“You have to put yourself out there”: Eman on finding confidence through Liverpool Interns

Posted on: 1 July 2026 in Student experiences

Before joining Beat Modules through Liverpool Interns, Eman knew she had the technical ability but lacked the confidence that comes from real-world experience. The experience not only strengthened her software development skills but also helped her gain the confidence to pursue her future career goals.

We caught up with Eman to find out more about her time at university so far, and her experience as a Liverpool Intern with Beat Modules - and how her internship with the educational technology start-up gave her the chance to work on live projects, collaborate with industry professionals and put her learning into practice.

Tell us a bit about yourself. What are you studying, and what has life been like recently?

I’m a second-year Computer Science student, and I came to Liverpool last year for university. The past three months have basically been studying for my exams and doing assignments. They went pretty well, the hard work paid off, so I’m happy about that.

What made you choose Liverpool?

I chose Liverpool because of the city. I love the music scene, the docks, the historical buildings and the history. I also really liked the course. It had all the modules I was interested in and the pathway I wanted to go down. I had heard really good reviews from past students, too, and I felt it would give me the right foundation and skill set for where I want to go in the future.

I really love the mathematical and theoretical side of Computer Science. Especially looking ahead to third year, there are almost every single module I want to do. They go in depth with the complexities and the maths behind the algorithms we use today. With the rise of AI, it can write such good code that it feels like you do not really need humans any more. But you still need optimisation, which is where people come in.

You have clearly made the most of university outside the course too. What have you got involved in?

I’m part of the Chess Society. I’m not competitive, but everyone has to start somewhere. Some of the people there really are, but I just love going. It is a really supportive environment. 

University societies are honestly a godsend for helping you make friends. Sometimes you do not really get along with the random flatmates you are given, or the people on your course, so you can make friendships based on hobbies and interests you actually have in common.

I joined the Tennis Society and ended up living with friends I made there in my second year. I was also on the committee for the Coding and Robotics Society, where I met some really close friends. Being secretary gave me the chance to build soft skills, manage logistics and do things you do not always get from your course modules. 

I also joined Liverpool Hyperloop Society and I’m the software team lead. That is really fun because it is a mix of both worlds. There are the soft skills, management and delegation, but I also get to work on the technical side and build things that excite me.

How did your Liverpool Interns opportunity with Beat Modules come about?

I had also taken part in a Combined Authority housing hackathon hosted by the University and Liverpool Combined Authority. The team I was in was selected as a standout team.  We built a scoring algorithm to help with decision-making around investment. They had around £10 million and wanted an algorithm that could help identify the best areas to invest that money.

I posted about it on LinkedIn and Sam, the CEO of Beat Modules, reached out to me. He said Beat Modules had a Liverpool Interns opportunity and asked whether I would like to interview.

I applied through Handshake, came into the Career Studio for CV support and interview preparation, and got really useful feedback from the Careers team. My interview was online with Oliver, one of the CEOs, and Tony, the CTO. They went through my GitHub projects and CV and asked me to explain why I built what I built. It was a good match and I got the internship.

What has it been like working in a start-up for the first time?

It has honestly been incredible! Because it is a start-up, it is a closer team. You get to see the CEO and CTO, and get direct feedback from them. It has been great for my growth as a computer scientist. 

It is also very collaborative. We have meetings where everyone gives their input and talks about where the platform or business could go. Your ideas are genuinely taken into account. I do a lot of the front-end work, and I think I’m the only person doing front end, so I have been given a lot of creative freedom. I get to design and build components, try different stylistic choices, present a product and get feedback on it.

It has been a really good way for me to build not just technical skills, but the ability to work in a larger team. You are shipping a product with tight weekly deadlines, learning GitHub workflows and making sure you do not accidentally overwrite someone else’s work.

Is there a project you are particularly proud of?

One project I worked on was Spot the…, a game that helps people recognise manipulation in media and advertising, particularly content that promotes harmful narratives. Originally, the game consisted of an image inside a container, with players clicking on areas where they spotted examples of manipulation.

I redesigned the experience as a detective-style game. Instead of simply searching an image, players are presented with a series of cases. They open a case, investigate clues and piece together the evidence to identify the manipulative tactics being used.

This shifted the experience from a simple point-and-click activity to a more engaging, story-driven journey. Players receive feedback when they make mistakes, but it is delivered within the narrative, making the learning feel more natural and immersive. The detective format also adds an element of challenge and reward, encouraging people to keep playing, earn points and develop a deeper understanding of media manipulation and harmful advertising practices.

What have you learned that you would not necessarily pick up in lectures?

Definitely communication skills and using collaborative tools like GitHub. When you are doing an assignment, you are working on your own. But when you are working in a team of four or five people, you do not want to override someone else’s features or undo their work.

You also learn how to build for real users. You might build something that works when you are the only person using it, but you have to think about whether it can handle 30 or 40 students. Maybe there is a demo event and 80 people are logging in at once. There is AI integrated into the platform as well, and you do not want messages timing out or queuing, because that ruins the user experience. You have to test your edge cases, do latency checks and look for glitches that might only appear when lots of people are using the platform.

It taught me the importance of testing as you go, after every little change, even if it feels minuscule or trivial. You think, “It will be fine,” and then it ends up bugging out.

Has the experience changed your confidence?

Before the internship, I wasn't very confident in my skills because I'd never had the opportunity to apply them in a real-world setting. My assumption was that I would learn everything once I graduated and started a job, but the expectations and responsibilities would be much greater at that stage.

This internship has given me the chance to bridge that gap. The responsibilities are real, but they're not as high stakes as they would be in a full engineering role. That creates space to learn, make mistakes, and develop with support. Being able to apply my skills in practice, while receiving guidance and mentorship, has helped me grow in confidence and develop professionally. By the time I graduate, I'll feel much better prepared to step into an engineering career.

Has it changed how you think about your future?

I would like to continue working for Beat Modules long term. I really believe in the platform and the message it is trying to share, particularly around bringing social issues into schools that are not traditionally taught.

The experience has shown me that I really enjoy working at the intersection of technical and creative work. I enjoy testing, but I also like designing. I think I have a slight artistic ability, and I enjoy being in a space where I can be creative as well as technical.

Before, I enjoyed the maths side of Computer Science, but it was difficult to see where that could take me. It could take you into data science, optimisation or finance. This internship has helped me understand more about where I fit.

What would you say to a student who is unsure about applying for Liverpool Interns?

Go for it. There is no harm in trying. There is no point being unsure about it. Just give it a go. You never know, it could be one of the greatest opportunities you get. So far, this has been the greatest opportunity I have had.

It gives you a feel for the industry and a chance to test whether it is the pathway you want to go down. With Computer Science, people often think the generic route is software engineering, but it does not always have to be. You could be a data scientist, product manager or go down lots of different pathways.

Finally, what would you tell your younger self before university?

I would tell my younger self to take a chance on every opportunity. You never know what is waiting for you or how much you are going to grow.

Before university, I had one path in my head and thought I had to do everything that way. I would now say, no, you do not have to do that. Explore. Look at all the different spaces and all the different people you could become. You do not have to have it all figured out!

I was also really worried about making friends. I am quite a quiet and shy person, and in first year I struggled a little bit because I was always in my bubble, but university has really made me step out of my comfort zone. You have to explore your hobbies and interests and find friends there.

It does not always come naturally. You have to put yourself out there. Closed mouths do not eat. You have to ask for what you want. You cannot just expect it to show up.