Make Things Better

Welcome back to another episode of the Make Things Better podcast where we talk with Amanda Cookson and Liz Hnat 05:21 - Liz discusses how coaching helped her overcome imposter syndrome and creating a growth mindset, which significantly impacted her career progression. 10:15 - Amanda elaborates on how imposter syndrome can manifest in different work environments, particularly for women in male-dominated industries like tech. 17:59 - Amanda shares her insights on creating safe and supportive environments in the workplace, reflecting on the success of Hive in retaining employees through its culture of support and feedback. 27:03 - Amanda and Liz reflect on the importance of listening, how effective managers help others feel heard, and the role of communication in leadership. 36:40 - Discussion on how Hive created strategy teams to empower employees, and how this initiative supports diversity, inclusion, and long-term company goals. 46:31 - Final reflections on making things better in life, with Amanda highlighting love, self-compassion, and supporting others as key elements for positive change. Find us at www.hiveit.co.uk

Hey there, thanks for tuning in to the Make Things Better podcast. The podcast where we talk to interesting people, doing good things. In this week's episode, we spoke to Emma Raftery, Marketing Director at Aire Logic. We discussed what tech for good really means, our collaboration with Aire Logic and Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay. If you have a topic you'd like to learn more about, let us know so we can consider exploring it on the podcast. https://www.hiveit.co.uk/contact

Hey there, thanks for tuning in to the Make Things Better podcast. The podcast where we talk to interesting people, doing good things. In this week's episode, we spoke to Richard King, the Heritage Project Officer at The Eagles Foundation. We discussed the Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project, the history of the Eagles and our collaboration on the project. If you have a topic you'd like to learn more about, let us know so we can consider exploring it on the podcast. https://www.hiveit.co.uk/contact

Hey there, thanks for tuning in to the Make Things Better podcast.The podcast where we talk to interesting people, doing good things. In this episode, we discuss accessibility and inclusivity within the workplace. How to make content more accessible without the jargon and how to make design more inclusive. If you have a topic you'd like to learn more about, let us know so we can consider exploring it on the podcast. https://www.hiveit.co.uk/contact

Hey there, thanks for tuning in to the Make Things Better podcast. The podcast where we talk to interesting people, doing good things. In this episode, we discuss the power of Brand Knowing and the importance of branding and storytelling for purpose-driven businesses. We also discussed topics within creative writing, becoming B-Corp and unlocking brand values. If you have a topic you'd like to learn more about, let us know so we can consider exploring it on the podcast. https://www.hiveit.co.uk/contact

Hey there, thanks for tuning in to the Make Things Better podcast. The podcast where we talk to interesting people, doing good things. In this episode, we discussed the power of the flow state, sustainability and purpose within the business sector and how brands should be leading the way towards more sustainable choices. If you have a topic you'd like to learn more about, let us know so we can consider exploring it on the podcast. https://www.hiveit.co.uk/contact

Hey thanks for tuning in to the Make Things Better podcast. The podcast where we talk to interesting people, doing good things. In this episode, we explore the amazing journey of Krish Patel. From professional footballer to setting up charities and helping to build schools in Uganda. We unpack Krish's story, discovering the powerful nature of storytelling and how gap analysis can create meaning in the world. 0:31 - Intro1:31 - Krish Patel's background4:13 - Stories are the pages that make up this book we call life5:30 - How do we inspire people through connection?6:01 - The American dream, was it worth it?9:13 - The power of one created the power of belief13:56 - How people's stories resonate with an emotional experience18:05 - How do we provide a world that is built for people who may not be the ‘norm'20:00 - The Road to Uganda and sustainability23:48 - How obstacles are our greatest opportunities25:40 - Are the gaps in your life helping you find purpose and meaning in life?30:00 - How can you see the potential in others so that together we can make change?31:58 - Beauty gain and good, how did the three keys to the value of life change me37:04 - Are we living in a society with a broken system?44:00 - How do you support the minority and majority at the same time?47:23 - What can people do to make things better? Links to connect with Krish or Tom (Podcast Host) are below. Krish Krish Patel LinkedIn StoryOak Website Tales to Inspire Website Tom Thomas Molyneux LinkedIn Hive IT Website Thanks for listening and we hope you have an amazing rest of your day!

