We started the week supporting the next generation of software engineers and have ended it with CEO Simon Pringle being announced as a finalist in the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards in the Business Person of the Year category.

Student Robotics

Here at Red River, we’re big on encouraging the next generation of Software Engineers, so when Student Robotics were looking for a venue for their February Tech Day we were delighted to be able to help.

Student Robotics is a charity that runs an annual robotics competition for 16-19 year olds.

Teams are given a robotics kit and have just six months to design, test and program a fully autonomous robot to compete in the year’s game.

All that hard work culminates in a two-day event where teams see how well their creations stack up against their competition!

Last weekend we hosted teams from Westminster City School, St Olvaes Grammar School, and The College of Richard Collyer, allowing them to make a good amount of progress on their robots.

Teams worked on developing their strategies for the game, writing and debugging code, modifying their robot’s chassis, and prototyping robot mechanisms.

James, who works for Red River and volunteers for Student Robotics, used to compete in the competition himself and over saw the whole weekend.

He said: ‘It was fantastic to get the students in to our offices and see the ingenuity and creativity with which they’re approaching this year’s challenge. Teams get so much out of tech days and we were really impressed by the progress the teams made over the course of the day.’

It’s important to us at Red River that we’re involved with the community on many levels, be that with students, as in the tech days, or, as is the case for our CEO Simon Pringle being present on boards and organisations to help shape the future of our region and our industry.

Gatwick Diamond Business Awards & Future Skills conference

This week Simon attended the Future Skills conference in Eastbourne, organised by the Sussex Chamber of Commerce to support the work on the Local Skills Improvement Plan, where a delegation from Singapore was visiting.

Simon said:

‘It’s important for us to be a part of plans for the future, to ensure our sector is represented fairly and giving us optimum opportunities for success in the region. I particularly enjoyed the deep dive into the digital sector by Dan Wallman, as I was deeply involved in that area, being the LSIP digital champion.’

His community involvement, as well as the links Red River has across the region and nationally, has meant that Simon, has been celebrating as it was announced on Friday 10 Feb that he is a finalist in the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards Business Person of the Year category.

The GDBA take place annually and celebrates business excellence across the Gatwick Diamond, recognising the passion and talent within the business community.

This is not the first time Simon has received a nomination in the Business Person of the Year, and he won it in 2016. We’re keeping our fingers crossed he can add to the awards shelf!

We’re always on the lookout for new talent to join the company, if you’re interested in software development Work experience or degree apprenticeships get in touch to discuss further.