Join a panel of recent Westminster graduates as they discuss how to make an impression within your first 90 days of work. They will share their experiences of starting out in their careers after graduating, and panel chair Jennifer Omadoye will reveal insights from employers on what they expect from a new employees.
There will also be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions.
This event is free to attend, but you must book your place in advance.
This event is part of the What it Takes alumni speaker event series, organised by the Alumni Relations Office at the University of Westminster. Attending What it Takes events can earn students points towards the Westminster Employability Award.
About the speakers
Panel chair: Jennifer Omadoye, Global Trial Director, Novartis Pharma AG
Jennifer is a senior leader in the clinical research field, boasting over 20 years of experience as a global project leader, line manager, coach, and mentor within the pharmaceutical industry. She holds a Master’s degree in Biomedical Science Research from King's College London. Currently, Jennifer serves as the Global Trial Director at Novartis Pharma AG in Basel, Switzerland. She is also the founder of QAVAC, an online learning platform that provides graduates in the early stages of their career with employer-driven online courses, resources, and support to help them confidently navigate the all-important first few years on the job and succeed. Jennifer is an honorary alumna of the University of Westminster and received the prestigious Mentor of the Year Award in 2022-23 for her commitment to guiding and mentoring emerging professionals in the industry.
Gabi Villa, Marketing Executive, Procter and Gamble (Marketing Management BA, 2023)
Gabi is originally from London, with an English-Filipino background. She graduated with a first-class Honours degree in Marketing Management from the University of Westminster. In 2019, she decided to take a bold career change and transitioned from a career in music teaching and performance to the dynamic field of marketing. During her marketing studies, she pursued internship experiences as well as completed a marketing placement year at Samsung Electronics. Here, Gabi held two roles in the European Content Marketing team (Mobile Experience and the Future Generation Lab) covering a variety of consumer tech products. In her final year, she freelanced as a Social Media Manager and Content Creator for a London-based food brand. Post-graduation, she spent a summer working in the Advertising and Campaigns team at Sky, which eventually led to her current position as a Marketing Executive in the Brand and Homecare team at Procter and Gamble.
Gabi’s passion for learning and growth extends through both her personal and professional life, she continues to pave a stronger career path in both the marketing field and corporate environments. In addition to her career pursuits, she has been thoroughly enjoying learning Mandarin Chinese since 2020 and is always looking towards further learning opportunities.
Carmen-Michelle Ienachi, Software Engineering, Natural Motion Games (Computer Games Development BSc, 2022)
Michelle’s interests gravitate towards art and programming, so she admitted that her place in this wide domain of technology has to be in subjects that require creativity as well as analytical skills, therefore the gaming industry became her choice. During her degree, Michelle went through 2 internships: in 2019 a 3 month summer internship and in 2020 a 1 year and 3 month placement. During that time, she worked on an unannounced title and her focus was to explore both back-end and front-end programming to find which area she wanted to develop in her career.
During the next years, one of Michelle’s goals is to develop her creative, analytical, and social skills to reach a leadership position in the gaming industry, but at the same time, she is committed to developing her artistic vision and exploring her creative outlets by undertaking various projects in parallel.
Rajan Borkhataria, Intermediate Software Support Analyst, Innovative Systems Inc (Computer Science BSc, 2020)
Rajan graduated with a Computer Science BSc in 2020 with a industrial placement at NetApp, a cloud-based storage company who provide IT support to over 1000 employees around the world.
He currently works at Innovative Systems Inc as an Intermediate Software Support Analyst. It is a data driven company providing data quality, data management and anti-money laundering compliance solutions. Technology has always been something that he has been passionate about and has built his career where he can have an impact on individuals through technology and support them in their journey. Rajan has worked in the technology industry for over 5 years now and experienced different roles, he has been able to provide technical assistance to high-risk customers, work on complex solutions and build processes to improve the ways of working for large organisations.
Mohammed Mijan Uz-Zaman, Digital Performance Executive, Four Agency Worldwide (Business Management (Digital Business) BA, 2022)
Mohammed is a Digital Performance Executive at Four Agency Worldwide, where he works on Paid search and Paid social campaigns for multiple clients across different industries, including Travel, Property, Retail, Education, Finance, Culture, and more.
His role revolves around using different platforms, which include Google ads, Meta ads, TikTok ads, and more, to create bespoke campaigns for clients. Mohammed specializes in performance reporting, exporting performance reports for weekly reporting to optimize campaigns and maximize growth for the clients.
Previously, he worked as an Employer Engagement Assistant at Westminster Enterprise Network, actively sourcing potential employers to take part in their Humanities Hackathon. He also collaborated with employers within the Charity, Pharmaceutical, Tech, TV, and Public sectors when supporting the organization of various Entrepreneurial Events.
In his spare time, Mohammed loves to keep active, watch sports, and he is a big Liverpool FC supporter.
Favour Ekengwu, Graduate Quality Engineer & Assurance (Test Analyst), Cognizant (Business Information Systems BSc, 2023)
Favour Ekengwu is a Test Analyst at Cognizant with a strong foundation in business and technology. At Cognizant, Favour brings unparalleled expertise and precision to every project she undertakes. Favour’s commitment to ensuring seamless technology integration isn’t just a testament to her technical skills; it’s also driven by her unwavering dedication to client satisfaction. Favour takes pride in delivering high-quality results that empower clients to achieve their business goals.
Favour graduated with a First Class Honours in Business Information Systems from the University of Westminster. This background equipped Favour with the skills to analyze and test complex technology solutions, ensuring they integrate seamlessly and meet client needs.
But Favour’s passion goes beyond testing. She is fascinated by the intersection of business, technology, and psychology. In Favour’s free time, she delves into research that explores how these factors influence each other within the tech industry.
Favour’s research focuses on understanding how business practices, technology adoption, and even human psychology all play a role in a company’s success. Her goal is to attain a PhD in academia and uncover insights that can make an impact in the business and tech environment, foster a culture of innovation, boost team productivity, and achieve sustainable growth.
Favour believes that by understanding the human element alongside technology, we can build truly groundbreaking solutions. She is eager to contribute her skills and research insights to the research world.
