IT students from City and Islington College (CANDI) have been volunteering at a community project helping people learn and develop their digital skills.
A group of nine students have been sharing their tech knowledge at PC Pals sessions held at St Luke’s Community Centre in Central Street in south Islington.
The project started in 2009 and provides free weekly access to PCs and wi-fi and offers support and advice on using computers, tablets and mobile phones.
Students have been helping people to use Windows, Microsoft applications, social media, email, online shopping, mobile phone apps and other technical support.
John Garces, Business Engagement Manager at St Luke’s Community Centre, said: “The involvement and support from City and Islington College’s students has been amazing and so valuable.
“We have seen tangible changes in people who have come to us. After a few classes with the students, they feel more confident and are not afraid of using a computer. It’s learning basic things many of us take for granted that can make a huge difference to someone’s life.”
PC Pals runs every Wednesday from noon to 1pm.
Find out more about Computing and IT courses at CANDI and apply here.
Competitive computer gaming, known as esports, is one of the fastest growing sports globally. At the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL) we run esports courses and an Esports Enrichment Programme at our Enfield Centre. Here, our newly appointed esports coach Finlay Stewart shares his passion for gaming and how it can help students’ education.
Tell us about your esports journey.
I graduated from university in 2015 and went straight into esports. Since then, I’ve worked many different jobs in the industry from sales executive to managing and coaching teams. I’ve worked as an esports coach for the past seven years with some of the best players and teams from around the globe and also at grassroots level. I’m very excited about our project here at CONEL.
What was your first game console and the first game you played?
I had a Nintendo Game Boy when I was around six years old. My first game was Pokémon Yellow – a classic! Soon after that I got into PlayStation and PC gaming.
What do you enjoy most about playing esports?
I enjoy the social aspect. Playing videogames is great fun on your own but even better with friends or family, especially when you’re all working together towards a goal. These days I rarely play online games on my own.
Tell us about the Esports Enrichment Programme at CONEL.
The Esports Enrichment Programme brings gamers together to play, train and have fun. At the college’s Enfield centre, students have access to 20 powerful gaming rigs and compete against gamers from other schools and colleges in the British Esports Student Champs competition each week. Games include Valorant, League of Legends, FIFA and Rocket League. For the past three years the college team, CONEL Cyphers, have been consistently placed in the top four teams in the country.
What skills can you gain playing esports that will benefit your education and career?
Playing in an esports team teaches you many things. First off, it develops your leadership and teamworking skills. It also improves your hand-eye coordination, ability to multitask and your IT, communication and problem-solving skills, to name just a few.
How do you coach someone to be a better gamer?
The way to coach people to be better gamers is the same way you would teach or coach them to do anything really. You find their current level and from there identify their strengths and weaknesses. Teach them to focus on their strengths and work on minimising where they are weak. Show them what they are doing wrong and give them additional areas to work on. The get them to watch back their mistakes and analyse them.
Is gaming still very much a male domain?
It depends on the game in question. Different games have different demographics. For example, mobile gaming is pretty much 50-50 between male and females. Console and PC games are still very male dominated, but some games like Valorant have a huge female player base.
Tell us about the esports courses available at CONEL!
CONEL offers one and two-year esports diploma courses at Level 2 and Level 3, the equivalent of three A Levels, endorsed by the British Esports Association. The courses cover streaming games, tournaments, event planning, game design, video production, coaching and entrepreneurship.
What job opportunities are out there if you become a competent gamer?
The esports industry is expanding at a huge rate and there are many different jobs and roles within the industry. On professional teams you have the pro-players, managers, analysts and coaches, but there are also backroom roles in marketing, sales, HR, merchandising, IT and media.
What do you think of the decision not to include esports in the Commonwealth Games?
It’s disappointing as it had the potential to really raise the profile of esports. I’d like to see it recognised in the Olympic or Commonwealth Games as an actual medal sport. Like any other supports it requires skill, training and commitment to be the best.
What are the side effects of too much gaming and how do you prevent them?
Too much excess of anything is never good. In gaming it can lead to back, neck and wrist problems. The other issues such as headaches are more short term and easier to fix. In general, just don’t overdo it. Take breaks, drink lots of water and eat healthily.
What is a healthy amount of time to spend gaming each week?
I wouldn’t say that there’s a hard limit to the amount of time you spend gaming as long as you are able to meet all your other commitments, get a good eight hours’ sleep, eat well and stay healthy. When it starts to take precedence over everything else, I’d say that’s when it becomes an issue.
What is your best advice on how to become a top esports player?
Play the game. Watch professional players and learn from what they do. At the end of the day, it just comes down to playing more and having the right attitude. Look at your own mistakes and don’t make excuses or blame others. And enrol at CONEL of course!
Find out more about esports courses at CONEL here.
Colleges Week is a celebration of students, staff and skills from 17-21 October #LoveOurColleges
Short films by media students from Westminster Kingsway College have been named among the best animations in this year’s international Creative Conscience Awards.
Ben Dullea and Raiam Koroma were both recognised in the competition, which encourages students to use their creative talents to make a positive difference in the world.
The competition was open to individual students or teams of up to five enrolled on further and higher education courses in the UK and abroad.
Entrants were asked to come up with a project to tackle an issue of their own or one under a series of themes set by Creative Conscience – health and wellbeing, social issues, climate crisis, the natural world and education and learning.
They had to choose from 16 creative disciplines including film and photography, animation, graphic design, fashion and textiles, illustration and motion graphics.
Ben, 21, was among the winners in the animation section and was highly commended for his film highlighting the need for better mental health and wellbeing in the hospitality industry.
Raiam, 20, drew on personal experience for her film about sickle cell anaemia, a genetic condition that is particularly common among African and Caribbean people.
