Join BCS for our Get Ahead in Digital Week 2026!
Sessions
19/01/2026 - 11:15 (1 hour) - Recent Role Models
20/01/2026 - 13:15 (1 hour) - Security Decoded: Staying Safe in the Digital Age
21/01/2026 - 11:15 (1 hour) - Establishing and building your personal brand
22/02/2026 - 11:15 (1 hour) - AI in Action: Real World Applications for the Digital Workforce
22/02/2026 - 13:15 (1 hour) - Data is Everywhere - and it's Your Responsibility
Session Synopses
Recent Role Models
The Purpose of this event is for the students to hear about recent experiences from former Digital T Level students and where they are now. The alumni panel will share the transferable skills they have developed whilst completing their T-Level and how they are now applying this in the work place.
The session will cover:
- Experience of T-Levels
- Career aspirations of recent T-Level Graduates
- Tips for someone pursuing a career in tech
Security Decoded: Staying Safe in the Digital Age
To introduce Digital T-level Students to the fundamental principles of cyber security, raise awareness of common digital threats and equip them with practical skills and strategies to stay safe online both personally and professionally. The session aims to demystify cyber security by exploring real-world examples, identifying common vulnerabilities, and highlighting the importance of responsible digital behaviour.
Establishing and building your personal brand
This session will help digital T-Level students understand the importance of personal branding in a competitive digital job market. It will help students understand how to present themselves effectively online and offline, and give practical solutions to help them understand how to stand out as they build on their career.
AI in Action: Real World Applications for the Digital Workforce
To introduce Digital T-Level students to how artificial intelligence is being applied in real-world digital careers and explore the challenges that come with it. This session aims to help students understand both the opportunities and responsibilities of working with AI, encouraging them to think critically about fairness, bias, accountability, and the human impact of technology. Through industry insights and interactive discussion, students will gain a clearer view of how their thinking is essential in the future of digital work.
Data is Everywhere - and it's Your Responsibility
This event will raise awareness of the role of data in everyone's life, highlight the importance of responsible data handling, connect classroom learning to real-world digital practice, promote digital responsibility and critical thinking.
Speaker Biographies
Recent Role Models
Amaara Naveed - Quality Engineering Apprentice at Lloyds Banking Group
Amaara is a quality engineer passionate about building reliable, user-friendly software that’s ready for the real world. From automating tests with Playwright to refining features, she enjoys solving problems, spotting details others might miss, and making sure quality is built in from the start. Driven by curiosity and growth, she’s committed to developing her skills and excelling in a career in tech.
Casey Oakes - Software Engineer Apprentice at Lloyds Banking Group
Casey’s journey began with a Digital T Level at college, where she gained hands-on experience and foundational skills in the tech industry. As part of the course, she completed a work placement with Lloyds Banking Group—an opportunity that opened the door to a full apprenticeship. Fast forward a year, and she’s now approaching the completion of that apprenticeship, having grown both professionally and personally within the organisation.
Security Decoded: Staying Safe in the Digital Age
Aaron Kelly – Systems Integrator at Delkia, Student BCS Member, Radio Society of Great Britain Member
Aaron is a keen technologist with a background in systems administration and security engineering across highly regulated sectors. He currently works for a systems integrator in the North West called Delkia as part of a three man team where he looks after the information security portfolio of work. Throughout this time Aaron has covered aspects of Windows & Linux systems administration, Cyber Essentials, Incident Response and the transition to ISO27001:2022, becoming the internal company go to for all things cyber security. Outside of work, Aaron supports the delivery of the Lancaster University Ethical Hacking Group; tinkering with his homelab; and is part of the Morecambe Bay Amateur Radio Society holding a Foundation License.
Joseph Ross - Chief Technology and Finance Officer (CTFO) at South West Cyber Resilience Centre
Joseph Ross is a Chartered Fellow of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and operates as the Chief Technology and Finance Officer of the South West Cyber Resilience Centre, seconded from his role as a member of Police Staff at Wiltshire Police. Joseph has submitted his PhD thesis in Digital Transformation and AI and is awaiting assessment. His research has been conducted through the University of Plymouth and with support from the Royal Navy. Prior to this, Joseph’s background is in teaching computer science, and he also served in the Royal Navy. Joseph is passionate about supporting the community to protect themselves in the digital age.
Rosie Anderson - Head of Strategic Solutions at th4ts3cur1ty.company
Rosie Anderson is Head of Strategic Solutions for th4ts3cur1ty.company AKA Magical Genie Person. Having previously spent two decades talking to businesses to solve their hiring challenges, Rosie now uses those skills to help businesses solve their cybersecurity challenges. Rosie also founded BSides Lancashire, is a Director of BSides Leeds and restarted the Manchester 2600 Hacker Community, the only 2600 to be run by two women in its 40 year history. She was awarded Most Inspiring Woman in Cyber Security for 2024 and Cyber Newcomer for 2025.
Rosie has been a mentor for Capslock for over two years, and is also part of the Ethical Council for Hacking Games. Giving back is important to her, and she loves the pay-it-forward mentality.
