BLOODHOUND Ambassadors play a vital role in the Project’s educational activities and at events. Computer Science undergraduate Lahini Sivaganeshan has taken on her Ambassador role through a slightly unusual route, as part of her third year of her degree, which she is spending with BLOODHOUND Cloud Partner Oracle.

From technical evangelist to Ambassador

Lahini’s role within Oracle this year is as a ‘technical evangelist’. For that, she needs to identify what customers require and match that with possible technology solutions from Oracle. So when Oracle became BLOODHOUND’s Cloud Partner, she joined the liaison team. And with the knowledge she gained, she then became a BLOODHOUND Ambassador.

“I’ve had the opportunity to visit the BLOODHOUND Technical Centre several times, from very early in my placement year,” says Lahini. “I observed the BLOODHOUND engineers at work and then the BLOODHOUND and Oracle teams working together, so that I could understand how the cloud would be used to gather data from the Car.

“Through that, I learned not only how the Project works technically, but why it’s being built. From that experience, I can now share what BLOODHOUND is about and explain how it is encouraging more students to get involved in STEM.

“As an Ambassador, I’m someone that people within Oracle can ask about the Project, and I also give presentations at universities and schools.”

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

Lahini supported Oracle and BLOODHOUND at the Newquay 2017 event at Cornwall Airport Newquay last October: “That was incredible – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” She is now taking her new skills and knowledge to wider audiences, starting with a speaker role at the recent dev://east developer conference in Ipswich.

“I’ve been exposed to so much. I knew I wasn’t going to be doing a desk job, but I had no idea that I would have exposure to an incredible project like BLOODHOUND. It’s taught me a lot, not just in terms of technical skills but also communication and team work.”

Become an Ambassador

If you would like to join Lahini as a BLOODHOUND Ambassador, you can find out more on our Ambassador pages. We’re always keen to have more people involved, both to help at events and to give presentations and run activities at schools, universities and clubs.