Politics to AI: My Pivot Into Tech

It’s coming up to a year since I graduated from UCL in the manic haze of Lockdown 1. So, it feels poignant to have just been interviewed by my previous university about my journey into tech since graduating! You can read the full interview below: UCL Careers: Interview with an Alum – Isabel Scavetta and the ‘Career Pivot’ 1. Since graduating from UCL, you’ve spoken … Continue reading Politics to AI: My Pivot Into Tech

Why I’m Ignoring Negative Feedback

Honestly, I’ve been feeling anxious lately. Impostor syndrome is such a buzzword in this space that I’m not even going to use it! The “post-university void”, as lovingly coined by my friends, is a bizarre place. Even more so when you graduated in a global pandemic. Rather than being worried I don’t belong, it’s more of a challenge in having faith that I’m carving out … Continue reading Why I’m Ignoring Negative Feedback

Dear Sir/Madam: Please Reject This Application

Earlier this week, I had an interview for a volunteer role at an internationally-recognised social action group. I had some big ideas about how we could democratise tech education here in London, and work with others to achieve that. It was a close call, but ultimately, they went with another candidate. Ouch. However, what was most surprising to me were the reactions from my close … Continue reading Dear Sir/Madam: Please Reject This Application

Why Being Non-Tech in Tech is a Storytelling Superpower

When I first started out looking at careers in technology, I used to want to hide my humanities background. I would make vague allusions to my previous studies, or skip the question entirely…. Everything changed for me when I started owning my achievements to date, and advocating for the skills that I bring to a team! I believe that storytelling is one of the most … Continue reading Why Being Non-Tech in Tech is a Storytelling Superpower

8 Obstacles I Overcame as a Python Instructor

8 weeks ago, I knew that there were some challenging times ahead. I’d received the great news that I’d been chosen to receive a Fellowship from social enterprise Code First Girls. This is an opportunity usually offered to women from a STEM degree background, so I was both excited and nervous about what was in store! Part of this competitive leadership accelerator was teaching an … Continue reading 8 Obstacles I Overcame as a Python Instructor

First Day…. Not in the Office? 3 Ways to Build Virtual Collaboration

A year ago, I never expected I’d be working in an AI Innovation department. But, I think that past me would’ve been even more surprised to find out that I’d be starting from my dining room table! A month in, I’m getting used to balancing working from home during the pandemic. Here’s 3 of my top tips for communication and teamwork that I’ve learned from … Continue reading First Day…. Not in the Office? 3 Ways to Build Virtual Collaboration

BBC News Feature: My Journey into Tech

As a long-term BBC News reader, it was a surreal moment to start my everyday routine and find myself in featured in their latest Features & Analysis article! Isabel Scavetta, aged 23 from Maidenhead, in Berkshire, has seen her expectations about jobs turned upside down. But not necessarily for the worst. “In some ways I’m strangely grateful for having to re-evaluate,” she says, describing a … Continue reading BBC News Feature: My Journey into Tech

10 Tips from Teaching my First Python Class

Today, I returned to Code First Girls’ Python course, which I passed as a student back in the sunny days of August. Plot twist: this time, I’m doing the teaching. Yes, as part of my CFG Fellowship programme, I’ve been paired up with two other brilliant Fellows to teach ~30 women to code. Exciting? Yes. Terrifying? Absolutely. Here are 10 of my lessons as the … Continue reading 10 Tips from Teaching my First Python Class

8 Ways to Digitally Upskill for Free!

Happy new year! As a humanities graduate, people often ask me where I learned (and am learning!) my technical knowledge. Today’s post is a cheat sheet of some of my free favourites. Google Digital Garage (digital marketing, career development, data and tech) Microsoft Learn (free training on various technical themes and Microsoft software) Microsoft AI Business School FutureLearn (UCL students have free access to FutureLearn … Continue reading 8 Ways to Digitally Upskill for Free!

UCL Student? How to Bag Free FutureLearn Campus

Are you a UCL student? Did you know you’re entitled to free FutureLearn access til the end of the year? Nope? Me neither. I only found out about this lately, and recently posted about my experience studying Innovation Management via FutureLearn. I received several messages afterwards from UCL students asking about how I did this, so thought I’d make a summary blog post! What is … Continue reading UCL Student? How to Bag Free FutureLearn Campus