NEWS | Giving Back Through My "Friday Project"

Sainsbury Management Fellows (SMFs) have an amazing track record of mentoring and inspiring young engineers. In this article we hear from SMF Andrew de Rozairo, Sustainability Director EMEA at Microsoft, who has been a long-time mentor and is very active in SMF activities.

Andrew de Rozairo who draws on expertise gained over a 30-year career to mentor students and get involved in the EIBF- sponsored university competitions.

Andrew explained: “Over the last 10 to 15 years, most of my time has been spent advising companies on digital transformation and innovation to help them gain value from their technology investments. Yet each week, I take time away from my day job to do my Friday Project, as I call it! It’s a chance for me to give back. I choose what I get involved in, which means I can support people and causes that I’m passionate about.”

Since launching his Friday Project, Andrew has been particularly active as a social mentor. For example, he’s been mentoring a Sudanese asylum seeker for just over a year.

“Despite arriving in the country with little English, no skills or right to work, he had a keen interest in pursuing a career in software development. Over the months, I and others have supported him as he improved his skills in English and maths, explored different educational options, and delved into different career choices.

“I helped him prepare for his Right to Remain interview, which was successful, meaning he can now live here longer term and work. He’s slowly working towards his GCSEs and hopefully a career he is passionate about. It’s a privilege to support such an ambitious, positive, optimistic, bright, young boy.”

As well as social mentoring, Andrew is involved in ALX, an organisation that aims to develop the next generation of African leaders through education and sponsorship. Andrew has also guest lectured on MBA programmes at the University of Surrey and Kingston University. He has served as a judge alongside Kingston Alumni and two other SMFs on the university’s Bright Ideas student business ideas competition. Engineers in Business Fellowship sponsors the engineering prizes in this competition and provides mentors for first prize winners.

So, why does Andrew support and mentor young engineers during his spare time?

“I’ve been fortunate to have a fantastic education and a great career, so this is my opportunity to give something back. I really enjoy seeing the enthusiasm of young people and helping them avoid some of the mistakes that I made during my own journey.

“Mentoring doesn’t have to take a long time. You can be an effective source of support, even with relatively small amounts of information or advice delivered at exactly the right time. Many of us underestimate the skills that we’ve built over a lifetime. Whether it’s skills, experiences or battle scars that are shared, we can – and should – help other people.”