Networking Day at Madingley Hall, Cambridge

The University of Cambridge’s networking day at Madingley Hall & Gardens for our Data Science with Machine Learning & AI Career Accelerator course last week was a great opportunity to meet fellow cohort members. It also brought together lecturers and industry leaders, and I left with renewed motivation for my future career plans.

Meeting other learners in person was one of the best parts of the day. Many of us have been progressing through the programme online, so having the opportunity to talk face‑to‑face, share experiences, and hear about each other’s goals made the afternoon feel especially meaningful. The enthusiasm in the room was infectious, and it reminded me how diverse and driven our cohort really is, with some people wanting to upskill for the current roles and others looking for new opportunities.

We also had the opportunity to hear directly from industry professionals in the panel discussion, including:

• Mahbub Gani, Principal Data Scientist at Sage
• Simon Williams, Global Head of DevOps / Sportradar
• Diwakar Patwal, VP of Data & AI at Thredd
• Sanya Setia, Business Information Analyst at John Laing

giving us an insight into what it takes to build a career in data and AI. A few themes that were discussed included:

• Complexity doesn’t equal value: a simple UI change can have more impact than months of advanced modelling if it drives adoption.
• Accuracy means nothing without trust, especially in regulated industries.
• Communication, curiosity, and coachability are often harder to hire for than Python or SQL.
• Leadership starts with agency: choosing to shape outcomes rather than getting lost in organisational complexity.
• Think in outcomes, not tasks: technical excellence matters, but commercial awareness creates real impact.

We finished off our time at Madingley Hall with a guided tour of the gardens and completed our networking day with others from the course with drinks and food at a local Cambridge pub. I’m looking forward to returning in August for graduation, hopefully with less rain and more sunshine, and to seeing where the opportunities from this career accelerator take us.