Double award success for Big Data Technologies student
A GCU student is celebrating double success after scooping a top prize at last month’s STAR Awards as well as being part of the winning team at industry leading Hackathon.
Msc Big Data Technologies student Narinder Kaur received the award for ‘Academic Rep of the Year’ for her outstanding efforts in gathering feedback from classmates to enhance positive changes for students.
The Star Awards is an annual event run by GCU Student’s Association to celebrate students’ success and achievements throughout the year.
Narinder explained how receiving this award has allowed her to reflect on her experience at GCU.
She said: “Being recognised as a good academic rep student means a lot.
Most importantly, being a class rep builds confidence and leadership attributes.
Winning the Academic Rep of the Year award makes me feel happy because kindness and supporting students is important.
I worked hard to support the class and overcome problems.”
Narinder pointed out how important it is to aim to gain extra-curricular skills whilst at university.
She added: “Come out of your comfort zone, find a passion for what you are studying and independently learn out with modules.
Be open to discussions, ideas and most of all, helping those who may be struggling.”
In the same month as her Star Awards win, Narinder took part in The Data Lab’s annual Hackathon event in which students are given a problem they have to provide a solution to - with the use of technology and data.
Her team ‘The Glasgow Caledonians’ won the challenge by developing an idea for an app which connects consumers with big companies to reduce fashion waste and raise awareness of sustainable clothing.
Narinder explained how competitions like this are so important for students to develop skills outside of their module work.
She said: “It was an awesome project, especially during the pandemic.
I really loved how people were working together and were enthusiastic to learn!
I think educational competitions are an incredible way to learn and network with professionals.
Especially, during the time of a Pandemic it’s a great way to interact and improve knowledge & skills.
It allowed me to explore real-world problems within a five-day period and encouraged me to develop new approaches to thinking”.
To find out more about Msc Big Data Technologies opportunities at GCU see here.
By Rebecca Meechan
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