The launches took place on Wednesday evenings and ran from 4:30pm – 7:15pm on the platform Blackboard. The launches provided the team an opportunity to meet the new cohorts and explain to them more about the programme and what to expect over the 2 years. All the launches followed a similar timetable, with each opening with a welcome and introduction talk, which included an icebreaker quiz. Each programme then had a digital skills talk from an employer. The law students had a talk from DLA Piper, the Banking & Finance students heard from NatWest Banks and the engineering cohort heard from Shell. Once all the students had heard about digital skills, students were put into breakout rooms so they could practice their digital skills and introduce themselves which involved small team building exercises. The main aim of this session was for students to meet each other and the pathways mentors who will be supporting them on the programme. After the team building session student had a quick break before participating in a student finance Q&A with a member of the university’s student funding team. The students then heard from a year 13 pathways students, who spoke about what they had got from the programme so far. The final session involved programme ‘next steps’ and informed students about the next upcoming event the CV workshop, which will take place in January. The students were then asked to complete a short evaluation form before the event finished. All the students said they enjoyed the launch and they felt much more informed about the programme afterwards. When asked ‘what are you most looking forward to on the Pathways programme?’, most students replied by saying the work experience and engaging with employers. Other themes that came up were, the summer school and speaking to professionals