Computing & Digital Industries students from Selby College have successfully completed an industry project with British Taekwondo – empowering them to build their technical and creative skills.

As part of the real-world software development challenge, the students were tasked with redesigning the digital interface used by British Taekwondo instructors for grading students during belt assessments.

Over several weeks, students engaged in every stage of the development cycle - from gathering client requirements to planning, designing and building an improved, user-friendly system tailored to the needs of martial arts professionals.

This provided the students with valuable experience in software system design, project planning and management, user interface and user experience, client communication and requirement gathering.

John Stopforth from British Taekwondo, who worked with the students on the project, said:

“The students have demonstrated remarkable professionalism and creativity throughout the project. Their innovative solutions directly addressed the usability challenges we faced with our existing system, resulting in the development of a new component that enables our Taekwondo instructors to efficiently grade students during belt grading events. It’s been a real pleasure working with the students and sharing my knowledge and industry insights with them.”

Thomas Gabriel, Programme Leader for Computing at Selby College, said:

“The project gave our students exposure to real client expectations, as well as working under deadlines and in a team. From developing project plans to systems designs, the students were able to apply their knowledge and skills throughout the project to develop a tailored solution for British Taekwondo. Working on projects such as this is invaluable to our students’ development, preparing them for successful careers in tech and digital industries.”

The project is part of the Department’s ongoing commitment to ensuring its learners gain hands-on experience, with further projects lined up with Superdrug and Castleford Hedgehog Rescue.

Selby College’s Computing & Digital Industries Department offers a wide range of courses that provide learners with the knowledge and skills to enable learners to succeed in the dynamic world of computing.