In this podcast episode, we discuss the world of research and innovation with Research Enterprise Manager for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Sheffield - Annie Thirwell-Hicks Join us as we explore the challenges that researchers often face when they're trying to turn their groundbreaking discoveries into practical products or services. With timestamps to help you get around the discussion: 03:32 - Challenges Researchers can face when turning research into a product or service Find out about the common obstacles that researchers come up against on their journey to commercialise their findings. 07:14 - How to unlock opportunities for researchers to create products or services? Learn valuable insights and strategies for empowering researchers to bridge the gap between academia and entrepreneurship. We'll explore ways to nurture innovation and transform bright ideas into real-world solutions. 09:36 - Could the landscape of research be improved if there were more collaboration between researchers and businesses? We explore the potential benefits of researchers and businesses working together. 12:40 - How can Design Thinking help researchers? Discover the power of Design Thinking in the realm of research. Find out how this innovative approach can guide researchers in crafting products and services that truly meet the needs of the market. 16:12 - The downside of being "lean" Explore the potential drawbacks of adopting a "lean" approach to research and development. Is there a balance to be struck between efficiency and thoroughness in the innovation process? Join us on this journey through the intricacies of turning research into reality. Whether you're a researcher looking to take your work to the next level or just intrigued by the intersection of science and entrepreneurship, this video is packed with valuable insights from the amazing Annie Thirwell-Hicks.

In this episode of The Make Things Better Podcast, we spoke with Clare Sweeney, a seasoned expert in fundraising strategies. Clare delves into the changing landscape of fundraising, highlighting the impact of online will-writing services on charities. She shares insights into reputable online will providers, shedding light on the exciting developments in the field. The conversation also explores the challenges faced by charities in their fundraising endeavors, touching upon capacity issues, communication struggles, and how to bridge the gap between corporations and meaningful causes. Join us for this engaging discussion as Clare reflects on her experiences, shares valuable recommendations, and emphasises the significance of effective communication between charities and businesses. 0:00 - Intro 4:58 - Gifts in Wills 8:44 - Reluctance to Talk About Will-writing? 11:25 - Examples of Keepace's Work 13:30 - Social Value Metrics for Government Contracts 18:26 - Understanding How to Help Charities 22:07 - Culture Differences Around Fundraising

Suicide is one of the biggest killers of young lives in the UK. This world suicide prevention day, we wanted to raise awareness of the amazing charity - Samaritans. Our podcast host, Tom, who is also a Samaritan volunteer spoke to two of his friends that he met through the Samaritans. You can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123 You can find Samaritans at https://www.samaritans.org/ Whatever you're going through, a Samaritan can face it with you. Please note, this podcast is really just a conversation between 3 Samaritans. It does not reflect the Samaritans as a whole who have a range of amazing volunteers with different backgrounds, thoughts and perspectives. Thank you for watching, really do hope this helps in some way.

Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Make Things Better podcast. In this episode, I was joined by my colleague - Jamie Chatterton to discuss neurodiversity, VTubing, and more... We hope you enjoy the podcast, and you can get in touch with us at www.hiveit.co.uk

We recently spoke to Mark Youngman about his career from junior tester to software developer, his journey into mindfulness and more. 0:00 - Intro 2:58 - Creating Tech Content4:35 - Journey from Software Tester to Software Developer 9:09 - Becoming more mindful through journaling12:34 - Applying Mindfulness to Software Development 17:28 - Tips for Software Developers

We recently had the opportunity to chat to James Jefferies about his experience working at Technophobia, his favourite projects since setting Shedcode up, recent work at Rewilding Britain and how people can improve their problem solving skills. It was a real pleasure to chat with James who shared so much experience and knowledge with us. 0:00 - Intro 9:00 - The culture at technophobia 13:34 - Leaving Capita to build a business 15:08 - Shedcode 18:17 - Favourite project at Shedcode? 22:30 - Favourite thing about running Shedcode? 26:45 - Rewilding Britain  34:30 - How can developers improve their problem solving skills? 43:48 - What can people do to make things better?

We had the pleasure of being joined by Richard for a podcast about content creation. Richard has been creating his own content for many years now and it was great to get an insight into his creative process, what he thinks are important things to focus on and his views on different platforms. Thanks a lot for listening, we hope you enjoy the podcast.

Sadly Connor's year with us is coming to an end this week, but it was great to look back at his experience and hear how he has found his year in industry. We talked about: 0:00 - Intro 2:00 - Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project 4:50 - Expectations of doing a placement year 5:33 - What Connor has learned from his placement year 7:25 - What can companies do to improve placement years? 9:10 - Future prospects following completing a degree in computer science 9:58 - Tips for placement students 12:24 - Benefits to working for a smaller agency as a placement student 13:26 - What can people do to make things better? It has been great to have Connor join us and we wish him the very best in the future. Feel free to get in touch with us with any questions and we will try and answer them. You can find us at www.hiveit.co.uk Thanks a lot for watching!

