Alexandra Koyfman wins at the Isle of Man Awards for Excellence 2018

The awards took place on Thursday 15th November 2018 at the Villa Marina, Douglas and Alexandra's colleagues at PDMS as well as representatives from the Isle of Man Constabulary attended the event in support. Alexandra was one of three nominees for the Young Achiever of the Year 2018 award.

Commenting on her award win, Alexandra said: 

"This project could not have been possible without the talented teams at PDMS and the immense support of our project partners, especially the Isle of Man Constabulary. I find my work immensely satisfying and am motivated by the knowledge that what I do every day contributes to better help for people when they most need it.”

Background - The launch of First Point

In November 2017, Alexandra joined PDMS as a fresh-faced Master’s student taking on the responsibility of setting up the First Point Community Portal and helping to deliver it to the Isle of Man’s residents. The project was a student placement as part of Alexandra’s UCM Master’s course in Business Consultancy.

To meet the requirements of her Master’s course, Alexandra has to project manage a business initiative which forms the basis of two dissertations that will lead to her achieving her qualification.  PDMS tasked Alexandra with creating a new application for an existing technology platform to support the more vulnerable members of our community.  And so, First Point was born. 

Taking ownership of the First Point Community Project 

Alexandra quickly developed an understanding of the project and was happy to build her own relationships with the various partners with little or no previous introductions to them. 

She also developed new signing on strategies to help the community to register on the platform more easily, finding creative solutions to assist charity partners in supporting people looking to register themselves or loved ones.

PC Mike Griffiths from the Isle of Man Constabulary stated: 

"Alexandra is hard working, conscientious, and passionate about the project we have been working on together. Having worked on several projects with outside organisations in the private sector and several partnerships in government, Alexandra stands out as a person who will get things done. She is approachable and has excellent communication skills, changing her approach to the difference audiences. We have been dealing with some of the more vulnerable in the community and Alexandra has been able to gauge her response and explain the project so that all understand. I doubt that this project would be where it currently is without her drive, enthusiasm, and professionalism.”

Representing the First Point Community Portal 

Through her enthusiasm and determination to see this local initiative succeed, Alexandra overcame many of the early challenges and soon built strong relationships with the Island’s businesses to secure partnerships and sponsorship. She was able to work closely with the charity and emergency services partners to understand their requirements and then coordinate with PDMS’ developers to adapt the SignedUp platform into a portal which could be utilised by all partners effectively.

Alexandra has become the face of the First Point Community Portal, taking on the responsibility for marketing the platform to the Isle of Man, raising its profile on social media, and stepping outside of her comfort zone to take part in radio interviews with Manx Radio’s Women Today and hosting events around the Island to make First Point accessible to as many members of the public as possible.

To date, Alexandra has brought the following organisations on board with the First Point Community Portal Project: 

Charity partners: 

• Alzheimer's Society Isle of Man
• Live at Home
• Manx Deaf Society
• Manx Blind Welfare Society

Emergency services partners: 

• Isle of Man Constabulary
• Isle of Man Emergency Services Joint Control Room (ESJCR)
• Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsors: 

• Microgaming Play It Forward
• Celton Manx
• PwC Isle of Man
• Apex Fund Services (IOM) Limited
• Ellan Vannin Fuels

Corporate partners: 

• Boots
• Lloyds Bank
• Tesco
• Isle of Man Post Office
• Mann Vend

In conclusion - a well-deserved achievement

Alexandra came to PDMS with no previous business experience, but quickly took responsibility for the project and made it her own. Since the start of the pilot, PDMS has challenged Alexandra to take the Minimum Viable Product into a fully developed solution that is as simple to use as possible. 

Lorna Trevethan, General Manager for Isle of Man Community Platforms at PDMS, commented: 

"I have really enjoyed working with, and mentoring Alexandra this year on the First Point Community Portal project. She has been a real asset to PDMS and to the project. Without her, we would definitely not have gotten the pilot off the ground.”

Being awarded the Isle of Man Newspapers Awards for Excellence – Young Achiever of the Year 2018 is a fantastic accomplishment and recognition of Alexandra’s hard work and dedication to her project. We’re incredibly proud of everything Alexandra has achieved here at PDMS, and look forward to seeing where this project, and Alexandra, goes in the future!

You can see Alexandra's thank you speech at the awards on the 3fm Facebook page here

Learn more

For more information about the project, visit the First Point Community Portal website.