Students digital skills lead to an overall win in youth-focused challenge

Digital creatives at BMet 's Matthew Boulton College are officially top of the class when it comes to innovation and skills, after being crowned double team winners in a national youth-focused competition.

The students beat off stiff competition from college students across the country to win the annual industry-led Amazon Web Services (AWS) 'Digital Skills Project ' in two categories - 'Best Run Project ' and 'Best Overall '.

The challenge tasked over 1,000 students with producing a technology solution which addresses a problem faced by young people and supports charities.

This year, the innovative learners ' focus was on the idea of CHANGE - specifically relating to the cost-of-living crisis, war in Ukraine and the environmental crisis.

Charities relevant to the topic are also selected - with the Prince's Trust, Digital Poverty Alliance, the Trussell Trust and the CyberHub Trust all involved this year.

Students were asked to submit initial proposals and the entries were whittled down to 120 finalists from BMet College, Barking and Dagenham College, Hugh Baird College Liverpool and Coleg Gwent in Wales.

For the challenge, the successful young creatives worked in project teams and were coached and mentored throughout a 16-week period.

They were supported with communication, project management and digital literacy skills - as well as being provided with LinkedIn training sessions and social media guidance.

The final stage of the competition saw students attend a presentation day at Amazon Web Services' offices in Shoreditch at the end of March - where they showcased their ideas in front of a judging panel.

BMet students won in the best overall category for producing a game using artificial intelligence - which led to different “escape rooms ” that provided prompts to educate people about technology.

The Best Run Project was won by BMet students for their solution to create refurbishments to old technology to sell to people in low-income households.

To top off BMet 's success, creative computing student, Christopher, also won the Student of the Year award for showing great growth and maturity during the challenge.

Speaking of his winning experience, Elliott, the project manager of the team that won “Best Overall Project ” said: “It was good to be able to work together and lead a team of people in a business-like environment.

“The skills I 've learned during the project are very rewarding and I feel sure that they will be useful for future projects at college and in my career.

“I have gained so much confidence after taking part in a similar AWS challenge last year, and I am pleased that I was able to pitch and lead with more ease and self-assurance this time round.

Find out more about BMet 's opportunities for students with employers on their website.