We recently had the pleasure of being joined by Martin Waite, Design Director at Hive IT. We had a chat about what design thinking is, the benefits of it and who it is for. 0:00 - Intro 3:20 - What is Design Thinking? 6:18 - Who is Design Thinking for? 7:30 - What are the workshops like? 9:40 - Getting something tangible out of design thinking 12:30 - How the workshops have been so far? 16:25 How can people sign up to the workshops? Thanks a lot for watching the podcast, we hope you've found it useful and feel free to get in touch with us with any questions at www.hiveit.co.uk/contact

Hello!! In today's episode, we were joined by the amazing Ellie Mosley who has recently had a baby! It was really nice to have a proper catch-up and discuss how Ellie found maternity leave. Here at Hive IT, we hadn't had anyone go on maternity leave before Ellie and so we wanted to better understand how we could support people on maternity or paternity leave in the future. Thanks for listening and if you'd like to get in touch with us at all, you can find us at www.hiveit.co.uk

Celebrating 9 years of Hive IT, we got to know the founder - Jonny Rippon. From Jonny's first experience of work, to equalities in society, we discussed what Hive is all about and how we've managed to stick around for 9 years. 0:00 - Introduction 4:20 - Favourite album since Hive IT was founded ? 6:32 - Favourite football game since Hive IT was founded? 7:33 - Favourite moments at Hive IT? 9:15- Best day out with the Hive team? 9:59 - Best night out with the Hive team? 10:30 - Why is Hive's staff turnover so low? 12:39- What are you most proud of Hive IT achieving? 13:49- What would you like Hive IT to achieve in the future? 15:52- What can people do to Make Things Better? Help visually impaired people recognize objects and cope with everyday situations - bemyeyes.com Make a loan, change a life - www.kiva.org Get involved in local volunteering - www.beonhand.co.uk We hope you enjoy the podcast and for more information about what we do, you can check out our website at www.hiveit.co.uk or drop Jonny an email jonny@hiveit.co.uk

If you don't have a massive budget, but still want to go ahead and smash social media - Will is the person to go to for advice! We unpacked tons of common misconceptions around what is required to have a successful presence on social media and Will helped us learn so much. 0:00 - Intro 4:43 - Representing a brand on social media 7:58 - Asking for donations on social media? 10:56 - Paid social content versus organic social content 11:56 - The Impact of Algorithms on Social Media 14:13 - How to Create Top Quality Content on a Small Budget 23:08 - Good Marketing Continues The Conversations in People's Heads 26:58 - Homemade Digital Strategy for Charities 35:27 - What can people do to Make Things Better? You can find Will at www.willfrancis.com and we are at www.hiveit.co.uk Cheers for watching and we hope you enjoyed the podcast!

A few weeks ago me and Allan went to a really great networking event hosted by the London College of Communication. At the event, I met Maryana and having listened to her story, I wanted to help her share it with more of the world and so I invited her on our Make Things Better podcast. Maryana was a great podcast guest and shared her story of having to leave Ukraine due to the war. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy the podcast. 0:00 - Intro 6:20- Moving from Ukraine to England 10:44- Finding a job in the UK 12:54 - Where do the issues people in Britain are facing come from? 14:44- Plans for the near future? 19:15 - What can people do to Make Things Better?

We recently had the lovely experience of chatting with the brilliant Emma-Louise Fusari - founder of In-House Health. A Nurse for 20 years, Emma has acquired a vast wealth of knowledge and experience in the health sector, mainly through delivering public health programmes and chronic disease management initiatives. Emma founded In-House Health to help digital tech organisations focus on prevention, get to the root cause of issues and provide actionable strategies and measurable results throughs a data-driven approach so that they can sustain a high-performing culture for innovation and growth. Recently recognised as a Top 40 Northern Gamechanger and winner of TalkTalk's Tech for Good award at the Northwest Women in Tech Awards! We discussed all sorts and you can skip to your favourite section below: 0:00 - Intro 4:31 - Why are people working in tech more depressed? 7:42 - How to improve employee wellbeing in tech? 15:38 - What common problems are there in the tech industry? 19:56 - Using data to improve wellbeing in the tech industry 21:17 - What can people do to Make Things Better? Thanks a lot for watching and Emma has some brilliant resources to help further! Twitter - @InHouseHealth1 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/inhousehe... Website - https://www.inhousehealth.co.uk Wellbeing Action Plan - https://inhousehealth.co.uk/wellbeing...

