Students win big at national competition

Over 1,000 students from colleges across the UK took part in this year’s Digital Skills Project.

Digital Skills Project is a national competition challenging young people to create digital solutions for real-world problems affecting their generation.

Students from Barking & Dagenham College reached the finals, presenting their innovative ideas live to a panel of industry leaders at a high-profile event in London.

The 2025 challenge theme - ‘Safe Spaces’ - invited students to think creatively about how technology can help protect and empower young people. BDC students addressed vital issues such as violence against women and girls, online safety and personal security. Their solutions ranged from cybersecurity tools to an app designed to help young people 'move safe' and even a concept for a drone-linked app providing safety support to young people when they’re out and about.

Working in project teams, students spent 16 weeks developing their ideas, supported by coaching and mentorship from industry experts provided by Digital Skills Consulting. The project also offered the students the chance to work alongside professionals from some of the UK’s most respected companies, including Wavemaker UK, Amazon Web Services, Barclays, NHS, AXON, Hanover Communications, Salesforce, TCS, Hays Recruitment, Stack Infrastructure, the Metropolitan Police Service, The Prince’s Trust and the CyberHub Trust.

At the grand final - held at Wavemaker UK’s headquarters overlooking the London skyline - the shortlisted teams had just 15 minutes to pitch their concepts to an audience of over 150 guests, business leaders and industry mentors. They explained the thinking behind their ideas, how they had developed their concepts and reflected on the personal skills and insights they had gained during the experience.

In a tough field of competitors, our students came away with two major awards. They won the Best Reflection Award for their honest and thoughtful presentation on tackling violence against women and girls and Student of the Year went to Adebola Josephine Oyepeju for her outstanding individual contribution to the project.

Katie Morgan, Barking & Dagenham College tutor, said: “The final was inspiring, heart-warming, and powerful - not just for the students, but for everyone in the room. We are incredibly proud of our students for their creativity, teamwork, and the professionalism they showed throughout this journey. This project really opened their eyes to how they can make a positive impact on the world around them.”