7,000+ students in 190 schools across the UK paired with digital professionals to tackle one of three inspiring challenges set by sponsors EPAM, Micro:bit Educational Foundation and Wimbledon.
Now, BIMA is delighted to announce the winners in each category:
The global product development, digital platform engineering and product design agency challenged students to create a campaign that inspires others to explore a digital career.
The Kings School, Macclesfield – Alex, Oliver, Mackenzie, Tariq – supported by the school’s Head of Computer Science and Creative iMedia, Phill McKenzie and Joelle Dunne of Kin + Carta Connect .
Judges:
Highly commended:
Joelle Dunne – Senior Account Director, Kin + Carta Connect said, “We’re particularly proud of the winning team and were blown away with their entry.”
Phill McKenzie of Kings School said: “Having been involved in the BIMA Digital Day for the past five years, I can honestly say the students gain so much from participating.”
The Micro:bit Educational Foundation set students the challenge of creating a piece of technology that will help save our oceans. The winning entry “stood out because of its realistic approach and thought-through idea.” The judges added: “We can see how this could be implemented in real life.”
Bournemouth School for Girls – Annalise, Ellie, Charlotte, Amelia, Emily – supported by teacher James Winrow and Sam Mullins and Matt Northam of Redweb
Judges:
Highly commended:
James Winrow of Bournemouth School for Girls said: “Digital Day is a great way of enthusing and educating young people about careers in [digital].”
Sam Mullins, developer at Redweb, said: “For the last four years, we’ve always looked forward to working with Bournemouth School for Girls for Digital Day. Their engagement, creativity and problem-solving skills are always fantastic and for the winning team to get recognised for their effort is terrific.”
How can the world’s greatest tennis tournament encourage more young people to get active? That was the question posed by Wimbledon and the winners responded with an entry which “answered the brief perfectly” with a “very well-rounded idea and presentation.”
Nottingham Girls’ High School – Eva, Tara, Lauren, India, Emily – supported by Head of Computer Science, Frances Sparrow and Georgie Kemp and Milly Morris of Impression
“We couldn’t be more thrilled for the team at Nottingham Girls’ High School. The girls were so engaged throughout BIMA Digital Day and were a pleasure to work with. We feel particularly privileged to have been able to work alongside young women aspiring to lead the digital industry and look forward to seeing how their creativity and enthusiasm may shape the future of the sector.” – Georgie Kemp and Milly Morris from digital marketing agency Impression, Nottingham.
Judges:
Highly commended:
Frances Sparrow of Nottingham Girls’ High School said “To have a team of young women be responsible for the design of a Wimbledon app that will be used by thousands of people is an incredible opportunity and we are very proud of them.”
Each winning team receives a workshop with the respective challenge sponsor, whilst each winning school receives a £500 cash prize.
Speaking about Digital Day, BIMA co-president Natalie Gross said: “We know the shortage of tech and digital talent is costing the UK billions of pounds every year. That’s why Digital Day matters so much, because the more young people we can inspire now, the more their talent will benefit us in the future.”
Supplemental information – quotes in full:
Phill McKenzie, Head of Computer Science and Creative iMedia, Kings School Macclesfield: “Having been involved in the BIMA Digital Day for the past 5 years, I can honestly say the students get so much from taking part. I am proud of all the students and their entries this year, but especially the winning team and their unique approach to the challenge set, in my opinion a thoroughly deserved winning entry. Students develop and utilise a range of skills across the day, from collaboration, resilience and reasoning to over-coming challenges and reflecting on their ideas. The day has also allowed us as a school to form a fantastic working relationship with our digital partner Kin + Carta Connect, who have been incredibly generous with their time and expertise. We really hope to build on this relationship over the coming years.”
Joelle Dunne – Senior Account Director, Kin + Carta Connect: “We had a brilliant day with the students and teachers at Kings – all their ideas were amazing and really well considered. The students were fully engaged and we really enjoyed the day spent working with the teams and helping them craft their ideas. We’re particularly proud of the winning team and were blown away with their entry that was supported by the development of a working online quiz that helped users to find their perfect role.
James Winrow, Bournemouth School for Girls: “The micro:bit brief was both challenging and thought-provoking and all of our students who took part enjoyed the experience immensely. Within Design & Technology at Bournemouth School for Girls we have been using micro:bits in our department for a while as they are a great way to develop skills in both coding and creativity. So it was fantastic to use these versatile devices to help animate and present student’s Digital Day ideas, while also making the event feel more like a hi-tech competition.
“Digital Day is a great way of enthusing and educating young people about careers in that sector and our partners from RedWeb did a great job of both communicating their passion for their work while encouraging our girl’s creativity.”
Frances Sparrow, Head of Computer Science, Nottingham Girls’ High School: “Nottingham Girls’ High School prides itself on having a creative and innovative curriculum. It is this environment that helps our girls to flourish in all areas and not be constrained by gender stereotypes. We are very keen to promote the use and understanding of technology within the school so that we can be sure of preparing our pupils for the world in which they will be working. Entering competitions such as this is an essential part of that preparation and winning the BIMA Digital Day shows just how important our philosophy is. To have a team of young women be responsible for the design of a Wimbledon app that will be used by thousands of people is an incredible opportunity and we are very proud of them.”