Tuesday, 16 March 2021
From welding to data with Code First Girls and Rolls-Royce

Rebecca Hallows, intern Aletheia Framework, R2 Data Labs, talks about how Code First Girls helped her build her confidence in coding

More about:
  • Our stories
  • R2 Data Labs
  • Women in engineering
  • People
  • Global

I graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2018 with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, then received a Masters in 2019 from the University of Manchester.

After nearly a year subsequently working in the welding industry, I got restless to learn something new again. That's when I came across Code First Girls (CFG). I studied aerodynamics and aerostructures during my degree and lacked a bit of confidence in coding so in October 2020 I signed up to CFG's 'Introduction to Python Programming' eight-week course. It was interesting, engaging and gave me the ability to go on to code my own small project at the end of it.

One of the things I appreciated about Code First Girls, besides its involvement in encouraging women into tech, was the career opportunities that came with completing any of its courses. A month after I finished the Python course, I received an email from CFG saying Rolls-Royce were looking for new interns. So, I took my new-found interest in tech and my CV and applied right away.

I'm now an intern with R2 Data Labs and throughout my internship I'll be project managing the team working on the Aletheia Framework, its breakthrough artificial intelligence ethics and trustworthiness toolkit. This was published for free in December last year and I'm now finding myself in conversations with some amazing people around the world who are dealing with AI ethics issues in today's society and are interested in adopting it.

I am still new to my role and finding my feet within Rolls-Royce, but what I have been most surprised about is how genuinely supportive everyone on the team is. Because of my aerospace background, I have always been aware of the great powerhouse that is Rolls-Royce and what it means to be able to have the opportunity to work here. This could make for an intimidating experience but what I have found so far is quite the opposite.

Close

Attachments

  • Original document
  • Permalink

Disclaimer

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc published this content on 16 March 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 16 March 2021 15:57:01 UTC.