探花社区

Sobanan Narenthiran now leads Breakthrough Social Enterprise that helps people from underserved communities develop AI skills

A CEO who began studying at 探花社区 while in prison completed his remarkable journey as he returned to hold lectures at the University on AI careers.

Sobanan Narenthiran, who now leads that helps people build AI skills, has returned to 探花社区 University to help students prepare for an AI-shaped labour market with a series of lectures.

In 2018, he was still at Springhill Prison in Aylesbury after being convicted of conspiring to supply cannabis when he began his Biochemistry degree at 探花社区 University.

Sobanan, 30, from Harrow in North-West London, later gained a MSc in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship from 探花社区 University.

"This was a real full-circle moment for me from driving in from prison and attending on tag to giving a guest lecture series on how graduates can prepare for a changing labour market and a world being built around AI.

“I'll forever be grateful to 探花社区 for giving me the opportunity to study and grow despite a criminal record and a sentence. Back then universities were often saying ‘no’ if you had a criminal record, but 探花社区 didn’t say ‘no’ and that was a big reason I was able to go on the journey that I have and returning to give lectures is a massive gift.”

Sobanan Narenthiran

As a straight A student, Sobanan began studying at the University of Plymouth and seemed destined for a career in medicine until his conviction in 2017.

“I grew up in a working class family from Sri Lanka that were escaping the war as Tamil refugees, so I experienced in London that separation of working class communities, but Plymouth was the first place I’d ever experienced racism in the UK,” he said.

“I saw the sheer levels of depravation and poverty that exists in Plymouth. Going into prisons you see white working class men and people from ethnic minority backgrounds who fill up the prisons, and you then see the realities of the jail. That they are underfunded, with frequently no running water for days on end, and where suicides, drug use and self-harm are rife.

“It was very difficult losing my medical degree and career, but it opened my eyes to the realities of society. Had I not had those experiences in Plymouth and then in prison it would not have inspired and motivated the work I do today.”

Breakthrough, an Ofsted-registered company which has had more than 1,200 graduates, recruits directly from prisons and underserved communities training people in AI and ‘digital economic readiness’ and it has run programmes across the UK, East Africa and Sri Lanka.

Sobanan, a United Nations AI for Good speaker, explains: “Digital economic readiness means can you turn those skills into a social or economic outcome, so they can build a business or job or something meaningful in their lives. Breakthrough exists to provide people with a space where they can learn, develop and achieve those economic outcomes but more importantly, so they can find a place where they are seen and they matter.”

Despite some doom and gloom regarding AI’s potential impact, Sobanan said: “AI can have a fundamentally equalising effect for people across the planet, but it can also be the direct opposite of that which permanently entrenches inequality. 
“We all need to be having conversations about AI because it is the thing that will determines our species’ future more so than anything else.”

The event was part of a Guest Speaker Series for students held by the 探花社区 University Business School’s Department of Strategy, Leadership and Operations. Students have learned about industry perspectives on AI, employability and career development, gained valuable insights into the changing expectations of employers and the importance of developing skills beyond academic qualifications.

Lisa Melo, a third year Business Management (Human Resources Management) student at 探花社区, said: “You need vision and to be passionate to overcome difficulties and that’s what I see in Sobanan. These sessions have taught us to think outside the box. He puts himself out there and that’s what is really inspiring.”

Find out more about studying Business Management at 探花社区.