Durham University’s TechUP team are celebrating after scooping the Student Experience Award for the University Sector at the Educate North Awards.
Held in Manchester on 18 April, the awards aim to highlight the world class achievements from the University, HE, FE and Sixth Form sectors across the North of England. Now in their 10th year, the awards were attended by more than 400 nominees, guests and judges to celebrate excellence in Education.
The TechUP team were celebrated for their trailblazing work to upskill women from underserved communities through the delivery of training to support careers in the tech sector. The award submission highlighted the programme’s work to break down barriers, reach young people with low social mobility and those that may not have had access to higher or further education in the past.
Online, in-person, hybrid and ‘boot-camp’ training offers have led to over 320 accessing the variety of flexible programmes on offer from TechUP since 2019, seeing huge success including:
Mariana Lambert
Mariana joined TechUP’s Skills Bootcamps in 2021-22 looking for an inexpensive, flexible course she could complete to make a career switch to tech while juggling being a mum. She says that the programme was a game changer for her and equipped her with not just technical skills but also the belief that she could get into tech. She is currently living her dream, working in a tech role that interests her and where she feels appreciated and trusted.
Molly Smailova
Molly graduated just last year from TechUP’s inaugural Click Start cohort and she says that her top highlights were that doing the course gave her a confidence boost, made her aware about the different tech careers on offer and helped her connect with a community of like-minded people. She’s currently in further education completing cyber security courses online and inspiring other people to get into tech as an Institute of Coding ambassador.
Speaking on the win, Professor Alexandra I. Cristea, TechUP’s Deputy Director, commented ‘Recognition from peers from the education sector is a wonderful achievement. Being able to be part of such an incredible training programme and seeing first-hand the life-changing impact TechUP Women has had on our learners is truly amazing.’
We have seen learners with no confidence or tech experience join a programme and leave with a job in the tech sector and a career plan in place. To see that change and to be part of such a transformation is what TechUP is all about.
Alexandra Cristea, TechUP Deputy Director
TechUPWomen are currently recruiting learners for the Click Start programme starting in June. More information and eligibility can be found here.