Profile
Aaron Boardley
My CV
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Education:
Kirkley High School (2001-2006), University of Bath (2006-2010), University of the West of England (2012-2014)
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Qualifications:
GCSEs including drama, business studies and French; A Levels in maths, further maths, chemistry and physics; BSc in maths and physics, MSc in science communication
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Work History:
LOTS OF PLACES. A t-shirt printing factory, Primark, at a Morrisonโs customer service desk, and more. More recently, I worked as a press officer at the Economic and Social Research Council.
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Current Job:
Digital communications manager
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I work to share the latest engineering news with the public. News such as cool new inventions, amazing new discoveries and achievements, or data about engineers jobs and skills. Sometimes we’ll be trying to reach politicians with the news, sometimes we’ll be trying to reach engineers themselves – or sometimes we’re targeting young people, parents and teachers to encourage more people to explore engineering.
My role in this involves ‘digital communications’ – that’s things like social media, email newsletters, online videos and interactive tools on our website. This is a relatively new role in my organisation, separate from our publications team (who create printed magazines and other materials) and our news team (who work with more traditional journalists in newspapers and broadcasting) – but we all work closely together.
When we have news or information to share, we’ll dig into it – What’s special about this award-winning engineering? How does it work? What challenges did people have to overcome? How does it impact peoples’ lives? – and get to know the people behind it. If we have a big campaign or an event we’re trying to promote, we’ll boil it down into clear messages – something clear and memorable and interesting.
Then, I turn those ideas and messages into tweets, emails, web pages, videos, and more! This involves writing and a bit of design work. It involves working with other companies, giving them clear instructions, and feedback on their work. It involves splitting tasks up among my team and making sure everything is ready on time and works well together. Most importantly, it means we’ve got to come up with material that’s interesting to the people we’re trying to reach – our audience. Then, we think carefully about how we’re going to share the news – the ‘when’ and the ‘where’ and the ‘who’ – and then monitor the results and feedback.
Having a good understanding of science is really helpful in my job working with scientists and engineers, as is a good basis in maths for doing lots of data analysis on the results of campaigns. Overall, it just helps to have a healthy interest in science and what’s going on in the world – I’m still always learning!
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My Typical Day:
Go on Twitter, design an email, meet with a company making a video for me, give feedback to colleagues…
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I work in part of a central communications team that supports lots of other teams in my organisation, so one of my first tasks is to meet with other teams and find out what they’ve got coming up, what news they need to share, and what they need help promoting.
Then, it’s back to my desk to come up with a plan. This involves a fair bit of writing, but also some design work, to make things visually engaging online.
Sometimes, this means working with a separate company who have more expertise in things like making videos or designing apps – so I’ll need to give them clear instructions and feedback on their work to make sure that what they’ve made delivers exactly what we want.
In between all this, I’m monitoring and posting to social media, keeping an eye on what’s in the news and responding to any queries. I’m also responsible for a member of staff, so my day will involve setting them tasks, answering queries from them, and providing feedback on their work.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
Help fund five places for disadvantaged students to give university a try on a Headstart course.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Tall, beardy, punny
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No…I spent 10 years earning a good reputation so by the time I was in Sixth Form I could get away with being a bit cheeky. Although I did have to stay behind for chewing gum once (such a rebel!)
Who is your favourite singer or band?
David Bowie…probably. It varies!
What's your favourite food?
Bacon sandwich. Hands down.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To visit space, to visit every continent on earth, to be happy.
Tell us a joke.
Why were the lion and the witch hiding in the wardrobe? Narnia business.
What don't you like about your current job?
The more senior you get, the more you have to do planning and strategy and the less you get to do actual writing and designing - that can get a bit boring with all the meetings and emails, but it's essential!
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