IBM Z Society, University of Manchester

A year ago I was just curious about mainframes. I studied the tech, joined the IBM Z Student Ambassador Program, and started a society.

Day 1 was me and two friends.

What we built

0 to 50 members in one year
15+ workshops and 5 events on AI, quantum and security
Four new IBM Z Student Ambassadors from Manchester, so the society carries on after me

Events we ran

Quantum-Safe Resilience with Zakeer Suleyman (IBM), on post-quantum threats
Autonomous Systems on Z with Gil Peleg (Geniez AI), a founder from the mainframe world
Mainframe Security: The Cyber Whodunnit with Niall Ashley (Vertali)
Introduction to IBM Z, our launch, with Ben Davis (IBM)
A stand at the Refreshers Fair, and pitches in lecture halls

What it did for people

Students who had never touched a mainframe earned the IBM Z Xplore Advanced badge. Some became ambassadors themselves. Many got scholarships to the GSE UK Conference. I didn't expect any of that.

How we got there

Not everything worked. In one lecture-hall pitch I told the room they should work on mainframes because most of the industry is about to retire, so they'd definitely get jobs. The lecturer burst out laughing and asked the class, "Who here wants to work with old people?"

I changed the pitch. Every failed one taught us something, and we got 0.1% better every day.

Recognition

#1 IBM Z Student Ambassador worldwide, 2025-26. Superstar tier, the highest level, with 224 out of 100 points
Won the Winter Challenge
Speaker at IBM Z Day 2025, alongside two other ambassadors
WAVEZ Grant, and a fully funded scholarship to attend the GSE UK Conference
Represented the University of Manchester globally in the IBM Z community
Conversations with executives from top companies about what we built