As part of BNY Mellon’s celebration of International Women’s Day 2019, BNY Mellon staff mentored female second level students on ‘An Introduction to Data Analytics’ as part of the Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) theme, ‘Balance for Better’.
38 volunteers worked with 113 students in Mount Carmel Secondary School, Dublin 1; Presentation Secondary School, Wexford and St. Patrick’s College, Cork to stimulate interest in careers in technology by offering an introduction to the basic concepts of data analytics.
Students from Presentation Secondary School were the first to learn the basics of data analytics and the tools that are used. Using Spotify data, students were introduced to Tableau, a data analysis software, and learned basic functionalities. Students concluded the workshop by working on their presentation skills to explain to their fellow students and volunteers what different graphs illustrated to the viewer.
One group received a chart titled “Most Popular Songs”, from this they were able to present the different popular songs by region and also have interaction during the presentation from their peers by taking an informal poll demonstrating how the “Most popular songs” won’t actually be the same everywhere as all tastes differ. Their ability to read the data and present it in an interactive and accessible way exhibited their understanding and knowledge that was gained from their previous session with volunteers.
Volunteers, teachers, and JAI staff were really impressed with all presentations, as students exhibited the ability to present data in an interactive and accessible way. This clearly highlighted the understanding and knowledge gained from their BNY Mellon volunteers. The students also commented on their warm welcome to BNY Mellon and the valuable skills they learned during their time with the volunteers.
It was also a very successful experience for volunteers, as they were able connect with young people in their local community and help them develop the skills they need to succeed.
As BNY Mellon Wexford volunteer Aisling Hannon, said “I really enjoyed this event, I hadn’t done anything like this before and it was a good experience to get out of my comfort zone. It was nice to tell young people about my career path, how I progressed from school to my current position and to receive good feedback from them. It was also quite nostalgic – going back to a school and seeing how they spend their days was a nice reminder of my own school days. Hopefully this experience broadened their horizons, helping them to realise that office work is not boring as well as develop new skills for their futures.”