Sharing Hive's vision of using code to make a positive difference in the world, Nusrath joined us on the Make Things Better podcast. Nusrath was an awesome guest with a really inspiring story to tell. We discussed the lack of diversity in the tech industry, how Nusrath experienced her coding bootcamp with The Developer Academy, and how to encourage women into tech. Skip to your favourite part here: 00:00 - Intro 02:09 - Lack of diversity in the tech industry 4:00 - Choosing a bootcamp over self-study 7:05 - How was the coding bootcamp? 10:30 - How to filter out less useful information when learning code 13:30 - How hard was it to find a job in the tech industry? 16:02 - How come you chose to work for Hive IT? 18:10 - Encouraging women into the tech industry 20:40 - What can people do to Make Things Better? Thanks a lot for listening! For more about who works at Hive, you can find our team here: https://hiveit.co.uk/our-team

We spoke to Simon Cookson, founder of Northern Value Creators, about communication in businesses, focusing on the technology sector in particular. Many barriers prevent effective communication in the workplace and Simon shares some excellent, practical tips for removing such barriers and unlocking people's potential. We enjoyed speaking to Simon and learned tons from this chat. Skip to the part you are most interested in using the timestamps below: 0:00 - Intro 1:41 - Barriers to effective communication 3:58 - The importance of communication in the tech sector 9:40 - Preparation in communication 12:10 - Open questions 14:35 - Curiosity / time trade-off in the tech sector 18:33 - The power of curiosity 21:59 - Leaders and vulnerability 23:55 - How can developers communicate more effectively? 29:10 - What can people do to Make Things Better? Thanks for watching and if you are interested in what work we've been getting up to lately, you can find our site here: https://hiveit.co.uk/our-work And you can find Northern Value Creators here: http://www.northernvaluecreators.com/

Former Lawyer, Alicia Barczak, shared her journey of leaving law to enter a career in tech. From taking a coding bootcamp and learning to build her own app to landing a job in tech - Alicia shares some very valuable insights, which could be useful to anyone considering a career change. We discussed: 0:00 - Intro 2:14 - Choosing Tech over Law 4:34 - What skills are useful as a Software Developer? 5:50 - How important is problem solving for Software Developers? 7:21 - Coding Bootcamp Versus Self-Study 8:26 - Challenges in doing a Coding Bootcamp 9:50 - Finding a job in Tech after completing the bootcamp 11:28 - Advice for anyone considering a career change into Tech? 12:23 - Lack of women in Tech 13:30 - What can people do to Make Things Better? Huge thanks goes out to Alicia for joining us on the podcast! We hope you've enjoyed this podcast episode and if you are interested in becoming a podcast guest or have a project we could help with - get in touch via our website. https://hiveit.co.uk/

We recently had the opportunity to speak to Tim Brazier. We've been wanting to catch up with Tim for a while and so it was brilliant to meet up in our offices and have a chat about some of his work, with a focus on inclusive design in particular. There is so much to take away from this podcast and we're really grateful that Tim was able to join us. Skip to your favourite part using the timestamps below: 00:00 - Intro 2:05 - Getting interested in Inclusive Design 6:30 - Using technology for social good 8:30 - Becoming aware of issues surrounding inclusive design 12:35 - How to make services and processes more inclusive 15:15 - How to make the co-design process more equitable 17:15 - Approaching projects and designs with an open mind 21:35 - The problem with focusing on solutions when making services inclusive 24:10 - What can people do to Make Things Better? Find Tim and Thrive by Design at: Twitter - @timbrazier / @thrivebydesign YouTube - @Thrive by Design Website - thrivebydesign.org.uk And you can find us at www.hiveit.co.uk Cheers for listening and have an awesome rest of your day!

Our team have used Next.js on a fair few projects now and we recently had an opportunity to chat with two of our Software Engineers about their experience with it. We discussed what the best way to deploy Next.js is, what makes Next.js a great framework, tips on using Next.js and whether it is the future of react frameworks or not... Skip to your favourite part: 0:00 - Intro 2:33 - What is the best way to deploy Next.js app? 6:38 - Tips for using Next.js? 9:48 - Gatsby versus Next.js? 10:44 - Is Next.js the future of Javascript frameworks? 11:59 - Using Sanity as a headless CMS 16:10 - How difficult is using and learning Next.js? 17:49 - Downsides to using Next.js 19:30 - What can people do to Make Things Better? Cheers for listening and we hope you enjoy the episode!

