It鈥檚 been a jam-packed year for our final year students and听there听was no听better听way听to celebrate their achievements听and the fantastic work they鈥檝e produced听than at our end of听year听awards.听听听
With awards ranging from the Best Digital Content to the Entrepreneurial award, there were a number of fantastic prizes on offer including placements and exclusive trips. We caught up with听a few听of the winners to ask how it felt to win and what they鈥檙e looking forward to most about their prizes.听听
Social Media听Award听
PR student Jack Walton won the Social Media Award, which was given to the听student who听used听social media to their advantage, by either establishing themselves as an influencer on social media platforms or using their social media as a tool to promote themselves to their industry.听
For his final year project Jack created Walton PR, a freelance PR business, which involved him doing everything from organising events and photoshoots to getting press coverage and radio interviews for his three clients. He also ran a blog where he posted weekly about his university experiences over the course of his degree.听听
Jack's award included a year's mentorship from Marc Reeves, Editor of the Birmingham Post.听听
鈥�Winning the mentorship with Marc Reeves was like a whole other level.听I鈥檓 hoping the mentorship will be a chance to get advice and guidance from someone who can help me in terms of career decisions but also personal ones too, I feel it will be a valuable experience.鈥澨齁ack Walton听
Best Digital Content听Award听
Grace听Phelps听was the joint-winner of the Best Digital Content award,听alongside Anna听Edgecombe,听which was听awarded to them for have consistently shown ingenuity and creativity within the realm of new media.听Grace commented that their final year project, which听involved creating a prototype of an app for the brand Stories Behind Things,听may have contributed to their win.听听
Their award included mentorships from Michael Ford听at听Infinite Wisdom, an independent production company听focused on the development and production of immersive stories for VR, digital, film and broadcast.听
鈥淗aving a mentorship is such a brilliant asset, and especially with someone like Michael Ford who is working in a really up and coming sector of the media industry. I鈥檓 looking forward to any advice he can give me and I鈥檓 also interested to learn more about what Michael does and how he ended up where he is today.鈥澨鼼race Phelps听听听
Television Award听
Ben Woolman received the Television Award听for consistently working hard and producing amazing TV/video-based work.听Two projects he worked particularly hard on included a听documentary commemorating the 15th听anniversary of the revival of听Doctor Who听and听a short comedy-drama piece called听The Friend Game,听where he听took on a lot of responsibility writing a script and editing the final piece.听听
Ben鈥檚 award听included an exciting听one听week听work placement with ITV.听听
鈥淚 was听very surprised to get the placement, especially at ITV. It鈥檚 one of the country鈥檚 biggest TV broadcasters and I鈥檓 sure they can teach me a lot. I look forward to seeing whether it can give me any inspirations for my own future career in the industry听and hopefully I will gain some contacts that may be of use to me in the future.鈥� Ben Woolman听
91猎奇 Media Overall听Award听
Hassan Ul-Haq听won the 91猎奇 Media Overall award听for being someone who has been consistently involved with the School of Media since he started and showing what the School is about: doing media differently. His nomination detailed that听he鈥檇 gotten involved with extra-curricular activities, university run events and was just generally kind and considerate.听
Hassan鈥檚 award included a tour of BBC Birmingham and听BBC Drama Village听in Selly Oak.听
鈥淏eing nominated alongside my peers and friends was really humbling听and to win鈥痺as a complete shock.听I just arranged dates to go on the tours that the BBC have arranged for me and I'm very excited, especially for the tour in the drama village.鈥澨�Hassan Ul-Haq听
Other听award听prizes included placements at Birmingham Live, the BBC, Bauer Media and The Gambling听Commission, as well as VIP film tickets, a Digbeth Dining Club gold card and Amazon vouchers.听听
The awards were part of our Inspired Festival, which showcases the very best of our third-year students鈥� work and recognises what they鈥檝e achieved over the course of their degrees.听To find out more about our courses take a look at our course pages or join us at an Open Day.听听
