Last week, despite train cancellations trying to get in the way, we took the Intel FutureGen cohort to HOST Salford in Manchester to kick off the Intel FutureGen Programme 2023!
To start, the cohort got together to try a team-building exercise called the marshmallow challenge. The challenge is an activity where teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one meter of tape, one meter of string, and one marshmallow which must be held up by the structure. Chaos ensued, but even amid string, tape and spaghetti being thrown around, the challenge encouraged group communication, leadership dynamics, collaboration, innovation and problem-solving strategy.
The first talk of the day was given by NSE staff, where we gave the students a peak behind the curtain of what we each do on a day-to-day basis and why. Following the NSE presentation, Mark Broom, UK Consumer Marketing Specialist at Intel, gave a talk about his journey into the industry after university and insights into Intel's goals as a company.
Following this, Sam Hibbert (NSE Business Director), held an interactive session with the cohort on the esports ecosystem. The students were challenged to share what they knew about the industry so far on who the key stakeholders were and how they serve the industry. It also provided an insight into what job roles are available, whether that's directly working with an esports team, a brand, or other services.
To round out the day, the cohort took advantage of the gaming PC's at HOST Salford and split into three teams to play their peers and also an NSE staff team (who did not win) in some games of VALORANT.
We'll be announcing the esports and gaming professionals who are part of the buddy programme soon and keep your eyes peeled for announcements on the first Intel FutureGen session which will be broadcast online for everyone to watch.
Want to up-skill yourself similar to our Intel FutureGen cohort? The great team over at Skills City offer a range of skills bootcamps linked to technology careers, for more information go here.
Make sure to keep tabs on our social media live news, updates and content following the 2023 Intel FutureGen Cohort!