Our head of creative, Allan Noy, recently attended the Children's Media Conference. In this chat we discussed the conference, how media is changing and mostly about how to network. With two years passing by with next to no in-person networking, Allan shared with us how he found getting back into networking, from struggling with small-talk to top tips on who to approach. Skip to what you want to hear about: 0:00 - Intro 1:54 - Children's Media Conference 4:02 - Gen A 6:00 - Being 'Terrible' at Networking? 6:58 - Who to approach at Networking Events? 7:16 - Digital Business Cards 7:54 - Bluetooth Networking 8:55 - Don't try to sell anything 10:32 - Meeting new people 12:42 - How to start a conversation 15:25 - Be a beginner 16:57 - Making connections for the future 18:22 - Top tip for networking as an introvert 19:40 - The empty cup 20:40 - What can people do to Make Things Better? Cheers for listening!

We had the opportunity to chat with the CEO and founder of Raisely - Tom Maitland. Over $250,000,000 has been raised by organisations via Raisely's fundraising platform. At Hive, we recently used Raisely as part of Weston Park Cancer Charity's fundraising campaign and are excited to be part of Raisely's partner programme. Tom was a brilliant guest and shared so many values with our team here at Hive. We delved into why Tom started Raisely, who uses it, how easy it is to get started on Raisely, innovation in the charity sector, tips for charities to improve their fundraising online and much more. 0:35 - How Raisely started? 5:30 - Tom's goal for Raisely (At the start) 7:06 - Donation Celebrations 7:56 - Who uses Raisely? 9:12 - How easy is it for a charity to get started using Raisely? 10:19 - How is it freely available for charities? 11:48 - What differentiates Raisely from other fundraising platforms? 13:12 - Innovation in building fundraising platforms 15:03 - What can charities do to improve their fundraising online? 17:00 - How important is it for a charity to build a relationship with their donors? 17:55 - Long-term vision for Raisely 19:40 - What can people do to make things better? 22:08 - Where can people find Raisely?

In our latest episode of the Make Things Better podcast, we caught up with User Researcher Simon Scott. We delved into how User Research has changed, how and if a business should use User Research, learning psychology as a User Researcher, dealing with difficulties in User Research and much, much more. Simon was an awesome guest, full of experience, wisdom and knowledge and this podcast is a great place to start for anyone entering into the world of User Research or just keen to hear an update on how Simon is getting on. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 6:20- How has User Research changed over the last 20 years? 7:37- How does a business know if they should conduct User Research? 9:42- How to conduct User Research 12:41 - Creating the right environment in User Research 15:30- Learning psychology as a User Researcher 17:53 - What if someone is unwilling to open up when answering? 20:46 - Dealing with sensitive topics as a User Researcher 22:40 - Avoiding bias as a User Research Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hive_sheff/ Twitter- https://twitter.com/HiveIT_uk LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/hive... Website - www.hiveit.co.uk Thanks for watching and we hope you have an awesome rest of your day!

We really enjoy working with Sheffield Flourish and know their work has such a positive impact on people's lives in Sheffield. To gain further insight into what Sheffield Flourish gets up to, we recently had the opportunity to catch up with Robyn, deputy managing director at Sheffield Flourish. We discussed who Sheffield Flourish are and what they do, how putting the user at the start of their service is key to creating inclusive, enjoyable experiences for people within the Sheffield community and how they have got on running the charity throughout the pandemic. Robyn was a great guest providing us with plenty of information on Sheffield Flourish and helping us to better understand the brilliant work that Sheffield Flourish do. Thanks a lot for listening and we hope you have an amazing rest of your day.

We recently had the opportunity to chat with Helen Milner OBE. Helen is the CEO of the Good Things Foundation and it was really interesting to hear about Helen's time working in the internet, before the World Wide Web was even around. Throughout this episode we learned loads about the digital divide, why it is important that people are included in digital and more about what the Good Things Foundation get up to. Use our timestamps below to skip to whichever part interests you most: 00:00 - Intro 02:55 - Where did the passion for using technology come from? 06:16 - Back in the 80/90's did you think the internet would grow so much? 09:15 - Why is it important that people are digitally included? 13:54 - How the Good Things Foundation find out who is digitally excluded 17:38 - What barriers to using technology do people in the UK face? 21:00 - Who is digitally excluded throughout the UK? 25:39 - How have attitudes towards the internet changed since it began? 29:48 - What can people do to Make Things Better? Huge shout out to Helen for joining us, we really enjoyed this chat and apologies about the audio not being the best. We had a few technical issues which hopefully we have now learned from, so apologies if the audio is not the best. Thanks a lot for listening and have an awesome rest of your day!

