Staying up to date with industry is no easy task but it is a huge plus for you in the eyes of employers as it shows engagement, understanding and interest from the get-go. University can be quite limiting in this regard with a focus on teaching the theory. Independent research shows initiative and helps you gain additional skills to make you stand out.
Here are a few different resources that might help you become a great independent learner!
Forage
This is something I have talked about on the blog before (click here for the link) but it is so good that I just have to bring it up again. Forage is an online virtual work experience platform that hosts several online programs built and endorsed by a slew of big companies.
Each of the courses contains tasks engineered to simulate the real-world experience of the industry and each only takes a few hours to complete.
As part of your degree, you get access to all the courses for free and you can do as many as you want. Try a range of them out and see which you think are most useful to you. They are always adding more courses so be sure to check in every now and then to see what is new!
GitHub Portfolios
Another great way to see what might be happening in industry is through the projects people have on GitHub. Be it personal projects worked on the side by industry experts or fully designed resources to help you learn about new topics, there are tons of exciting code to get stuck into. You might not understand a lot of what you come across, but it will give insight into different topics and show your interest in your chosen field!
Here is a GitHub portfolio that contains links to even more GitHub portfolios!
Podcasts
A great many companies have podcasts now, so not taking the time to listen and learn from them is a wasted opportunity for gaining insight into industry! You can search for either certain topics that interest you, or specific companies to learn what they are talking about at the time. You can listen to well-made interviews, debates, and discussions from industry veterans all while continuing your day-to-day life. Podcasts are a powerful tool that you should take as much advantage of as you possibly can. To learn more about podcasts and see some great ones to start with, look at this article.
This social media platform may seem out of place here with the other resources discussed, but it is in fact a prime example of one of the best resources available for independent learning: people.
A great way to find out what is happening in industry is to see what people are saying! Platforms like Twitter let you search by company or topic and can lead you down an interesting rabbit hole of first impressions, detailed threads, and everything in-between. Following those who create content or make comments on a certain topic will let you start building a network and learn more about the industry. And of course, you can directly message those with industry experience, and you may just get a response back with more interesting insights.
You do have to be careful though as there is a lot of content on platforms like Twitter and it might be difficult to decipher what is relevant and what is not.
These are just a handful of useful tools to continue your education journey beyond university. They are by no means a comprehensive list so be sure to explore and find some of your own!