The ITMB Showcase is a biannual event that represents the culmination of a multi-month group project. Having just finished my 2nd showcase this week, I can confidently say it’s the most enjoyable yet practical part of the ITMB degree programme. The showcase offers students a unique platform to demonstrate their technical abilities, presentation skills, and innovative solutions to industry partners.

What is the Showcase?

For those unfamiliar with the showcase, it’s an opportunity for you and your group to present your solution to an industry partner and external employers. For us first-years, we partnered with Lloyds Bank, while employers such as Bank of America, Nomura, UBS, and others attended as audience members and judges.

It’s a full-day event where everyone dresses in smart attire and experiences an almost “Dragons’ Den” style presentation with challenging questions from industry professionals. This high-pressure environment is precisely where you can grow the most.

Why It Matters

For most students, this is a rare opportunity to not only interact with potential employers but to have their undivided attention while demonstrating your technical and presentation skills. This can be seen as quite a daunting experience but don’t worry, everyone wants to see you succeed and you’ll be in a team, so try to communicate well and work to your strengths. The connections you make during these events can often lead to internship opportunities or even job offers upon graduation.

The First-Year Project

For us first-year students, our assignment was to build a budgeting app for Lloyds Bank. While this might initially seem like an impossible task, the modules you complete throughout the year such as software development and databases directly prepare you for this challenge. This practical application of classroom theory to real-world problems is arguably one of the biggest unique selling points of the ITMB programme. Seeing the concepts from lectures transform into a working solution gives you tremendous confidence in your abilities and clarifies how academic knowledge applies in industry settings.

Showcase Structure

The structure of the showcase generally involves presenting your solution via professional posters and demonstrations. You’ll go through roughly 6 different rounds where at the end the top 2 get to present in an auditorium. Each round typically lasts about 10 minutes, giving you just enough time to showcase your solution before facing questions from the industry representatives. This format teaches you to be concise and focus on the most important aspects of your project.

The day concludes with an awards ceremony where winners are announced, and prizes are distributed.

Value Beyond Winning

Even if you don’t win, you’ll still gain invaluable experience. For example, in my first showcase, I reached the finals but didn’t manage to win. Nevertheless, I developed valuable skills that I later leveraged during my internship at JPMorgan, where I had to deliver a presentation to senior employees. The confidence and professional communication abilities you develop during the showcase preparation and delivery are transferable skills that will benefit your entire career.

Final Thoughts

For those considering joining the ITMB programme, I hope this highlights a key advantage of this course and helps explain why so many ITMB students successfully secure internships and full-time graduate offers. The showcase provides real-world experience that employers value highly and helps bridge the gap between theory and professional application.

Written by Hashir, a first year BSc ITMB student

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