Beata Tetkowska

Beata Tetkowska’s decision to change her career from Beauty Therapy to Computing has inspired in her a great interest in cyber security, and a passion for encouraging more girls and women into the computing industry.

When she moved to Scotland five years ago, it was the perfect opportunity to begin pursuing a lifelong interest in computing. She first enrolled in an ESOL course at North East Scotland College, after which she successfully progressed to NC Administration and IT, and finally HND Technologies in Business, on which she is now in her final year.

She says, “What I like about my course is the fact that it’s a mix of computing and business, so on top of computing units such as mobile and emerging technologies, software development, data science or cloud computing, it also gives me a better insight into how business work in terms of project management, business processes, and organisational strategies.”

Among the subjects covered in her studies, however, there is one that has captured Beata’s attention the most:

“My greatest highlights of my time at NESCol was being introduced to Cyber Security. I started being fascinated by it and I realised how important it is, and the impact it has on not only our place of work or study, but on our entire life. And I also started being captivated by programming.”

This interest in Cyber Security has been greatly appreciated by the College’s ITTS team, in which Beata has undertaken a work placement, starting in her NC year and continuing to now. As part of this, her role has been to research and raise awareness of cyber and information security good practices and threats throughout the college, increasing knowledge among staff and fellow students.

She explains, “It was supposed to be a few months of work experience, but it went really well and I enjoyed it a lot, and I decided to volunteer during all my studying time in the College – dedicating my free time into it.”

Alongside her work placement and studies, Beata is also a mum, an administrative assistant at a local school, a sports enthusiast, an amateur photographer, and a lover of the outdoors – but this busy schedule has not stopped her striving for her goals, and she has accepted a place in the third year of a BSc (Hons) Computing degree at RGU, starting after the summer.

“After I finish my college qualifications, I would like to work towards my aspiration, which is gaining a Masters Degree in Computing Science and also working in an ICT role. I just received a message from RGU that I have been offered a place in the third year of Computing, so I’m really happy about that.”

On top of all this, Beata is also an advocate for women in computing, and hopes she can encourage more girls and women into the industry by sharing her own experiences:

“Computing is massively shaping our society, which is equally made by males and females. To avoid any biases, any errors or discrimination in our everyday life, we need equal numbers of men and women involved in programming artificial intelligence, writing algorithms, developing emerging technologies, and inspiring future generations as well.

“I have been the only female in my group [at College], which shows that we have a gender gap issue in the computing industry, but I’ve never felt uncomfortable because of it.

“I also think the computing industry has started evolving for the last few years, and being more supporting and welcoming for women. It’s very important to encourage women into computing because we need to have gender diversity in every industry.”

So, what would Beata’s advice be to any women thinking of beginning their journey towards a career in computing?

“Don’t be scared, follow your dreams, and don’t allow any stereotype to stop you from doing what you love to do. A computing course is a great opportunity to start a career in a rapidly evolving industry, and the current situation with remote working and studying just shows there is a demand for more experts in computing.

“I would definitely recommend NESCol to everyone who wants to study computing. No matter what age, or if this is their first course, or – if like me – you want to change your career. It’s a very friendly environment, well quipped when it comes to computing facilities and – most importantly – with very, very supportive and highly knowledgeable lecturers.”

Photo by Sam Brill.