Gaining valuable industry experience while studying at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has helped Mohamed Ayoob to kick-start his career.
Graduating with a First in Information and Communication Technology last month, Mohamed is soon starting a graduate role at the IBM Client Innovation Centre in Leicester, an entrepreneurial start-up supported by the world’s largest IT and consulting services company.
As an IT consultant, the 22-year-old from Leicester will be working with IBM’s clients on a wide range of projects.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to the bespoke software development and testing training, which will build on the skills and knowledge I learned at DMU.
“My course has definitely given me the theory and the opportunity to gain hands-on practical experience, which helped me to secure this role.
“DMU’s partnership with industry leaders such as Hewlett Packard allowed me to obtain the ITIL and PRINCE 2 project management accreditation, both of which are qualifications recognised by employers.”
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Breaking up his course with a year-long placement at Volkswagen Financial Services also gave Mohamed an advantage when it came to applying and interviewing for jobs.
Working as an IT service desk analyst, he provided technical support to more than 1,000 internal colleagues and the Volkswagen retailer network across the UK and Ireland which includes leading brands such as Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat and Skoda.
“During my placement year I experienced first line IT support and was given the chance to shadow colleagues from different teams to gain a better understanding of their roles,” he said.
“My time at Volkswagen enabled me to make an informed decision to pursue a graduate scheme in a software development and testing role.”
Mohamed made such a good impression, that his placement was extended for an additional three months, during which he was responsible for training the new undergraduate taking over his role.
He feels that the guidance he received from #DMUworks - a programme aimed at giving students the necessary skills and qualities that employers look for - prepared him well and gave him ‘the best chance of securing a placement’.
“I would highly recommend a placement to all students as it gives you full-time work experience related to your degree. It also allows you to better understand the area that you would like to work in once you graduate,” he said.
While at university, Mohamed also benefitted from DMU’s internship scheme, Graduate Champions. Through the scheme he got to work on a new intranet project with Home-Start, a national charity based in Leicester.
He said: “It was a very valuable experience for me, working in roles such as a business analyst and project manager, as well as shadowing senior management and the software developer.
“I’m very happy I chose to study at DMU as it has given me many resources and opportunities which are beneficial for my IT career.
“I will really miss my supportive lecturers and being a brand ambassador for my faculty, which enabled me to share my DMU journey and experience with prospective students.”
Posted on Wednesday 8 August 2018