We had the pleasure of being joined by Neal Byers, founder and leader of Workfromhub. Here at Hive, we've been working with Neal to turn his vision into a reality and in this episode it was great to hear more about Workfromhub, Neal's long-term vision and how the project has gone so far. 00:00 - Intro 01:12 - How Workfromhub started 04:43 - What is Workfromhub? 06:32 - Reimagining community spaces 08:23 - Transforming idea into reality 09:30 - Challenges faced in setting up a business during the pandemic 10:41 - Long-term vision for Workfromhub 13:01 - Where will the next hubs be located? 14:35 - Learning throughout the journey 16:40 - What can people do to Make Things Better? Thanks a lot for watching, we really enjoyed putting this together as it was our first podcast in-person. We hope you enjoyed it too and if you did, go and hit the subscribe button for more!

We were joined by Founder and Strategy Director of Create Future, Nathan Fulwood, to discuss branding and brand archetypes in particular. Nathan explained to us the importance of brand consistency internally and externally, how brands tend to fit into one or two archetypes and how businesses can embody and demonstrate their personality in various ways. It was great to chat with Nathan as he brought so much knowledge and plenty of great examples! We discussed: 00:00 - Nathan's background and what Create Future get up to 05:35 - Why is branding important? 10:40 - How is a business's identity shaped? 16:32- What are brand archetypes? 20:02 - How does a business get its identity across? 23:20- What can people do to Make Things Better? You can find Nathan's blog on Brand Archetypes here: https://www.createfuture.com/blog/2020/9/9/brand-archetypes-and-how-to-use-them Cheers for listening and we hope you have a great rest of your day!

We had the delight of being joined by the amazing Ilona Alcock, founder of Elevate. Elevate is a business development consultancy with a keen focus on sustainability, innovation and community. Ilona was a fantastic guest, full of enthusiasm, passion and a vast amount of knowledge on human-centered businesses and sustainability. We discussed compassion and blame culture in the workplace, what carbon literacy really means for a business, inequality and climate change, what small tech companies do to reduce their carbon footprint, what an ESG strategy is, how remote working has blurred the lines of work and home and what people can do to Make Things Better. Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy the podcast!

In the 12th Episode of the Make Things Better Podcast, we were joined by the wonderful Laurie Nicholas from Mina. Laurie is the head of product and User Experience at Mina and is skilled in both design and Software Development. We had the opportunity to ask Laurie about his views on where the skills in both design and software overlap, what designers can learn from developers, and what developers can learn from designers. We also gained insight into Mina, who are an exciting Sheffield company making EV charging radically simple. Thanks for listening to the 12th Episode of the Make Things Better Podcast and if you do enjoy it, please like and subscribe for more!

In the 11th Episode of the Make Things Better podcast, we were joined by Ben Atha, founder of the Developer Academy to better understand Data Science. We discussed: 5:44 - What is Data Science? 9:24 - Are there any misconceptions are what a data scientist does? 10:49 - How much is coding part of a data scientist's job? 13:04 - What skills are needed to be a data scientist? 16:27 - What do Azure and AWS do? 18:36 - How can people go about learning data science? Thanks for listening and if you enjoy it, go and give us a review on Apple podcasts - it will be much more appreciated than you know.

Chris Dymond is the Academic Director for Smart Cities at Zigurat Global Institute of Technology, Director of Unfolding, Sheffield Digital, and UTC Sheffield. Chris is also a lecturer and also set up Smart Sheffield which is an open meetup for people interested in urban technology & innovation in and around Sheffield. Chris shared with us a wealth of knowledge, great examples and we really delved into Smart Cities and their pros and cons both from a practical and societal perspective. 08:27 - What is a Smart City? 12:56 - What is The Things Network? 24:49 - What are the downsides to a Smart City? 30:40 - How can people influence decisions around Smart Cities and ethical issues 56:18 - What tech could be used to improve Sheffield? 01:05:04 - What are the main attractions to working in Sheffield in the tech industry? 01:14:54 - What can people do to Make Things Better? We hope you enjoy the podcast and if you do, please consider leaving a review as it will mean a lot. Cheers and have a great rest of your day!

