Ideagen, the Nottingham-headquartered, global software firm, is teaming up with one of the top academies in Nottingham, Nottingham Girls’ Academy, as it looks to raise career prospects for women who want a career in technology.
The Ruddington-based company has joined with Nottingham Girls’ Academy as part of the ‘Ideagen Women in Tech’ programme facilitated by the D2N2 Enterprise Adviser Network.
In response, the Nottingham Girls’ Academy has created a careers strategy focussing on challenging gender stereotypes with the purpose of increasing the rate of girls embarking into science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM) careers.
With the programme now in place at the school, across the academic year, female students are given digital tech expertise and experience mapped to the new T-Level qualification being delivered in the school’s Sixth Form.
Some of the subjects explored on the programme include networking, security, and the internet of things.
There will also be curriculum learning on the fundamentals of Information Technology (IT), Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, a careers networking session with Ideagen professionals, and chances to win prizes through a challenging technology project.
Ideagen’s CEO, Ben Dorks (Pictured), who has been an Enterprise Advisor for Nottingham City Schools since 2017, insists encouraging more women into technology careers is a personal passion: “This is a truly fantastic initiative and I am particularly pleased to be working alongside the Nottingham Girls’ Academy in bringing this project to fruition.”
“It is vitally important that we at Ideagen, as a local employer and a successful and consistently growing technology leader in the global governance, risk and compliance (GRC) space, do all we can to encourage young people, particularly young women, into careers in technology.
D2N2 Head of People & Skills Rachel Quinn said of the programme: “ Raising the profile and numbers of women in tech is an important priority nationally. The rate of disengagement of girls from tech subjects is much faster than boys yet tech roles are growing quickly and often lead to better-paid jobs.
“We have to break the status quo and inspire girls and women to get more involved in tech and in piloting this approach in an all-girls setting we will harness learning that can be shared across all our D2N2 schools.
Enterprise Adviser Network
The Enterprise Advisor Network (EAN) creates a framework where business can work with schools and colleges in order to inspire young people, unlocking their potential and revealing exciting new career options.
In the past year, the EAN has matched more than 100 schools across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire with 1 of around 100 volunteer business advisors like Ben Dorks from Ideagen.
Media wanting more information about the D2N2 LEP can contact Luke Stott, D2N2 Digital Marketing Officer, on 0115 9578749 or email: Luke.Stott@d2n2lep.org