Several students from Korea visiting WestKing and other colleges within Capital City College Group also took part in the competition and were named among the winners.
Creative Conscience is an Islington-based not-for-profit organisation focused on using creativity and innovation to make positive change across the world.
It aims to empower, mentor and reward creative communities using their talents by running change-making workshops, training programmes, events and its annual awards.
The shortlisted projects were judged based on the entrant’s creative approach and their potential impact, by a panel of industry experts.
Access courses are one-year study programmes for adults who may not have the usual entry requirements to get into university or other higher education course.
Katy Milner, Lecturer in Creative Media and Digital, said: “Big congratulations to our Access Media students Ben Dullea and Raiam Koroma in this year’s Creative conscience awards.
“Ben was a winner in the animation section and was highly commended overall and Raiam also did so well to be shortlisted. Ben’s success is an even more remarkable achievement when you consider all the other winners were second and third-year university students.
“It just shows that Access students can punch well above their weight on an international stage when given the appropriate incentive, support and opportunity.”
Find out more about Access to Higher Education Diplomas and apply here.
At City and Islington College (CANDI) we believe the cost of living should not come at the cost of your education and job prospects.
That’s why we run FREE Short Courses throughout the year to enable you to develop new and existing skills for your future regardless of your age or income.
Cost is one of the main barriers to learning and times are extremely tough at the moment, but there has never been a better time to learn or try something new.
Thousands of people have signed up for our FREE Short Courses since we started running them in 2018 and many have progressed on to full-time study with us.
And what’s more, all our full-time courses up to Level 2 and some at Level 3 are also completely FREE.
Tim Mansfield, 41, took a FREE short course in plumbing followed by a Plumbing Level 2 Diploma at CANDI’s sister college, the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL).
He said: “CONEL’s free short courses were exactly what I needed. They gave me the opportunity to try different trades without having to overcommit until I knew what I wanted to pursue more seriously. If they hadn’t been free, I’m not sure I would have taken the chance.
“The teachers are well-qualified and approachable, and always on hand with advice and support. I’ve made some great friends at CONEL and learnt some great skills that I fully intend to build upon in my future career. I’m excited about starting a new chapter.”
Our FREE Short Courses are run at our centres and online, in a wide range of subjects:
Students had the chance to question a TV news producer and reporter about careers in broadcast journalism when she visited the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL).
Michelle Gooden-Jones from Al Jazeera English shared her experience and advice at the college’s Creative, Computing and Media End of Year Show.
Michelle, who has also reported for US media including NBC News, explained how she studied TV journalism at university and did an internship at Al Jazeera, aided by a friend’s mum who was a presenter and introduced her to an executive producer.
She said: “You need to study media or journalism, but you also do need to get yourself out there and telling stories. It’s also about connections as well, so network and make sure people know that you’re interested in working in the industry because then they’re more likely to help you.”
Al Jazeera’s main headquarters are in Doha, Qatar, with Al Jazeera English located at The Shard. The channel broadcasts to 80 million homes in 100 countries and its reporters come from all over the world.
Michelle admitted it can be harder for under-represented groups to find work in the industry but with the right mentors and determination it was possible to succeed.
“As long as you go in there and you’re confident in yourself and you have stories and you do the work, there’s nothing stopping any of you from achieving in news,” she said.
The End of Year Show celebrated the work created by students across the college’s Creative Media, Computing and Music courses, and saw this year’s best performing students presented with mini-Oscar statuettes and certificates of achievement.
CONEL invests in new £30k music recording studio
Students on Music courses at CONEL will be able record and mix their own tracks in a new £30,000 recording studio at the college’s Tottenham Centre this September.
The studio is kitted out with leading industry-standard equipment and features a live recording area, control room, microphones, mixers, synthesizers and digital software.
CONEL runs Music Performance and Production courses from Level 1-3 led by lecturers who have many years’ experience working in the music industry.
Our teachers have worked for major music companies alongside top artistes, been influential on the club scene and recorded music for TV series.
Apply now to start composing and recording your own tracks on one of our music courses.
Creative Media Level 1 Diploma student Daniela-Elena Moise, 19, was presented with this year’s award for Best Photographer.
She said: “I’ve enjoyed everything about the course. I’ve taken photos, learnt how to do a promotion and make a documentary, and created layouts for magazines and leaflets. My teachers have been amazing, I’ve never had teachers like this. They’ve really helped me and have made it a lot of fun in class.”
The show featured showreels of students’ work during their studies featuring clips of film trailers, short films and music videos as well as video games, 2D and 3D animations and graphic design.
Toan Phan, Curriculum Manager Computing Creative and Media, inspired students at the show when he shared how he came to the UK as a Vietnamese refugee but later graduated from university despite being dyslexic, before working as a web designer and a teacher at CONEL.
IT Diploma students Mario Busato and Alex Gomeniuk spoke about a project they worked on with an actual client to design a website called Key London Walks providing information on walking tours around north London.
There was also an esports competition where students played computer games against each other with the chance to win a £30 Amazon voucher, which was won by Creative Media Production student Glen Miguel.
Students also posed for photos against a VIP backdrop with various props including a picture frame and silly disguises as a memento of their time at college.
Laila Hassanzadeh, Head of School for Computing, Creative and Media, said: “This academic year students have produced some amazing pieces of work, which has been reflected in their high achievement rates this year.
“The End of Year Show was a wonderful way to showcase their work and celebrate the successes of all our wonderful students.”
If you’re looking to get into the media or IT, CONEL’s courses will give you the knowhow to work in these fast-growing and exciting industries.
Apply now for Digital Media and Creative Computing courses here and ICT and Computing courses here.
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