This episode of the Sheffield Digital Podcast discusses the benefits and value of hosting work placements as part of The Sheffield College's T-Levels program. The discussions highlight how these placements help bridge the gap between education and the workforce, preparing students for future careers while also benefiting local businesses by nurturing homegrown talent.

Tom King from Reach Studios shares his insights on mentoring T-Level students, the importance of industry placements, and his personal journey in the tech sector. He emphasises the significance of real-world experience for students, stating, “It's a way for us to provide the best opportunity possible for that next generation.”

At the end of the episode, Shani Clifford, Head of Student Employability at The Sheffield College, discusses the importance of T-levels, their difference from A-levels, and the positive impact these placements are making on students. She also highlights the support and opportunities provided to students and employers involved in the program.

Links

T-Levels at The Sheffield College website

Reach Studios website

The Sheffield College website

Tom King on LinkedIn

Shani Clifford on LinkedIn

Contacts

The Sheffield College - Work Related Activity Team

[email protected]

Recording information

The interview with Tom King was recorded on 20th August 2025. The interview with Shani Clifford was recorded on 21st May 2025.

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Thank you for the music

Thanks to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Angel shares her unconventional career path, transitioning from over 20 years in the food industry to the tech world and eventually founding her own consultancy. She discusses the inspiration behind her career change, the importance of continual learning, and her expertise in using playful methodologies like LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and AI Design Sprints™ to help organizations navigate change and develop strategies. 

Angel emphasises the value of resilience, curiosity, and a hands-on approach in her journey. She also touches on her experiences in sketching, the challenges and rewards of starting anew in a different industry, and her vision for the future of her consultancy. This episode is a must-listen for anyone considering a major career change.

Angel has a background in Product Development, Project Management, User Experience, User Research, and Service Design, and favours analogue methods for digital problems, creating fun and engaging workshops for remarkable results. Before co-founding Dot & Dash Consulting, she led the development of innovative food products for major brands. With over 20 years as a consultant and a pivot to the digital sector, her vast experience in manufacturing, health, education, mobile gaming, betting, and design fuels her innovative ideas.

Angel holds certifications as an AI Design Sprint™ Facilitator, along with being a LEGO® Serious Play® method and materials facilitator, Scrum Master, and Design Sprint Facilitator. Additionally, she plays leadership and director roles in volunteer organisations.

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Notes and Links

This interview was recorded online by Sarah Lister on 28th May 2025.

Links

Dot & Dash Consulting - website

Dot & Dash Consulting - Sheffield Digital Company Spotlight 

Angel Takooree on LinkedIn

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Join the conversation

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can email [email protected]

Thank you for the music

Thanks to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

In this episode, we interview Kieran, a Senior Product Manager from the Home Office's Police and Public Protection Technology portfolio. Kieran discusses his role in managing the product lifecycle, his career journey from university to the Home Office, and the diverse skill set required for his job. 

Kieran also shares his experiences as an LGBTQ+ professional, highlighting the inclusive culture and meaningful support he’s received while working with the Home Office, and describes how being neurodiverse has positively impacted his career.

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If you’d like to have new episodes of the show appear right in your podcast player, you can subscribe via our page on Apple Podcasts and follow the show on Spotify, or search for us in your podcast app of choice!

Notes and Links

This interview was recorded online by Sarah Lister, Membership Coordinator at Sheffield Digital, on 5th June 2025. 

Links

Home Office Careers: https://careers.homeoffice.gov.uk/

References

Home Office Digital

University of East Anglia (UEA)

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Join the conversation

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can email [email protected]

Thank you for the music

Thanks to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Katie Fenn and Amy Benson, organisers of Front End North, discuss their involvement in the Sheffield tech community and the upcoming Front End North conference. Scheduled for 10th July 2025 at Sheffield Hallam University, the event will feature eight talks covering a range of topics including design, software development, and accessibility. 

