Shannon Roscoe recently attended the GCHQ Wayra Demo Day 2019 at The Manchester Hall to present her project which aims to help the homeless in Manchester. The event gathered around 100 professionals from across a range of sectors, including the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. 
During the February half-term, Shannon attended a work placement week with multi-national technology company, CISCO. Students were required to create a device that could be used out in the real world. It was here during this week of work experience that ‘Project H.O.P.E’ was born. 

“Project H.O.P.E - Helping Overcome Poverty Economically.”

Shannon worked as part of a team and together they decided to create a device that would benefit and help the homeless. They would position tablets or devices throughout the city that would provide homeless people with access to the latest information about the nearest shelters, food banks and facilities.
Throughout her placement, Shannon’s dedication to the project and her ability to work in a team shone. Cisco announced her team as the winners of the project, stating Shannon was,

“collaborative, professional, creative and approached every challenge with gusto. They worked hard on their projects and presented their ideas confidently to a board of tough dragons.” 

Cisco continued to highlight Shannon as,

“a real attribute to have in a group, good with time management and helping the group stay calm and use their time effectively [who] isn’t afraid to point out problems to help solve them.”

Following the team’s performance on the work placement, Cisco invited Shannon and her team to present their idea for their idea at the GCHQ Wayra Demo Day. Project H.O.P.E joined a list of budding entrepreneurs, business projects and start-ups looking for investors to support their causes or businesses.

Shannon and her fellow teammates presented extremely well to the room. They pitched their idea, their reasons for Project H.O.P.E and how they would make it happen in the real world. Shannon explained,

“It was nerve-wracking presenting to all those people, but I’m glad I did it.”

The investors and technology professionals present in the room were impressed by the students' ability to present and articulate their ideas. O2 loved the project and reached out to the students, explaining that they would like to work with them to bring their idea to life. 

The success of the day did not end there for Shannon, as she has since received an offer to begin a degree apprenticeship with Cisco, further advancing Shannon’s career prospects following the completion of her full-time vocational course in IT. 

Shannon is a shining example of how one opportunity can open multiple doors that you never knew existed.

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