From Academia to Industry: how a Research Program led to Revolutionizing People’s Transition into the Tech Industry.
An Interview with Christopher Gwilliams, women++ Board Member
“Great minds are there to make others great.” That is what Christopher Gwilliams, deploy(impact)’s Tech Architect and our Board Member, “tries” to do.
Dr. Christopher Gwilliams is a data-obsessed Computer Scientist who believes in equality for all — in all industries — and advocates for diversity and inclusion:
“What many companies don’t seem to understand is that, if you have a more diverse team, in almost any area — from research to development — it changes your product for the better in every way. You consider things you would never do. You make it globally accessible because it works across cultures. This is glorious! It allows the face of tech to change… how products get designed, how apps work, how technologies that could be harmfully created, could be discussed more openly with a large range of people so we can consider the impact on everyone that is impacted, rather than a group of five white men.”
Equal opportunities in education is also a cause that Chris supports; Throughout his career, he has been actively involved in programs promoting education. From teaching kids how to code on Meetup to helping his Ph.D. colleagues to structure a more hands-on BSc degree in Applied Software Engineering at Cardiff University with the aim of making students industry-ready. At women++ Chris contributed to organizing Hack’n Lead, Switzerland’s first women-friendly hackathon, and was the brain behind the basis for deploy(impact), our 6-week Software Development program.
It was Dr. Christopher Gwilliams’ experience in helping to structure the hands-on BSc degree in Applied Software Engineering at Cardiff University that served as the inspiration to bring deploy(impact) to life. During our conversation, he shared how he contributed to Cardiff University to create a BSc degree focused on developing work-ready Software Engineers:
“In 2016, I was contacted by some colleagues I did my Ph.D. with and asked if I would be interested to help structure a course, called Applied Software Engineering, at the National Software Academy (NSA), which was a collaboration between Cardiff University Welsh Government and local industry partners. They were aiming to create a more hands-on way of studying Computer Science and the more technical aspects of Software Engineering, without doing three years of lectures, and only after going to the industry where the company had to put new graduates through training for maybe a year to make them industry-ready. And the reason for that was they had done the theory, but not the practical side of the job, like working in teams, handling large projects and breaking them down into tasks as well as working with sprints. We tried to create practical theory lessons for the first half of the term and the second half was an actual practical project provided by the local companies around South Wales and South England that wanted something made and fitted the learning requirements for that given semester. For 8-weeks, the students were working in teams of six to create these tech products/solutions. The course proved to be very successful, the student’s employment rate was high and their feedback on content and their engagement rate were a lot higher. I was part of the course for two years and yeah, it was pretty successful and still is run today, six years later.”
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and on-site events were not possible, we started to look for ways to continue supporting our community to gain hands-on experience to transition into tech. After many brainstorming sessions with the team, Chris shared his experience at Cardiff University and brought up the idea of replicating the structure in a more condensed and shorter program, this time not for students but working professionals. From there, deploy(impact) was born with the main goal of facilitating tech project experience for working professionals transitioning or starting a career in tech. The hands-on program has proven to help many participants land their first role in the industry or at least support within this transition. This is mainly possible thanks to the program’s collaborative mindset, where mentorship support and diversity of perspectives and backgrounds are key. Today, deploy(impact) has the following structure, as explained here by our CEO, Luisa Contreras:
“deploy(impact) is a 6-week Software Development program run remotely, that gives the opportunity to around forty participants to work in interdisciplinary teams using the agile methodology of a products’ full-cycle to develop tech solutions for a social cause.”
In October 2021, the first edition of deploy(impact) took place, and in all the years that Dr. Christopher Gwilliams has been supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives, this has been the program with the most positive impact on participants:
“The number of people that have found employment, either from mentoring in deploy(impact) or from participants that used the work they did as a reference is much more than I have seen in anything else we have done.”
deploy(impact) is one of our initiatives that contribute to increasing diversity and inclusion in the Swiss tech industry, for which we collaborate with companies that align with our vision and values. Dr. Christopher Gwilliams explains the importance of these strategic collaborations:
“The initiatives that we push and assist with have all been noble causes, causes that women++ has been created to stand for. Also, one of our main values is integrity, we don’t work with companies or sponsors that say one thing and actions show otherwise. We hold our partners accountable for diversity and inclusion initiatives and, so far, the companies that we have worked with have done that, which is pretty cool to see.”
Although there is a lot being done to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion in the Swiss Tech industry, women still struggle, and unfortunately, it will take many generations before we can see an actual change. We asked Chris what he considers to be the current challenges and what to expect for future generations:
“There is a hiring problem, there has always been. It maybe affects the tech industry more than it affects others. However, there is an increasing number of women studying in STEM fields, which already shows some positivity. And there is a move toward equality which will happen more in a multigeneration timeframe rather than in a five-year timeframe. Once it does move in that direction, then more roles will be available, and companies will be less biased towards hiring people of different genders, races, and nationalities.”
As Abraham Lincoln said: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” That is why, on October 8, we will kick off the second edition of deploy(impact), when the forty selected participants will develop two solutions for Wikimedia CH, the non-profit behind the largest source of human knowledge, Wikipedia. The tech teams will receive mentorship from tech experts coming from the different sponsoring companies, they will also dive into the different roles that go into product development, and gain hands-on experience on a real-life tech project that will be implemented. With this initiative and many others that we support, we wish to contribute our part towards building a better future for the next generations. Hopefully, they won’t have to deal with discrimination of race, gender, background, etc.
Thanks to companies from all over Europe, like Microsoft, Accenture, Thomson Reuters and (Chris’ current employer) Aiven, we are able to continue to offer an opportunity for underrepresented groups to work together and learn about what it means to work in a diverse team and to create something that has real, measurable impact.
Applications to take part in deploy(impact) are closing today. We strongly recommend to anyone interested in using their skills towards a social cause through technology to apply here and participate in this hands-on Software Development program that has had a positive impact on the past participant’s professional life.
About the author:
Elisangela Merlin is a volunteer Digital Marketing Specialist with a background in e-commerce and startup ecosystems. She believes that education is the most empowering force in the world, it builds up confidence, brings down barriers, and opens opportunities to forge a better future for society. When not immersed in the social media world, Eli loves to spend time with her kids, cooking (mainly Brazilian food), going for long runs, and getting it all out in a CrossFit WOD.
Visit our website: https://www.womenplusplus.ch/
