Dishita, age 18
Woodhouse College
1. What was the name of the event you have attended?
I attended the Augmented Reality Hackathon and #AcornHackWOW
2.Why did you choose to come to an Acorn Aspirations hackathon?
I decided to attend as I wanted to learn some new skills and meet like-minded individuals who have an interest in technology. I also liked the fact that it was especially aimed at young people.
3.Have you done coding or any form of technology prior to coming to the hack?
I studied computer science at GCSE and I am currently doing it at A-Level, so I was familiar with technology prior to the hackathon. Despite this I found that the atmosphere provided by the hackathon is rarely experienced in a classroom environment.
4.What were the top three skills (not necessarily tech) that you learnt as a result of the hackathon?
I learn about agile and SCRUM project management. I gained a deeper insight into augmented reality and its uses. I also learnt about how to effectively create a product in a very limited time by implementing the principle of MVP.
5.How have you used the skills since your participation?
I have used many of the skills I learnt in my A-Level coursework and believe they will continue to be useful to me in the future.
6.What would you say were the highlights or funniest moments with Acorn Aspirations?
For me the highlight of the hackathon was pitching to the judges. I also enjoyed meeting the other participants and industry professionals.
7.What kind of projects have you been developing and what has been your inspiration?
During the AR hackathon we used the Blippar builder tool to create an application for English Literature students. It would be used to make it easier to share and record annotations on pieces of literature.
8.How do you hope to use the technological skills you learnt at Acorn Aspirations in the future?
In the future I hope to study computer science with business management at university where the skills learnt at Acorn will be useful on a daily basis.