered with North West social enterprise, InnovateHer, in support of their mission to equip girls aged 12-16 with the confidence and skills necessary to pursue a career within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) sector.
As part of the partnership, we are linked with a local school and other business STEM mentors, with the purpose of demonstrating the options available to girls within STEM sectors. We were delighted to partner with Loreto High School who recently partook in a visit to our Manchester head office.
The girls at Loreto High School are currently taking part in an 8-week digital skills programme which is led by our very own mentor Natasha Brealey, Project Manager, Urska who is a UX/Service Designer and Romy who is a Full Stack Developer working at Jaguar Land Rover.
Natasha says “I have really enjoyed working with the students and fellow InnovateHer mentors. It is delightful to see how excited and engaged the students are when discovering the world of Technology. I am honoured to be a part of their learning experience.”
Natasha started the programme working alongside other InnovateHer mentors, running four different sessions at the school with the girls covering topics such as personas, prototyping, wireframing and coding.
The fifth session was a site visit to our head office in Manchester, where M247 were delighted to welcome 17 students and their teachers to an afternoon at our Manchester Science Park offices. Throughout the course of the afternoon, the girls took part in numerous presentations and activities run by various members of the M247 team, including speed interviews with a variety of M247 colleagues including our CEO, Jenny Davies.
The speed interview sessions provided much insight to the girls about the dynamics, challenges and relationships that exist in the workplace. It was great to see their enthusiasm and genuine interest to understand what roles they could pursue in a tech company.
Afterwards, Jenny took part in a short Q&A, answering all of the girl’s questions (including “what do you do as a CEO?”). The students also enjoyed a tour of our office before starting the final session which was a troubleshooting exercise, looking for solutions and options to problems such as:
- What to do if the internet went down and you could no longer access it
- Alternatives ways to communicate without access to online tools
- What they would do if an app/website was faulty or hacked
Afterwards, Loreto High School Head of Year 8 said “It was fantastic for the girls to have the opportunity to meet and talk with other adults in the workplace environment. To listen to ‘real world’ terminology and boost their vocabulary, and to experience the industry first hand.
It’s been a wonderful and once in a lifetime experience for them. The staff of M247 could not have been more welcoming. The visit has been expertly planned and challenged the girls. It has shown them what the world of tech is like and how inspiring it can be! Thank you so much.”
Everyone at M247 was amazed to see the level of enthusiasm from the girls throughout the day, and the commitment from the students and the team at InnovateHer. The session highlighted the reasons why we chose to partner with InnovateHer and support the amazing work they do across the North West and we look forward to doing more work with them in the future.
