A day in the life of The Hub
When they asked me to write a blog post about ‘a day in the life of the Digital Jersey Hub’ it seemed like one of the easier tasks on my varied to-do list. But then I got thinking about what a typical day looked like and quickly realised there is no such thing.
I’ve been lucky enough to be in this role for a couple of months now, and it’s a daily pleasure to see the range of people who come through our doors to use our permanent desk and hot desks, to meet somebody for a meeting, to attend a class or a talk, or to seek out the right person to collaborate on a project.
Never mind every day, I get to see something different every minute of every day.
Whether it’s delegations arriving for the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the world’s largest crypto-currency exchange Binance, or youngsters turning up for their evening coding class, the Digital Jersey Hub really is the beating heart of Jersey’s growing tech sector.
One of the very first things I did when taking up this role was work hard to get to know members individually, to find out what they get out of The Hub, and to learn how I could help make things even better.
What I quickly realised was that, while they all love the friendly atmosphere, the comfortable surroundings, and that constant supply of freshly brewed coffee, my job is to join the dots. Within this space we often have the answers to almost any question a member may have, it’s just they may not realise it.
Whether that’s connecting members with funding or training or legal advice, sometimes it’s seeking out a like-minded or entirely differently-minded individual to collaborate on a project, or it could simply be introducing members to each other who I think would benefit from being able to bounce ideas off each other.
As part of that process of identifying needs, I am now working to create a formal mentoring programme so members can support each other.
It’s one of the joys of The Hub, as is staging the hundreds of events that happen here each year. One of the most popular is our digital marketing course which attracts a wonderfully broad range of people who are determined to invest their own time in developing new skills and enhancing existing ones. It’s a 12-week intensive course, for three hours each week, and the feedback we get every time is absolutely fantastic.
My biggest challenge and ambition is to find ways to reach out to even more people who may never have thought of using The Hub, for whatever reason. I want to find the courses and events that people who work in the tech sector want. There are 3,000 people who I may be able to find a way to assist through The Hub. I’m asking our members to spread the word and I hope you can do the same for me.
The next time you’re passing The Hub on Grenville Street in St Helier, pop in and have a look around. It would be my pleasure to give you an insight into what we do.
And I promise that the coffee is good.
