One of the biggest achievements of my year has been having the honour of speaking at the inaugural TechUp Women residential weekend at the University of Durham. To be invited back to another residential as a guest was such a pleasure and I felt I’d share a few things I learned over that weekend. This was the third residential these 100 fabulous women would have been a part of. This one was hosted by the University of York so I had the pleasure of visiting a part of the UK I’d not yet had the pleasure of seeing. I loved what I saw from the coaches and buses and will be taking the kids in the Spring. Anyway, here’s some of the lessons I learnt during the TechUp Women residential in York!
I can dance the ceilidh
I thought I’d start with this because everytime I think of the York residential, I think of the fun we had sharing stories over dinner, and more to the point, dancing!! Thanks to a very persistent lady named Sarah, who stared me down more than once when I flat out refused to join in with the dancing part of our evening, I ended up giving the dance a go. It was good fun. I admit it. Don’t tell her though, I don’t want her to be able to say I told you so when we next meet. Sometimes there is something so awesome about stepping out of your comfort zone and this was a big reminder.
Head Talent at Atom Bank speaking with Tech Up Women delegates
Fin-tech spaces can be fun and human
We had a great session with the Durham based Atom Bank at the Tech Up Women residential. We spoke about the services they offer and also about what it is like to work for them. I’ve not worked for a challenger bank but I’ve worked within the fin-tech space. They tried hard to show they had a good work-life balance, great culture, treated people like people yada yada yada, but my personal experience was that it was one rule for some people and another for the rest. They spoke more about their culture than they actually lived it. So it was refreshing to speak to the ladies at Atom Bank and to see that they were walking the walk. Staff felt valued, invested and seen. Work was varied and if I lived a bit closer to Durham, I’d easily have applied to work for them!
Sharmadean Reid imparting her wisdom via video link link a superstar
You don’t have to build a start-up or fund it in a way that is the status quo
We had some amazing speakers, as always at TechUpWomen Residential. On the second day of the residential, Sharmadean Reid and Anne-Marie Imafidon both spoke to us about their experiences in tech. It was interesting to hear that neither of them had gone about their respective businesses in a traditional path. Both had followed their passions and their guts though. However, they didn’t listen to people telling them that you must raise a certain percentage of capital first or you must have a certain rate of growth to be viable. Each trusted in the process and their vision.
I tend to talk myself out of what it is I want to do more than I trust in what it is I want. This was a very timely reminder to trust in the process and give myself over to what it is I want.
glasses designed to represent different visual impairments to help us consider end users in design
Accessibility is still often overlooked in building tech
I attended a session on accessibility to help us think about the end-user of our products or services more when we are designing. I use ALT text in my posts not just because Google and other search engines like them, but because it also allows the visually impaired to get a description of what my images are when and if they are on my blog. There are probably many more things I can do to make my blog more accessible and it’s something I’ve got on my list of blog projects for the New Year.
Great life hack – charging your devices with the TV USB port
How to charge your phone in a hotel room when you forget your plug
I managed to leave my phone charger at my parent’s house the night before leaving for the York residential. I still used it on the journey up and by the evening, my battery percentage was in single figures! I could’ve cried! Luckily, one of the TechUp ladies was kind enough to lend me her power bank (thank you thank you thank you!) and another, taught me a great hack. You see, I had the wire but not the plug of my charger and couldn’t find anywhere to plug it in throughout my hotel room. She pointed out that the TV will have USB points behind it and I could charge it from there. Which, is exactly what I did the moment I got back into the hotel after my night catching up with these amazing women and dancing the Ceilidh.
Your voice matters and you really can make a difference
I had major imposter syndrome (which interestingly, was also the topic of one of the amazing keynotes on the first night of the residential.) and nearly turned around and hopped back on the train when I got to York. There were these amazing women who were holding down full-time jobs, looking after kids, studying full time to change their careers, and then there was me. Little old me who spoke at the first residential and thought that although my session was well-received, didn’t deserve to take up space at another residential. I had such a warm reception from the delegates thought it was unreal. We talked about the progress we had made in life in general and the course. People told me they had started blogging off the back of my talk and it reminded me that what I had said in my initial talk was advice worth remembering; every voice matters and one person can make a difference.
Members of the Tech Up women Team, L-R Mrs Johanna Waite, Professor Alexandra Christea and Professor Sue Black
You don’t need a degree in a subject to become a professor/expert in said subject
We were privileged to have a session led by Professor Susan Stepney. When she started out at university, the courses she teaches now didn’t even exist. This phenomenal woman learnt computing as computing happened. She went into a field that she had a passion for and it had paid off with a long and illustrious career, which is in turn shaping the lives and careers of so many people.
Shoot for the stars, dream bigger
I learned, or more over, I reinforced what I already knew. I need to dream bigger. Some of the ladies I spoke with have some amazing projects in the works. They have dared to shoot their shots and it’s paying off. We miss 100 per cent of the opportunities we don’t put ourselves forward for. It’s ok to dream big but don’t forget to actually action those plans too!
