De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) alumni had the chance to connect with each other at a networking event held at the Innovation Centre based on DMU campus.
Following on from the DMU International Women’s Day event in March, the alumni team were excited to launch the first Alumni Women’s Event, which focused on Women in Tech and STEM.
The aim of the event was to enhance networking skills, connect with fellow alumni and the opportunity to hear from some inspirational guest speakers.
The event began with a welcome from Carol Manley, Alumni Relations Manager at DMU. Sarah Thomson, Director of Strategic and International Partnerships at DMU followed with a presentation talking about her role as a Director at DMU and asked the question: “Do we need a women’s network?”
The second presentation was given by Abigail Parker, a DMU Alumna and now a Client Success Director for Capp and Co Ltd. She asked the DMU alumni: “What do you think when you think about women in Tech and STEM?”
Abigail Parker giving her presentation
The DMU alumni gave reasons as to why they attended the event. A recurrent message from attendees was that they came to meet likeminded women that work in Tech and the power of networking.
Ffîon Quick, who studied Cultural Events Management MSc said: “I’m really excited to be here today, to meet other DMU alumni that are interested in digital marketing and the Tech industry.
“I was lucky to sit next to the right people at some cultural change events and they actually put me in contact with companies in Leicester which accidentally led me to become a freelance marketer.
“I guess it’s kind of lonely being a digital marketing freelancer, so I am looking to branch out my network in Leicestershire and meet other likeminded people.”
Munera Cassambai, who graduated from DMU in 2002 in Jewellery Design BA (Hons), said: “I came here to speak with other people to see what they’re doing, interact with them and take some contacts away with me.”
Abigail Basketter who studied a Masters in Sustainable Development and Climate Change was particularly interested in this event because:
“It was STEM focussed and I wanted to find out what kind of other careers other women had gone into in STEM and what their background was in comparison to my own experience.”
Joanne Mawbey a graduate from DMU in Business Information Systems added: “I’ve come to meet with likeminded women that work in Tech or don’t work in Tech and want to get into Tech and just get to know people.”
Devica Jamnadas, who graduated in Computing BSc (Hons) in 2015, took away a message given by Carol Manley: “What I am leaving with today is the power of networking and I think for me networking is not about who I’ve met and who I know it’s more about who I’ve connected with, built a rapport with and who I can introduce them to in order to help one another.
“What attracted me to come to this event was the fact that I am the only girl from my batch who has actually pursued a career within IT in a STEM environment out of the four I studied along with. So with being five girls on the course it was nice to come and see who has actually graduated from DMU and have a similar perception of what we do.”
Posted on Friday 28 September 2018