A collaboration between the Digital Inclusion team at Camden Council and the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) is helping residents learn new digital skills.

The team at the London Borough of Camden have partnered with the AIFS on a Digital Champion placement programme that benefits residents and students alike. Students from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota joined Camden’s Digital Inclusion Team volunteering three hours a week over a 10-week period.

digital skills session welcome

Training & Set-up

The Digital Champions had access to the Digital Champions Network and came into Camden Council offices to complete their training face to face on their first day.

Volunteers were placed in community settings working in pairs, alongside other Camden staff members. Together they provided digital support to residents in libraries, sheltered housing schemes, hostels, GP practices, and community organisations.

It was an eye opening and very positive experience. The volunteers expressed great joy in visiting locations across Camden and interacting with groups of learners. They said these interactions extended beyond just digital support, with many individuals joining the drop-in sessions for engaging conversations, inquiries, and to initiate discussions beyond pure technical assistance.

I had a great experience as a Digital Champion. I was usually placed at Kilburn Library...

One challenge I encountered while volunteering was my own patience. Sometimes it was difficult to take a step back and talk slower, so the client understands what you mean. I often had to repeat a simple concept multiple times. I reminded myself to stay patient and put myself in their shoes. 

Sophie Czupryna
Marketing Management Student

I found the training to be user-friendly, helpful, engaging, and informative. There were several real-life situations and examples that helped me understand the concepts of the training more effectively.

One challenge I faced was looking at technology from a different perspective because what I thought might be easy or obvious might have been confusing for other people.

Abbey Beranek
Human Resources Student

Benefits for Students and their institutions

Dr Sara Gray is the Academic & Placement Coordinator at the AIFS. She finds community engagement opportunities for American university students across London. Partnerships like this have multiple benefits for students…

“Working as Digital Champions has given our students a chance to meet Londoners, learn more about the UK, and give back to their host city.

It also gives the students a confidence boost, as they realise digital literacy is a marketable skill. Our students must complete a certain number of volunteer hours to receive university credit, which ensures they always attend their volunteer sessions and remain engaged. We always have new students arriving in London and can supply a steady stream of reliable volunteers to the Digital Inclusion campaign”  

The partnership has benefits for AIFS too. “These longer-term volunteer projects, like Digital Inclusion, are hugely beneficial for AIFS as we can grow our institutional knowledge of the campaign and find volunteers with the skills and interest in that field.  I’m eager to continue to support Camden and grow our relationship with other organisations throughout London.” If your organisation might be interested in something similar, please contact Sara direct. And if you're an American student interested in foreign study, the AIFS Abroad website is a great place to start. 

 

Benefits for Residents

The Minnesota students helped Camden residents learn a wide range of digital skills. For example, one older resident learnt how to use WhatsApp to make video calls and send photos...

I had the app a longtime ago, but I was never able to make calls and respond to calls. I needed to practice more which is what the Digital Champion helped me do. I’m thankful that I’m now confident to do that on my own.

Learner
Camden Resident

I met a lady on her 50s who is unemployed and looking for a job, but was failing to get into job applications because she does not know her email address is. I helped her locate her phone number and her email address on her phone, and noted them down. I  signposted her to Adult Community Learning and helped her fill in the application form and successfully enrol to the Digital Safety and Online Wellbeing course

Ainsley Nuytten
Business student

I worked with a resident who had trouble texting as she was pressing the wrong button due to sensory and mobility issues, so I helped her set up use voice to text and she was very happy to learn the feature. I did not know that people were not aware that those simple features exist and did not know how to activate them. I’m glad I was able to help.

Maya Frank
Accounting and Spanish student
digital skills session

The benefits for the council

Rouba Sayed, the Digital Inclusion Lead at Camden Council, talked about the extra benefits of working with students as part of in a formal programme…

"This advance scheduling of enthusiastic and knowlegeable & committed volunteers was incredibly valuable for our team. Knowing the specific times and days in advance allowed us to plan our sessions more effectively as we could rely on having dedicated volunteers during these periods. It can often be challenging given students’ busy schedules due to academic commitments and holiday periods."

Rouba is planning to roll the programme out with more students next Spring and Summer. 

Look round the Network

These short films outline the main features on the Digital Champions Network

Tak a Tour
Students in health settings

How one scheme helps physiotherapy students get to grips with digital inclusion

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