Students ‘Meet their Mentor’ with Sotic

Cardiff University students enjoyed a taste of the world of work during a ‘Meet Your Mentor’ session with the sports digital agency Sotic.

The postgraduates, studying for an MSc in Computing, were able to tap into the company’s expertise in the design and development of bespoke digital solutions for elite sport.

Brought together by the Cardiff University Student Futures Career Mentoring Programme, the students were matched with a professional from Sotic and were able to benefit from online mentoring sessions tailored to support them to achieve their career goals.

The group had the opportunity to meet their mentors in person and take part in mock interviews in Sotic’s office in sbarc| spark to mark the end of their mentoring experience.

Tsang An Lee, one of the students, said: “Mentoring totally exceeded my expectations. I was expecting my mentor to give me some general information, or things I could have searched for myself online, but instead I got some very useful information that helped me to understand the industry. I think mentoring is very important because a mentor’s experience can’t be shared online, you have to talk to people to understand how they accumulated knowledge and experience in the industry.”

Thanks to Cardiff Innovations, sbarc|spark now boasts an array of partner companies. Sotic staff were happy to give time and resources to help students develop their employability, offering valuable information, advice and insights to build confidence in career choices.

Alice Burke, Business Support Officer, Cardiff Innovations, said: “It’s been brilliant to see how Sotic have engaged with the University since becoming a Cardiff Innovations tenant. Getting involved in the Career Mentoring programme has been an amazing experience for all involved and it was great to be able to host their ‘meet your mentor’ session here at sbarc|spark.”

As industry leaders, Sotic has partnered some of the world’s biggest brands, supporting over 100 Olympic federations, national governing bodies and clubs across 22 different sports.

Sam Chamberlen, Sotic’s Head of People, said: ‘’We wanted to contribute to the sbarc|spark environment and I felt that it could be rewarding for our own staff to reflect where they are in their own careers and to give them some confidence. I felt it was an all-round benefit to everybody, and I like the prospect of Sotic becoming more enmeshed with the university.”

Cardiff University Career Mentoring sessions take place between January and April each academic year with full and support and guidance available from the Student Futures Work Experience team throughout the programme.

Linda Smith, Work Experience Project Officer, said: “Working in collaboration with Sotic and the Cardiff Innovations team to facilitate the in-person mentor meet-up at the end of the Career Mentoring Programme has been a great experience.

“I am grateful to the Sotic team members who volunteered their time, knowledge and expertise to mentor three students this year. Hearing students talk about the impact of the programme and the progression opportunities it has provided them has really highlighted the empowering nature of mentoring.”

Mentoring brings benefits to organisations too. Dilwyn Reynolds, CTO at Sotic who mentored one of the students, recommends other organisations get involved.

“I think I had a negative view of graduates and students given the work we do, but the programme has totally changed that outlook. I now feel the mentees we’ve supported could keep up with the work we do and be useful and productive for us within the team. It has totally changed how I view graduates and opens another talent pool for us.”

To find out more about Career Mentoring and how to get involved in the 2023/24 programme, email workexperience@cardiff.ac.uk