They emphasise the importance of an accessible, low-cost event to include a diverse range of attendees and speakers. The selection process for talks involved an anonymised system to ensure fairness. They also highlight their motivations for organising the event and why they want to put Sheffield on the map for this type of event.

Amy is part-time Senior Software Engineer at Hive IT, and full-time Social Research student.

Katie is Senior Developer at the Financial Times. She’s a member of The Green Party, LGBTIQA+ Greens, and Greens for HS2. She loves cycling, fiddling with bikes, and also has a collection of synthesisers! She gave a talk at State of the Browser in 2024 about making the music of Daft Punk using a browser and a MIDI controller!

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If you’d like to have new episodes of the show appear right in your podcast player, you can subscribe via our page on Apple Podcasts and follow the show on Spotify, or search for us in your podcast app of choice!

Links

Front End North website

Front End Sheffield Meetup website

Front End North on LinkedIn

Front End Sheffield on LinkedIn

Front End North on Bluesky

Front End Sheffield on Bluesky

Front End North on Mastodon

Katie Fenn on LinkedIn

Amy Benson on LinkedIn

References

Hive IT

All Day Hey!

ffconf

State of the Browser

Pixel Pioneers

Make Do

Dave Letorey

Other Front End North Conference organisers

Ian Parr

Lee Moody

Tom Heaton

Did we miss something you’re looking for? Just get in touch and let us know. 

Contact Front End North

[email protected]

Join the conversation

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on the channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community or email [email protected].

Thank you for the music

Thanks to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

In this episode you’ll find out why Sheffield Digital was set up ten years ago, what has happened over the years, and what the future holds.

Mel and Chris, two of the Co-founders and Directors, return to the podcast to celebrate ten years of Sheffield Digital. They discuss whether their initial expectations for Sheffield Digital have been met, most memorable moments, biggest achievements and changes, and what is still to be done.

Note: Sorry for the low quality sound at the start of this episode. It improves after the first 10 minutes.

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If you’d like to have new episodes of the show appear right in your podcast player, you can subscribe via our page on Apple Podcasts and follow the show on Spotify, or search for us in your podcast app of choice!

Links

Sheffield Digital

Chris Dymond 

Mel Kanarek

About Sheffield Digital

References

Tech Nation

Sheffield Digital Showcase

Sheffield Digital Slack

GeekBrekky

Newsletter

Join the conversation

We’re really keen to hear your most memorable moments, and the biggest achievements and changes you’ve seen in the community and city over the last ten years. You can share your thoughts with us on the channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community or email [email protected].

Richard Kerr shares his career path to becoming Business Development Manager at Hydra Creative. His story includes why he changed his degree from Architecture to English Language and Literature, how being a chef got him into Marketing, and what he does in his job now.

Hydra Creative is a full-service digital marketing agency. Services include bespoke website design & development, graphic design & branding, digital marketing (including SEO and PPC), and video & multimedia.

Subscribe to the podcast

If you’d like to have new episodes of the show appear right in your podcast player, you can subscribe via our page on Apple Podcasts and follow the show on Spotify, or search for us in your podcast app of choice!

Notes and Links

Richard was interviewed online by Sarah Lister, Membership Coordinator at Sheffield Digital, on 11th December 2024.

Links

Hydra Creative

Richard Kerr on LinkedIn

References

Sheffield Hallam University: https://www.shu.ac.uk/

Did we miss something you’re looking for? Just get in touch and let us know. 

Join the conversation

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on the channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community or email [email protected].

Thank you for the music

Thanks to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

This episode features an interview with Sophie from the Home Office. Sophie is Head of Data Science for Automation and Innovation at Home Office Digital.

Sophie tells us about what her job involves, her pathway into tech, and what it’s like balancing work and motherhood.

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If you’d like to have new episodes of the show appear right in your podcast player, you can subscribe via our page on Apple Podcasts and follow the show on Spotify, or search for us in your podcast app of choice!

