Speed Dating Review

Students and businesses met for the first ESTnetNG and Cardiff University’s first networking event of the academic year, Speed Dating, on November 13 at the Turing School of Computer Science and Informatics.

The fast-paced and disruptive session witnessed students from the university’s first-class computer science school get face-to-face with employers from south Wales’ vibrant and innovative technology sector. Students had just a minute to make an impression with the employers before moving on to the next. Businesses also had to make their mark, with each of the 25 companies – from large corporates to start-ups – giving a 60-second summary of their business at the start of the session.

Hannah Worthing (above), talent acquisition partner at Cardiff-based travel technology company and ESTnet member Inspiretech said: “It’s been really encouraging today to see so many talented individuals – the confidence in them has been fantastic. The quick pace of the day has really put people under pressure and put them through their paces, and it’s been great to see how they performed in such a situation. It’s been a great chance to tell people a bit more about what we’ve been up to, who we are as an organisation and what opportunities we have.”

Holly Barnes, operations manager at Cardiff-based Itsus Consulting, a networking and IT services company and ESTnet member said: “Today’s event was really good – it was great to meet the students from Cardiff University and potential future employees and also showcase our company.”

Charlotte White, head of  UK operations and HR at Wales Technology Award-winning Bipsync (above) commented: “We love doing these events with Cardiff University: they are fantastic with the students and we’ve found so many amazing students here. I think Cardiff University do a great job of preparing them for full-time employment.”

Students were also impressed with the session. Francesco Zuccheli, a second-year computer science student said: “I’m currently looking for a placement for cyber security analyst or project manager. As a person who’s nervous about speaking about myself, I was able to refine my pitch after constant repetition and get a better idea of how I want to present myself to my employer.”

Theresa Bryant, a conversion masters student added: “I would recommend coming to one of these events as you get to meet lots of employers in a short amount of time – plus you don’t have to scroll through lots of web pages to learn more about the employer as they just tell you the important stuff straight away.”

The next event presented by Cardiff University and ESTnetNG will be Quizmas. Hosted by Alert Logic at its European Security Operations Centre, this strictly limited capacity event will see teams comprised of Cardiff University students and an employer pit their wits against each other in a series of rounds which will test problem-solving capabilities, industry knowledge, communications skills and teamwork… with prizes on offer for the winners.

For information on attending please contact Allison Pinney-Collis.