By Teeya Patel, Year 12

On Wednesday 29th January, six A-level students set out to the PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) office in London Bridge to take part in a GDST Technology Day organised by the GDST and PwC. When we arrived, we were immediately amazed by the grand offices and the lovely views of London the office had to offer. The day then swiftly began as we were introduced to Computer Science students from across the GDST. We took part in a series of technology based activities led by PwC through which we learned about the essential eight technologies that matter most for business today, some of which include:  artificial intelligence, virtual reality, 3D printing and more.

We then participated in a  ‘Dragons’ Den’ competition where we were put into teams and were given a task which involved designing a product that incorporated one of the eight essential technologies and that fit under the theme of ‘wellbeing’ or ‘fitness.’ We then had to present our products to a panel of judges. An example of a product presented was a wellbeing app which uses artificial intelligence through voice recognition, to create a forum for students to express how they are feeling and get responses back on how to improve their mood. This task was particularly enjoyable as it allowed us to be creative and think about all the things that need to be considered when designing a product.

In the afternoon, we collaborated with girls from other GDST schools by discussing our A-level projects and the ideas we had for our individual projects. It was interesting to see other people’s ideas for their projects and how they plan on making it work. Finally, we ended the day by hearing about the opportunities in technology that PwC have to offer and the different areas in technology within PwC. Overall, it was an enjoyable and useful day as it provided us with insights into the opportunities available to us in the technology industry as well as what it would be like to work in the industry.