Notes and Links

This interview was recorded online by Sarah Lister, Membership Coordinator at Sheffield Digital, on 18th December 2024. 

Links

Home Office Careers: https://careers.homeoffice.gov.uk/

References

Home Office Digital

Department for Education (DFE)

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Join the conversation

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can email [email protected]

Thank you for the music

Thanks to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Just imagine if you could sit down with a solicitor specialising in Intellectual Property (IP) and ask them everything you need to know at the beginning of your tech journey. Well, we did just that with Kerry Russell, an IP Lawyer at Shakespeare Martineau, which is one of our Associate Sponsors. 

Kerry gives us an overview of IP and the main IP rights that people need to know about, then she responds to some questions sent in by our community. If you want to go straight to the questions then please skip to 22 minutes into the episode.

Question 1: What’s the best way to protect your side project from being copied?

Question 2: What do you think is currently the most efficient method of commercialising shared IP and how do you see this evolving over the next 5 years?

Question 3: How quickly do you think the law will catch up to advanced technology and its uses in assigning ownership and governance over IP - for instance using NFTs to assign IP ownership is currently possible. Will it stay that way or is it likely to change when the law catches up?

Subscribe to the podcast

If you’d like to have new episodes of the show appear right in your podcast player, you can subscribe via our page on Apple Podcasts and follow the show on Spotify, or search for us in your podcast app of choice!

Notes and Links

This interview was recorded online by Sarah Lister, Membership Coordinator at Sheffield Digital, on 14th November 2024. 

References

Sheffield Digital Slack community

Sheffield Technology Parks

Intellectual Property Office

The IPKat

World IP Review

The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys | CIPA

Licensing Executives Society International

International Trademark Association

Links

Shakespeare Martineau website

Shakespeare Martineau LinkedIn

Contact Kerry

[email protected]

Join the conversation

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or on the channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.

Thank you for the music

Thanks to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

This episode features an interview with Odette McHenry and Hannah Turner from the UK Home Office. Odette is Deputy Director for Automation and Innovation in the Home Office Digital Department. Hannah is the Head of Commissioning for Automation and AI. 

Odette and Hannah tell us about what their individual jobs involve, the unique pathways they have taken towards working in tech, and what they are most excited about in automation and AI at the moment. At the end they each offer a bit of advice to anyone interested in working in automation.

Subscribe to the podcast

If you’d like to have new episodes of the show appear right in your podcast player, you can subscribe via our page on Apple Podcasts and follow the show on Spotify, or search for us in your podcast app of choice!

Notes and Links

This interview was recorded online by Sarah Lister, Membership Coordinator at Sheffield Digital, on 4th September 2024. 

References

Home Office Digital

Did we miss something you’re looking for? Just get in touch and let us know. 

Join the conversation

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or on the channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.

Thank you for the music

Thanks to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Grace Accad, co-organiser of the SheffieldR Users Group Meetup, tells us what to expect from the events they hold, the wide range of topics they cover, and who usually attends. She also shares why she put herself forward to join the organising team.

This is your chance to find out about other similar meetups in Sheffield. These include Sheffield Data Analytics User Group and R-Ladies Sheffield.

Subscribe to the podcast

If you’d like to have new episodes of the show appear right in your podcast player, you can subscribe via our page on Apple Podcasts and follow the show on Spotify, or search for us in your podcast app of choice!

Notes and Links

Grace was interviewed online by Sarah Lister, Membership Coordinator at Sheffield Digital, on 11th October 2024.

Links

• Sheffield R Website
• Sheffield R Meetup page
• R-Ladies Sheffield Meetup Page
• Sheffield Data Analytics User Group

References

• University of Sheffield
• R-Ladies Global 

Did we miss something you’re looking for? Just get in touch and let us know. 

Join the conversation

We’re really keen to get your feedback on the podcast. You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or on the channel in the Sheffield Digital Slack community.

Thank you for the music

Thanks to Alex Mclean – aka Yaxu – for the show’s intro music, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.