In the Ninth Episode of the Make Things Better Podcast we were joined by Mark Gannon, Director of Business Change and Information Solutions at Sheffield City Council. We discussed how the Sheffield City Council adapted to Covid by bringing in new technology, the importance of communication to implement strategy, and management lessons learned throughout the pandemic. Mark provided an excellent insight into what's been going on at the council since March 2020 and it was great to hear about how his team has been able to overcome multiple problems to continue carrying out excellent services for the people of Sheffield. 00:40 - What does being the director of BCIS entail? 02:06 - How was the Sheffield City Council's 1-year plan created? 06:41 - How has Covid impacted Sheffield City Council? 13:34- How did Covid impact Sheffield City Council's ability to deliver services? 14:59- How Sheffield City Council delivered on their strategy during Covid 19:44- How was the plan communicated with people throughout the council 24:35- Lessons learned as a manager throughout the pandemic 26:30- How to learn about different people's skills within an organisation 30:05 - What has been learned about delivering services 33:42- Can you work remotely for the Sheffield City Council? 31:11 - Strategies for Sheffield to become a 'Smart City' 40:04 - What can people do to Make Things Better? Thanks for listening to the episode. You can find Mark on Twitter @markgannon Find us on Twitter @HiveIT_UK and our website can be found at www.hiveit.co.uk If you enjoyed the episode, give it a review on Apple Podcast, it will be appreciated more than you'll know, cheers!

We were joined by the lovely Amanda Cookson to discuss and better understand the imposter syndrome (which isn't actually a syndrome). Amanda is full of really useful knowledge, techniques, and tips on how people can work towards overcoming imposter feelings. In a warm episode full of Amanda's positive energy and passion to help people, we discussed: 4:41 - What is the Imposter Syndrome? 7:46 - How our primitive brain impacts imposter feelings 10:46 - Imposter Syndrome or Imposter Feelings? 15:39 - How difficult is it to overcome imposter feelings? 21:10 – More techniques to help overcome imposter feelings 28:04 – How to increase awareness of your imposter feelings 32:14 – What can people do to Make Things Better? PDF Containing more information – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z88d... Twitter - https://twitter.com/AmandaCookson Twitter - https://twitter.com/NorthernerValue LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandacoo... LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/nort... If you enjoy this video, please consider leaving a review and have a great rest of your day!

It was a pleasure to welcome Cameron Spilman onto our 7th episode of the Make Things Better Podcast. Cam is the Co-founder and Managing Director at Paper - a people-focussed business that brings design to the tech industry. In our chat we discuss Paper's core principles and how these guide Paper's decisions. We talked about: How Paper was Founded What Paper's principles are and how they were formed How building relationships with people impacts Paper Challenges in sticking to principles Subconscious Dreams and a new definition for success? The influence of Paper's principles on Paper's team Focusing on collaboration instead of competition What people can do to Make Things Better? Thanks a lot for listening, if you get a chance please leave a review as it would be hugely appreciated! You can find Cam and Paper on Twitter @camspilman or @papersheffield You can find us, Hive IT, on Twitter @HiveIT_uk

Nick Tsim is one of our Senior Software Engineers at Hive IT and it was a pleasure to welcome him onto the Make Things Better Podcast. We had a chat about a range of topics centred around Software Engineering and Nick explained to us: 00:46 - How Nick went from Graduating with a Chemistry Degree to becoming a Software Engineer 2:10 - Deciding to become a Software Engineer 3:45 - Favourable aspects of being a Software Engineer 5:02 - Favourite project to work on 6:57 - Approaching the DfE Explore Education Statistics Project 8:44 - How much time do Software Engineers spend writing code? 10:34 - Are people sensitive around the code they have written? 12:35 - What skills are useful as a Software Engineer? 17:45 - How important is focus as a Software Engineer? 20:37 - What is the best thing about working at Hive IT? 22:49 - What can people to do Make Things Better? You can also find the full transcript to the episode here: https://medium.com/hive-it/nick-tsim-is-one-of-our-senior-software-engineers-at-hive-it-and-it-was-a-pleasure-to-welcome-him-bf47620eaad6 Thanks a lot for listening and if you enjoy it please leave a review, cheers!

Gemma Milne joined us on the Make Things Better podcast to discuss hype. Gemma's book Smoke & Mirrors; How Hype Obscures the Future and How to See Past It helps to explain how hype in Science and Tech can have significant impacts on society and how critical thinking can help us understand complex topics better. In this episode we discuss a range of topics centred around how we can become more aware of hype: 2:57 - What is Smoke & Mirrors about? 5:48 - How much does hype maintain the status quo? 17:36 - How much has hype led to growth in cryptocurrencies? 21:34 - Virtual Reality hype 30:24 - How much does complexity impact headlines? 35:30 - Critical thinking in the attention economy 39:54 - Making trade-offs in quantity and quality of knowledge/understanding 44:35 - A checklist for avoiding hype 48:10 - Feeling empowered to think about Science and Tech You can also find the full transcription to this podcast episode here: https://medium.com/hive-it/chatting-w... This podcast is brought to you by Hive IT. We are a friendly digital agency based in Sheffield. Our aim is to make a positive difference in the world. We started the Make Things Better podcast to attempt to discuss with various people how, as humans, we can make the world a little bit better. Thanks for listening, leave a review if you enjoyed it thanks so much!

