Students turn teachers at Rochdale Digital Festival

IT students from Hopwood Hall College at the Rochdale Digital Festival

IT students from Hopwood Hall College lent their digital-savvy brains to members of the public at the Rochdale Digital Festival.

The festival was designed to engage members of the public in a fun way with digital technology, and to provide support to people who lack confidence with accessing services online.

Four IT students held drop in sessions helping people of all ages grasp the digital age.

Nathan Bamford, studying a Level 3 Extended Diploma in IT - Website Design and Programming, described his pride in using his knowledge to help out his community.

He said: “It’s been really good helping so many people out today. People have been looking up to me for knowledge, mostly because I’m a part of this new age technology generation.

“I have found it really interesting helping people from all ages, genders and ethnicities understand the digital age we live in today. A lot of the things I think are simple, because I have grown up in this age, others who are less involved in the digital world find difficult. So I think this festival has been a really good move in trying to make sure everyone in the community has the same level of understanding.”

The college also held drop in sessions with adult learners interested in apprenticeships at Training at Hopwood and interactive learning activities with their e-learning department.

Becki Lee, head of e-learning at the college, was suitably impressed with the festival and its venue: “The e-learning team arrived to share expertise with the local community and we were really impressed with the event. Number One Riverside is a brilliant venue and the turn out from the local boroughs was really good.

“Such a high turnout means we managed to help out a lot of people and provide plenty of support for the local populace.

“Our students really enjoyed the high level of engagement too. From helping people with their smartphones, to advising people on the best tech and software, they’ve really enjoyed engaging with the public.”