Channel Eye has been meeting students from the Digital Jersey Academy. Today we meet Sophie Anderson.
If you’re serious about investing in your own digital development, the Digital Leadership Programme may well be for you. It’s a two-year course which can be studied on a full time or part time basis, meaning students leaving education can continue full time study while those already in employment can do it alongside their existing job.
Last time, we met one of those in the first group of students to take the part-time degree-equivalent option, Gwyn Garfield-Bennett. Today we meet Sophie Anderson, who shares her experiences of the programme.
Why did you choose to study at the DLP?
I chose to study at the Digital Leadership Programme (DLP) after returning from living in the US for a while. I wanted to ‘sink my teeth’ into something valuable and useful towards the things I want to see in my future. When I signed up, it was pre-Covid and even then, these skills were valuable. Now, after witnessing the leap in digital transformation, I’m so happy I chose to study these vast subjects.
The DLP has been so much more than I thought it would be. When I look back to when I started, I’ve learnt an insane amount and my confidence on a range of digital subjects has increased dramatically. Apart from coding – I’ve learnt that maybe coding isn’t for me!
What was your favourite thing about the programme?
My favourite thing has been a switch between media production (Terry is a fantastic tutor) and delving into the adobe software (thank you Sara for your extra patience and time!). Adobe Illustrator has become like second nature now and I can create things from scratch myself.
I’ve got a bit of an entrepreneurial nature purely because I want to create interesting things, so now I can bring those visions to life in a multitude of ways myself rather than paying someone else,. Therefore, the business management aspect of the course has helped me a lot too. Ian’s classes have sparked great discussions and developed our perspectives with regards to organisational culture, ethical business and financial management.
Ben’s classes on Interaction Design are super interesting and will make you look at devices you use every day in a different light.
How has the DLP helped shape your career?
I have a pretty colourful background work wise; it’s more about passion and purpose rather than ‘cookie-cutter’ career for me.
I have worked on projects ranging from marketing on political grassroots campaigns, all aspects of the medical cannabis industry, various start-ups and now deep-sea exploration.
Last year I was involved in an inter-island medical cannabis growing project that I helped manage and I could utilise what I was learning into it., such as digital organisation, social media, project management etc. Due to Covid and regulatory limitations, we could not pursue the project, so the same team offered me a role at their established deep sea exploration companies SM2 (minerals), Magellan as Operations Coordinator.
My role is almost fully remote and I am able to use the wealth of resources I have learnt from the programme in my daily work. We are looking to start one of the first seabed mining projects in the world in order to source metals in the most environmentally conservative way for the green transition.
I am creating high level presentations, graphics, using new apps and watching in real time the aspects of business studies play out in a new and emerging sector. It’s really exciting and I’m grateful to be involved in something like this whist being able to bring my skills to the development of the project.
The DLP has helped shape my career by bolstering my skill set and enabling me to offer more in the role I’m in . Outside of work, I’m also launching an online health store and potentially physical store. ‘The Bom Life Company’ is a lifestyle brand with a focus on sustainable sourcing and quality products that support optimal living. I have been able to develop my skills in using WordPress for the site, InDesign for promotional material and creating a podcast called ‘A higher state of being’ in alignment with the brand. There are also other projects coming up where I can put my DLP skills to use, but I am swamped so I had to put those on the back burner for now!
What tips or advice would you recommend to those considering studying at the DLP?
I would say first off, take notes. I have learnt how valuable it is to take clear concise notes and store them effectively on your laptop.
Be organized going into it, I can’t stress this enough as it will help when the myriad of subjects that you learn in parallel start coming at you.
With regards to the CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) aspect of the programme, buy the textbooks and READ them. Expose yourself to the concepts as much as possible till it makes sense to you. The Target internet e- learning platform also offers so much information and can be easily worked through. Listening to ‘The Digital Marketing Podcast’ is a fundamental habit that ‘cements’ things.
To say it doesn’t get overwhelming at points would be a lie. Anyone looking to study this needs to understand it takes consistent dedication and effort in your downtime to succeed. I am always striving to operate more efficiently, so I use a platform called Monday to keep me on track.
The subject matter is vast so your brain will be flitting from data science to website wireframes and shooting film all in a week. That being said, it’s such a great programme and as Daniel says: “Anything worth something doesn’t come easily” or something like that!
It has definitely been worth it for me on the path to becoming a ‘digital leader’ I have made some lifelong friends, gained excellent contacts in various industries and broadened my network on the island.
To find out more about the Digital Leadership Programme visit and to take a look at the last of the availability on the free digital courses funded by the Government of Jersey’s Fiscal Stimulus Fund – visit the website here.
