News

Digital Hit Squad Targets Durham University

(28 April 2004)

A hit squad of leading executives from the North East’s digital industry sector will be hi-jacking student lectures across the region’s universities, including Durham, in a bold attempt to inform students about the wealth of employment opportunities within the digital media sector and encourage them to join local companies when they graduate.

The hit squad is part of a Digital Industries Roadshow initiative created by CODEWORKS Connect, which aims to prevent ‘student brain-drain’, keeping the brightest and best in the North East.

The digital hit squad will urge students to attend roadshow events where they will be encouraged to consider regional digital technology and media companies as a strong first career choice. The roadshow for Durham University is scheduled for Tuesday 4 May in the Sir James Knott Hall at Trevelyan College between 12noon and 3pm.

At each event, students will be introduced to the diverse range of exciting career and work placement opportunities on offer within the region’s growing digital sector of more than 600 companies. They will also be shown how the industry as a whole is key to the economic development of the region.

Paul Jobling, Chairman of CODEWORKS Connect and Marketing Director of leading games company, Eutechnyx, said: “It may sound like fun – hi-jacking lectures and promoting the industry – but this is a serious campaign which will have a positive effect on recruitment within the region’s digital industry sector for many years.

“It is essential that we, as industry leaders in the region, encourage and support the wealth of talent coming out of our universities by offering them placement schemes with the potential of rewarding jobs at the end of it. By offering placements, we can also ensure that students will be ‘industry-ready’ with enhanced workplace skills.

“We want students to see that they don’t have to leave the region to find employment in digital media – there is an extensive digital media sector on their doorstep offering an exciting range of rewarding employment opportunities,” concludes Jobling

The roadshow will also show students who are studying more traditional subjects such as English or Physics, that there are opportunities for them and that they don’t have to be computer experts to work in digital media – people with a strong command of the English language are just as important to the creation of digital content as the computer whiz-kids.

The hit squad will be supported by a highly pro-active marketing campaign created by Newcastle-based bmarketing. The campaign will encourage students to ‘think digital’ - flyers and posters with images of a mouse, a virus and a bottle of port will be distributed asking what is the first thing that comes into your mind – a rodent, a cold, or a drink? The flyers point out that if thinking digitally, you would think of a computer peripheral, a computer virus and an outlet port on a computer.

All members of the hit squad are members of CODEWORKS Connect, the trade association and networking group for the North East’s digital industries, which has initiated and funded the campaign.

“The campaign culminates in five student-focused events at the universities of Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham, Northumbria, Teesside and Sunderland,” says Sophie Lee, Marketing Manager of CODEWORKS Connect.

“Connect has already sponsored several successful placement schemes which have resulted in full-time employment.

“During the roadshow, we will be encouraging students to join Connect and use it as a vehicle for keeping in touch with digital industry developments – including employment and networking opportunities.

“We will show students that there are superb employment opportunities in the North East and that the digital media industry is an exciting, challenging and rewarding sector to be in.”

Digital Industry Roadshow Timetable

University of Durham, Tues 4th May, Sir James Knott Hall, Trevelyan College – 12-3pm

University of Teesside, Wed 5th May, Main Hall, Sport & Recreation Building – 1-3pm

University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Mon 10th May, Lecture Hall, Bedson Building – 5-7pm

University of Northumbria, Tues 11th May, Rutherford Hall, Ellison Building – 5.30-7pm

University of Sunderland, Thurs 13th May, Cinema, Media Centre – 1-3pm

About CODEWORKS Connect

CODEWORKS Connect took over responsibility for the trade membership group, Digital Media Network (DMN) in January 2004. Connect develops activities and initiatives that will bring direct benefit to its members, which are drawn from the entire spectrum of the North East’s vibrant digital media and technology industries, including software, web design and games development. Connect has been launched with an expanded remit from its predecessor that sees it concentrating on three key areas of business support for its 150+ members- access to finance; business development and marketing; and networking and skills development. Connect is a crucial part of CODEWORKS, the North East’s Centre of digital Excellence.

All media enquiries, please contact:

Neil Baldwin: 07798 555 732 or Mervyn Edgecombe: 07831 240 626