Jacob Farrow’s Post

Last week, I had the privilege of attending Ada, the National College for Digital Skills (#Manchester) as a guest lecturer to discuss Object-Oriented Programming (#OOP) concepts with their Software Engineering Degree apprentices. It was a fantastic opportunity to share insights from my industry experience and explore foundational OOP principles, from abstraction to inheritance, with some incredibly bright and engaged students. I particularly enjoyed bringing these concepts to life via hands-on learning. The feedback I received was humbling: "Jacob's presentation was very pleasant and thorough. It covered a large amount of OOP concepts, even as it was just an intro lecture. It had the right balance between complexity and abstract level overviews." "I thoroughly enjoyed the practical applications and the examples provided in class, such as coding OOP using animal scenarios. I also appreciated the guest lecture, which brought valuable industry experience." A huge thank you to Ada, the National College for Digital Skills (#Manchester) for hosting me and to Steve Rich for facilitating this opportunity. It was a pleasure to connect with the next generation of software engineers and support their journey into the industry. #GuestLecture #IndustryInsights #DigitalSkills #EducationMatters #TechEducation #SoftwareEngineering #ObjectOrientedProgramming #PracticalCoding #NextGenerationEngineers #SkillsForTheFuture #DigitalSkillsUK #TechLeadership #MentorshipInTech #ContinuousLearning Audio Descriptions: Image 1: A building with a brick facade and large windows features a vibrant mural that reads "ada National College for Digital Skills" with geometric shapes in bright colors. At the bottom, there's a gated area with wooden slats, stairs leading to a glass door entrance with the college's name, and gray brick paving enhancing the urban feel. Image 2: A modern office space includes a glass-walled meeting room labeled "ADA," surrounded by potted plants and a green upholstered bench. The floor has a patterned gray carpet. On a white wall, five words are written vertically: "CURIOSITY," "RIGOUR," "CREATIVITY," "COLLABORATION," and "RESILIENCE." The office has overhead lighting, ceiling fixtures, and exposed ductwork. Image 3: A classroom with students seated at desks faces lecturer Jacob Farrow near a large screen displaying a slide titled "What is OOP?" Jacob gestures with one hand raised. Students, equipped with laptops and notebooks, are engaged in the lecture. The room has a modern aesthetic with various colored chairs. Image 4: In a classroom, Jacob points at a screen displaying Java code with a class named "Animal" and methods like "makeSound" and "sleep." Several students, with laptops open, are engaged in the lecture. The classroom has exposed brick walls, large windows, and the instructor's laptop features various stickers.