Going Back to Durham
I’m heading back to Durham later this year for a master’s in Management (Entrepreneurship). It’s been more than a decade since I finished my undergraduate degree there.
I studied Business Finance at Durham and tried to build my first startup while I was a student, which I wrote about in my first post.
A business mentor at the university helped me think through the idea. I also had support from the Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre and received an award through the Santander and Durham University Enterprise Initiative.
DigitalCity Business in Middlesbrough supported me too. But to take the project further with them, I needed a technical co-founder. I didn’t know how to code at the time, and I never found someone to build it with.
In the years that followed, I eventually learned to code myself. I was caring for a family member during that time, so I fitted the learning and projects around those responsibilities. More recently, I’ve been learning about AI agents and experimenting with personal projects.
I’ve spent a lot of time figuring things out on my own. I enjoy that, but it can get lonely too. I’d like to be around people with similar interests, talk about ideas and see what other people are trying. That’s a big part of why I’m looking forward to studying again.
When I was at Durham, I used to go to tech events around the North East and gradually got to know people there. I’d like to see what’s changed around Durham, Newcastle and Middlesbrough and get involved again.
Durham University Business School has also awarded me a Masters Achievement Scholarship, which will help with the tuition fees.
Once I’m there, I’d like to organise some student meet-ups around AI and programming. I’m mostly self-taught, so I know how much time you can spend trying to work things out. I’d be happy to share what I’ve learned with other students.
People in the North East helped me when I was twenty and trying to get started. I’d like to do the same for someone else.
If you’re involved in the North East startup scene, or know someone I should meet, you can reach me at [email protected].