Establishing and building your personal brand
Amber Shand - Founder of She Bytes Back
Amber Shand is the Founder of She Bytes Back, speaker, and former Software Engineer. She’s on a mission to help women in tech be seen, speak up, and advocate for their work. With a community of over 3,000 subscribers and more than 900 event attendees, she’s worked with the likes of Sage, Salesforce, Google, and other tech giants to help their people build confidence, boost visibility, and unlock exciting new opportunities.
Amber has been nominated again in 2025 for ComputerWeekly.com’s Most influential Women in UK Tech list.
Ene Ojaide - AI & Data Coach at Multiverse
Ene Ojaide is a Data Scientist, published researcher, and Data Coach. She helps early- and mid-career professionals build practical data skills and credible portfolios, drawing on experience across analytics, machine learning, and stakeholder enablement. Blending research, advocacy, and coaching, she supports emerging professionals through mentorship and champions representation in tech. Ene regularly leads conversations on personal branding for data professionals, translating technical capability into business impact and accelerating careers.
AI in Action: Real World Applications for the Digital Workforce
Danny Major - Chief Customer Officer at OpenDialog AI
Danny Major is Chief Customer Officer at OpenDialog AI, bringing extensive experience in enterprise automation and conversational AI. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Product at SS&C Blue Prism and Chief Technology Officer at Thoughtonomy, driving the development of intelligent automation solutions.
Danny is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a columnist for BCS ITNOW, and has been recognised by the Institute of Directors, Global Sourcing Association, and IEEE-SA Standards. He is also the founder and chair of a charitable foundation supporting STEM education.
With a career as an executive, board member, and advisor, Danny specialises in the hyper-growth of software and software services businesses. He has led and scaled a range of enterprise functions, giving him firsthand experience across the critical pillars of growth - from start-up to scale-up and enterprise - including acquisitions and successful exits. At OpenDialog AI, he focuses on maximising client value and expanding the partner ecosystem.
Javed Laher - Ai Futurist & Readiness Consultant at Future Train Ai
Javed Laher is an AI and digital transformation consultant with over 15 years’ experience advising global organisations across EMEA. He has held senior roles at Microsoft, Amazon, Mediaocean, and Smartly.io, where he worked with Fortune 500 brands and leading agencies on digital strategy, MarTech, and performance marketing. As co-founder of FutureTrain.ai, Javed now helps businesses and individuals harness AI - from agentic systems to digital upskilling - to drive growth and innovation. A board member for Brunel University’s Global MBA Programme and a former Microsoft CEO Award winner, he is also a recognised thought leader, having been featured in Forbes, podcasts, and TV discussions on AI’s impact on society and the future of work.
Sidrah Hassan - AI Ethicist at Ethical AI Alliance
Sidrah Hassan is a dedicated AI Ethicist with a background in consulting, non-profit and media focussed on enhancing trust, robust governance and mitigating bias in AI. Sidrah is also an AI educator, working with AI Safety organisations and the BBC to ensure that stakeholders from various fields are equipped with critically analysing the benefits and consequences of AI. Sidrah's professional and lived experiences of inequality fuel her passion as a tech activist and AI educator challenging AI bias and encouraging others to do the same.
Data is Everywhere - and it's Your Responsibility
Soyini Taylor - Strategist and Architect at Sage
Soyini Taylor is an IT professional with over 16 years of international experience. With a strong foundation in databases, data architecture, and business architecture, she is currently at Sage as Director and BI Strategist and Architect, leading global data initiatives that drive value through insight-led solutions. Soyini also serves as Vice Chair of the BCS Data Management Specialist Group, supporting thought leadership in the UK data community.
Ashwaq Salim - Data Scientist at Moonpig
Ashwaq is a Data Scientist specialising in building recommendation engines that help people discover what they need (or didn’t know they needed!) She builds and maintains large-scale recommender systems while bringing cutting-edge research into the commercial world, bridging the gap between novel ideas and real-world impact.
Recently, Ashwaq was proud to receive the Early Career Tech Champion award, a milestone that fuels her drive to keep pushing boundaries, innovating and making tech more impactful. She also loves sharing about her unique journey into tech but most importantly how she is excited to continue building her career and identity in the Recommender Systems industry and as a Data Scientist.
Soji Abodunrin - Senior Product Analyst at Typeform
Soji Abodunrin is a Senior Product Analyst at Typeform, where he helps shape product strategy through data-driven insights, experimentation, and growth analytics. With over a decade of experience across fintech, consulting, and banking, he has worked with companies like Intuit, Deloitte, and Deutsche Bank - helping teams uncover insights, tell compelling stories with data, and make smarter decisions.
Outside of work, Soji regularly shares his knowledge through talks, community events, and educational outreach focused on empowering the next generation of data professionals.
We encourage teaching staff to sign up to our Get Ahead in Digital Week events on behalf of their classes. When reserving your spaces, please ensure you let us know the number of students you anticipate participating in this session so we can supply you with their student packs.
BCS is a membership organisation. If you enjoy this event, please consider joining BCS. You’ll be very welcome. You’ll receive access to many exclusive career development tools, an introduction to a thriving professional community and also help us Make IT Good For Society. Join BCS today
This event is brought to you by: BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
