Blog: Insights from Legal & General’s engagement with the National Software Academy
As part of growing relationships between industry and academia at the National Software Academy, for the 2023/24 academic year, Legal and General proposed a range of software engineering-based project ideas.
Elinor Worthington, Future Talent Development Consultant at Legal and General (L&G), gave us some insights into their National Software Academy (NSA) project collaboration experience.
Diving into the project
One idea proposed was a project assigned to the second-year BSc Applied Software Engineering students that was born out of L&G considering a 360-feedback process. This was deemed to be an excellent opportunity for uncovering the ideas NSA students could produce.
Students were briefed on the concept and how it could work, introducing the users, scale and operation, which provided them with a challenging and practical task, alongside offering L&G a proof-of-concept developed in collaboration with fresh, innovative minds from the NSA students.
The NSA students pushed us in different directions and raised issues we hadn’t thought of. In the second meeting, they were happy to take on feedback, and between the second and third meetings, they had all taken on that feedback and made improvements.
Engagement and problem solving
Elinor stated that the students’ engagement was instrumental to them solving the problems that were asked of them, saying, “The NSA students pushed us in different directions and raised issues we hadn’t thought of. In the second meeting, they were happy to take on feedback, and between the second and third meetings, they had all taken on that feedback and made improvements.”
This approach clearly demonstrated their adaptability and commitment to delivering high-quality solutions.
Beyond the projects
L&G is continuing to engage with the NSA beyond individual projects, supporting events and offering summer internships, highlighting the mutually beneficial relationship between L&G and the National Software Academy.
Words of wisdom
“Just do it! Even if you’re not sure you’ll get accepted,” Elinor insightfully recommended to other organisations considering submitting project ideas to the NSA. “We didn’t have very long to think of projects, so we just came up with some ideas that might be useful for the business or interesting for the students."
Elinor emphasised the minimal time investment required, and the significant benefits gained, making a compelling case for other organisations to participate in such programs.
Final thoughts
Elinor explained that by proposing a project they are also undertaking a valuable recruitment exercise for L&G; building the brand within the University, making tomorrow’s talent aware that L&G offers diverse and exciting career opportunities in data science, software development, and much more. Elinor summarised this by saying, “we want students to think of us when they consider their future careers.”
Elinor’s insights underscore the transformative power of industry-academic collaborations. By engaging with students on real-world projects, companies like Legal & General not only solve business challenges but also inspire the next generation of professionals.
For more information about the National Software Academy (NSA), or if you are interested in putting forward a project proposal for next year, please contact Joanna Emery or Justin James in the Industry and External Engagement Team.
