James Mumba

Bachelor of Information Systems and Technology
University of Lusaka

Hackaton Companies:

  • B360 education partnerships

  • Swiss Business Protection (SBP)

  • Roche Global Citizenship (RGC)

 
 

I joined the Career Bridge not quite sure what to expect. It turned out to be an experience that moved me from classroom learning into real work for real organizations, and I am grateful for it.

 

Trainings

The Career Starter Week changed how I think about presenting myself. I learned how to prepare a strong CV, answer interview questions with confidence and brand myself professionally. The personal branding session stayed with me most: my story is my brand, and if I don't tell it well, someone else may define it for me. The Preparation Week then gave us a method for the Hackathons, working through a problem step by step with the Problem Framing, Ideation, Decision, and Build and Validate Canvases, Experiment Cards and the Presentation Canvas.

 

Teamwork with my Career Bridge colleagues

Working with colleagues from different courses taught me a lot. Their ideas and ways of approaching problems were different from what I was used to. Through team bonding, mutual understanding and shared goals, we came to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, and that made us a stronger team.

 
 

Highlights and challenges during the Hackathons

Over the Hackathons, our team worked on real problems for B360, Swiss Business Protection (SBP) and Roche. My most memorable moment was when SBP publicly praised our final presentation. It felt as though we had added real value to their company, and that they appreciated it.

My biggest challenge was not in the work itself but in getting to it. I live in Matero, and the program was held in Silverest, so I often had to wake up at 5 AM just to be on time. The trip home was worse, taking about three hours every day. Travelling such a distance meant I often arrived already tired and fatigued, which made it hard to keep my energy up and affected my performance for the rest of the day. I solved it by moving in with my cousin, who lives closer to campus. The experience taught me that when something is working against you, the answer is to deal with the cause and not just push through.

 
 

My future plans

My next step is a local internship, where I want to gain as much real experience as I can, demonstrate my value and earn the opportunity to stay. After that, I plan to pursue a Master's Degree, possibly in Networking or Software Engineering. My heart isn't set on one yet, and I am using this time to explore both. Whichever I choose, I want the skills I build to be useful to other people, creating tools that make life easier for those who use them, much like the work we did in the Hackathons. I also want to carry forward the habits Career Bridge gave me: telling my story with confidence, preparing properly, and working well with people who think differently from me.

 
 

Personal message

Experiences like this don't come around often, and I don't take them for granted. The Career Bridge gave me new perspectives, valuable connections and the confidence to believe I can do real work. Thank you to the B360 team, to the speakers who trained us, to Swiss Business Protection and Roche for giving us real problems to work on, to UNILUS, and to everyone who supports and funds this program. I hope to repay this opportunity by doing good work and, one day, by helping other young people find the same opportunities.

 
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