Sara Wachter-Boettcher is a coach, strategist, facilitator, author, and speaker dedicated to changing design and tech for good. Sara is the founder of Active Voice, a leadership development company on a mission to make work culture better for everyone. Sara is also the author of three books: Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech Design for Real Life Content Everywhere In today's episode we mostly focused on what individuals, organizations and society in general can do to create more inclusive, healthier Work Cultures. We talked about: 0:00 - Introduction to Sara and her work 4:20 - Questioning ourselves and our organization's culture to make change 10:05 - The balance between productivity and employee welfare 14:22 - Is education key to changing our future? 24:15 - Compassion in the workplace 28:01 - Improving communication at work 31:59 - Who is responsible for creating inclusive work cultures? 36:09 - Making work more accessible during the pandemic The Full Transcript can be found here: https://medium.com/hive-it/creating-inclusive-work-cultures-with-sara-wachter-boettcher-43fa4d817e55 Sara was an amazing guest and you can find her website at sarawb.com We really hope you enjoy the podcast and feel free to contact tom@hiveit.co.uk with any feedback. If you do enjoy the podcast, consider giving it a review on Apple Podcasts, it would be hugely appreciated. This podcast is brought to you by Hive IT, you can check our website out at www.hiveit.co.uk

Reginé Gilbert is a user experience designer, educator, and international public speaker with over 10 years of experience working in the technology arena. She has a strong belief in making the world a more accessible place—one that starts and ends with the user. Full Transcript: https://medium.com/hive-it/accessibility-in-design-with-regin%C3%A9-gilbert-13d49df557d3 In this episode, we discussed: 0:00 - Introduction to Regine Gilbert 1:16 - Becoming aware of accessibility issues 7:20 - Colour Contrast issue 8:22 - Awareness to actions 10:18 - Knowing yourself as a designer 11:41 - Connect with others 12:55 - Accessible design for our older selves 15:57 - Accessibility in Augmented/Virtual Reality 18:36 - Applications of AR/VR/XR? 19:56 - Who is raising awareness of accessibility issues in XR? 21:05 - How common will AR/VR/XR be in the future? 23:59 - Tips to make design more accessible 25:38 - What can people do to make things better? We really hope you enjoy the podcast and feel free to contact tom@hiveit.co.uk with any feedback. If you do enjoy the podcast, we'd hugely appreciate any positive reviews on apple podcasts and make sure to subscribe for more. This podcast is brought to you by Hive IT, you can check our website out at www.hiveit.co.uk

It was a pleasure to speak to Ross McCulloch, who is the director at the Third Sector Lab. Ross provided us with a real comprehensive breakdown on how digital is, and can be used to improve people's lives through various charities. We got to understand various topics in a lot more depth and we were able to discover, through various stories, how powerful collaboration, community and ultimately people coming together to share ideas, thoughts and feelings can be in creating a real social impact. 0:00 - Introduction 06:47 - How do the Third Sector Lab help charities with their digital approach? 12:14 - Engagement with charities on social media 15:19 - How vulnerability online can help people connect 20:40 - Why work in the Third Sector 26:15 - The commercial sector's impact on the third sector 31:26 - Can charities become more effective through collaboration? 35:00 - A new approach emerges for charities 37:00 - How can charities become more effective online? We really hope you enjoy the podcast and feel free to contact tom@hiveit.co.uk with any feedback. If you do enjoy the podcast, we'd hugely appreciate any positive reviews on apple podcasts and make sure to subscribe for more. This podcast is brought to you by Hive IT, you can check our website out at www.hiveit.co.uk

Welcome to the first episode of The Make Things Better Podcast! In this episode, we discuss a wide range of topics and you can see what we talk about at different times below: 00:00 - Introduction 01:03 - Who are Hive IT? 05:21 - What is The Make Things Better Podcast about? 08:43 - The impact of working from home 10:53 - The polarization of social media 11:35 - Allan's experience in design 21:51 - Is it now easier to be creative? 25:35 - Is there any innate skill involved in design? 27:47 - The subjectivity of design 31:58 - Accumulating design skills 34:57 - Top tips for designers 43:09 - The importance of collaboration in design 48:11 - Receiving criticism 59:59 - Why is design important? We really hope you enjoy the podcast and feel free to contact tom@hiveit.co.uk with any feedback. If you do enjoy the podcast, we'd hugely appreciate any positive reviews on apple podcasts and make sure to subscribe for more. This podcast is brought to you by Hive IT, you can check our website out at www.hiveit.co.uk