26th January 2021
Engineering Days at M&S
Who said work and play don’t go hand in hand?! Certainly not our software engineers, whose newly introduced ‘Engineering Day’ events have provided an opportunity to engage not only with each other, but to engage the passion that brought them to Software Engineering in the first place – creativity, experimentation and the excitement of building something new.
Kicking off the first of these events last week, our engineers were asked to develop an idea of their choice - solely selected because of their interest and passion in it. No holds barred. Only one crucial criteria must have been met - that fun must have been had whilst creating it.
Entries ranging from a weather application using React, through to a Unity powered M&S Store were presented; and as a team whose values are ‘being bold’ and ‘creating a fun place to work’ it was no surprise when many of the 30 entries brought some laughs to the light-hearted event.
“Engineering Days at Marks and Spencer are about creating a healthy engineering culture and emulating two of our Technology Behaviours ‘being bold’ and ‘creating a fun place to work’. We want to promote an environment where continuous learning and sharing is at the forefront everything we do and where the passion that Software Engineers have for experimenting, pushing boundaries and creativity, is fully appreciated.” Explains Sam, M&S Software Development Manager.
After 1.5 hours of quick-fire demos and presentations, the M&S internal judging panel (which included the 9 year old daughter of M&S Technology colleague Sharon!) went into a 15 minute deliberation session where they reviewed submissions based on: innovation, creativity, fun, being bold and learning.
The winning entry really embodied our Tech team’s values, with colleagues Ryan and Seb presenting an impressive Percy Pig face filter created using a variety of tools including Blender to learn 3D modelling. The project stole the hearts of the team, and as you can see from the photo above, the engineers showcased their filter to the full and kept it on for the duration of the event!
“This entry really captured the spirit of the day and was a worthy winner, it involved some in-depth learning and fun, which is exactly what Engineering Days are all about at M&S,” said Sharon, Head of Technology Solutions, and part of the judging panel on the day.
With more and more Engineering Days on the agenda throughout the year, it’s clear there is certainly more fun to be had on the Software Engineering team. If you want to explore current opportunities on the M&S Technology team here at M&S, take a look here.
