Timothy Kirya - Moving Analytics

Timothy Kirya is currently in his penultimate year at Glasgow Caledonian University, studying Visual Design. Timothy applied for the internship in 2020 after his senior lecturer approached him and made him aware of the opportunity.

He secured an internship with Moving Analytics, a medical company, focusing on cardiac rehabilitation following a detailed application process managed by the Saltire Scholar Programme.

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THE OPPORTUNITY:

After finding out about the Saltire Scholar Programme from his lecturer, Timothy attended his university careers fair and sourced some additional information about the opportunity. Whilst at the fair, he also had the opportunity to meet with one of the Entrepreneurial Scotland ambassadors who had also completed the programme. She told Timothy that it was “a great way to make connections and to get out into the real world and get some work experience.”

During the interview process, Timothy was interviewed by two former Saltire Scholars. As he reflects on the process he says, “Each time I got through to the next round of the process, my confidence was rising and rising, and this became a very exciting process for me. I felt like this is a really good opportunity for me to finally make great connections and collaborate with other like-minded people.”

Timothy successfully secured a place on a Saltire Scholar Programme with Moving Analytics, a medical company, focusing on cardiac rehabilitation. When applying for this opportunity, what interested Timothy was the fact that as a company, they were looking to make the world a better place.

“They are just driven people really – science, coding, designers. It was kind of a mishmash of people working in a scientific field. I thought, ok, this is kind of diverse. The culture there was kind of really enticing. So, I was like, ‘This is me – right there’. So, I applied and the people there were welcoming and helpful – everyone was very supportive".

When I started off the application most of the questions, I was asked during the written application were mainly based on my experience in life and my values, and if I have a vision, and if I have a mindset that could contribute towards making society a better place. I didn’t have much work experience then, so, I had to look back on my own experiences which was a really useful exercise. When I got through the first round, I really began to believe that I might have a shot at getting an internship, so I continued to put everything I had into the remainder of the application process.

IMPACT:

During Timothy’s time with Moving Analytics, he worked on two main projects. The first project was an infographic, explaining what cardiac rehabilitation was. In order to complete this project, he had to do a lot of background research to enable him to fully understand the scope for the business. The second main project he worked on was the design of a user guide booklet for the launch of the company app.

Reflecting on his experiences of the Saltire Scholar Programme with Moving Analytics, Timothy comments, “Personally, I am a very quiet and reserved guy so when I applied, I had to really encourage myself to put myself out there. What I have really gained from this, which will really help me in my future, is that the experience forced me outside of my comfort zone. The whole experience has also given me an immense amount of confidence and belief in myself, my skills and my abilities.”

Following his return to university, after the Saltire Scholar programme, Timothy’s mentor introduced him to a company who he is now designing a logo for. He feels strongly that his experiences with Moving Analytics have really enabled him to believe in himself and his abilities more. Ultimately, he considers himself much more able to take on new challenges in the world.

He also expresses that this experience has really opened up his entrepreneurial mindset and now that he has seen how things work in the ‘outside world’ – he has decided that he really wants to find a job which will enable him to contribute to bettering society.

Commenting on this he says, “My entrepreneurial mindset has now really changed – of course I am still developing it – but my experience has had a significant impact on my outlook.”

It's taught me so much about how to communicate and collaborate with people, how to get your point out there, make it understandable, that is key really, if they understand it you have done your job.

When Timothy was initially applying for roles for the internship, he was looking for any design job so that he could just see how it went. His experience on the Saltire Scholar Internship Programme has validated his career aspirations and he has left the experience feeling fully confident that this is now what he wants to do in life. It’s also enabled him to overcome any previous insecurities around his decisions.

“There are not many black designers - especially in Scotland. I remember clearly that when I was going to college for graphic design, my mum said that design was not much of a job and said that I should go and do something more meaningful. But I feel so confident in my decision now and that loving what I do makes me really happy. I want to be able to inspire others in the same way that I have been inspired and I want to support others to follow their dreams.”

I think it’s really important that young people are given these opportunities, because some people aren’t set on their future. And, some people know what they want to do and when the internship comes, and they end up finding that this is not what they wanted after all. That would be disappointing, but it could be good that you learned that quickly.

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If you would like to talk to Entrepreneurial Scotland about hosting a Saltire Scholar, and how this can benefit your business, please email: gillian.mcgill@entrepreneurialscotland.com

If you would like to become a Saltire Scholar, find out more here.