Newham Sparks is a plan of action for Newham to become London’s destination for businesses, innovators and investors in the data sector. The borough of Newham is home to many of our learners and the community to which our college belongs, so it was an absolute privilege to collaborate with Newham Sparks and contribute to this plan of action.
Over six consecutive Tuesday nights, our learners eagerly dedicated their time to delivering emerging technology workshops to Newham residents, focusing on the evolving digital landscape and how individuals can leverage it to enhance their business. CTO and Teacher of Digital Media James created resources inspired by aspects of Intel’s Skills For Innovation initiative while learners also provided content and their own presentations to demonstrate AI software and Apps.
The six weeks sessions included:
Week 1: Unlocking the power of AI: simplifying everyday tasks
Week 2: AI in business: streamlining low level administrative tasks
Week 3: Practical AI applications: enhancing your business operations
Week 4: 3D scanning: capturing memories and small business marketing
Week 5: Small business marketing 3D scanning
Week 6: Organising your business with Padlet Community Member Presentations
Our Digital Media learners constantly benefit from LDE’s Employer Engagement programs, which include working with leading employers such as INTEL, Disney’s ILM and Google. These experiences have provided them with insight into new and emerging technologies making them the perfect ambassadors to deliver Newham’s mission to harness the full potential of the digital transformation in the community. It is rewarding to see our digital learners deliver this course and grow in confidence and skill week on week.
Reflecting on the impact of these session, year 12 learner Selly shared, "Newham Sparks gave me an opportunity to give back to the community, through assisting people on the topic AI. This has allowed me to share my knowledge, present and learn from people I have met."
During the final session of the series, community members were invited to demonstrate what they had learned about the AI applications and techniques from the past 5 weeks lessons. There was a brilliant mix of presentations ranging from a community food bank to a bespoke tailoring service. During their presentations, members of the community shared how these workshops had helped them boost ‘efficiency’ enabling them to be more ‘creative’ whilst harnessing the power of AI and technologies.
Funmy, who operates a community food bank, enthusiastically explained her use of AI to enhance the efficiency of her operations, from conducting language checks on emails to improving communication with potential business partners. Her business plays a crucial role in supporting the community, and our learners have significantly contributed to the success of this venture through their involvement and support. When reflecting on the six-week session, Funmy shared, “It has been brilliant! Being a new business owner really tests my skills and experiences and these workshops have skyrocketed what I can do even more than I expected. Things that I needed support to do, like designing a poster, or redrafting a project, I am now confident to do myself!”
The Newham Sparks project has been a remarkable journey, showcasing the incredible potential of our learners. Week after week, we witnessed a growing attendance, paralleled by a remarkable surge in our learners' confidence as they demonstrated and presented how to use AI apps such as ChatGPT, Padlet, Gencraft, Gemini, Slide IO, and PostIT. Inspired by INTEL's Skills for Innovation programme, the resources were designed by learners and James, which were a perfect match for the Newham Sparks aims. It's truly inspiring to see Year 12 and Year 13 digital learners commit their Tuesday evenings to empowering their local community with the latest digital skills and knowledge. Thank you to our CTO and Digital Media teacher James and the learners for delivering such inspiring workshops and thank you to Newham Council for supporting our workshops and helping to facilitate the events!
“James and the LDE students created these brilliant community events for local Newham businesses. The businesses loved the format, getting properly coached by the students in how to use a variety of AI tools during each session. This made the most of an in person rather than online experience. The students and James brought so much knowledge, enthusiasm and support to the sessions that the same businesses kept coming back week after week. Each week ‘student teaching’ would be the top theme that came up from why businesses valued these events. The biggest question at our final event was, ‘and what next!’ Lindasy, Senior Programme Manager, Newham Sparks.
