Digital Hub offers students a taste of their dream jobs

18 Mar 2010

Final-year college students could get a taste of their dream job – and be in with a chance to win €1,000 – through a competition launched by the Digital Hub Development Agency.

Best in Show 2010 is a competition for final-year digital media students, who are being invited to submit examples of their work to The Digital Hub for assessment by a team of industry experts.

Students can submit work under any one of seven categories: animation, film/video production, gaming, industrial design, interior design, visual communications and web design

Submissions will be judged by relevant industry leaders, and the winning entry in each category will win a two-week work placement in a high-profile company based in The Digital Hub.

The seven submissions chosen by the judging panel as the outright winners in each category will also be showcased online, where members of the public can vote for their favourite entry. The submission that garners the highest public vote will win the overall ‘Best in Show 2010’ title and will be awarded €1,000, in addition to gaining one of the industry work placements.

More of what Best in Show offers students

According to Philip Flynn, chief executive officer of the Digital Hub Development Agency, Best in Show provides students with an opportunity to gain invaluable work experience and contacts in their chosen field.

“Some of the most high-profile companies in The Digital Hub have signed up to this competition,” he said.

“Students who enter are in with a chance to gain work experience with the likes of Kavaleer – now widely recognised as one of Ireland’s leading animation companies; Red Diamond Media – which works with major clients such as the AIB and the BBC; Fluid Rock – which is one of the leading web design companies in The Digital Hub, and Design Squared – one of Ireland’s leading interior design companies.

“A work placement with any of these companies could well lead to future employment opportunities for the students involved. Furthermore, it will give them an amazing chance to work with leaders in their area of interest and to gain experience and skills that will serve them well in their future years.

“Proposals for the Best in Show competition will be judged for their originality, technological innovation, and ability to attract and engage an audience, amongst other criteria. These criteria are reflective of the digital media industry overall.

“College students who do well in this competition represent the type of employee that will thrive in Ireland in the coming years. What we are looking for are students that have the vision, creativity and practical skills to contribute to – and become members of – the smart economy.”

What Best in Show offers Kavaleer

Gary Timpson, managing director of Kavaleer – which won two Digital Media Awards this year, including the prestigious Grand Prix award for outstanding excellence – said the Best in Show competition would give his company an opportunity to assess emerging talent in the animation sector.

“We were really keen to work with The Digital Hub on this project,” he said.  “It’s great that we will get a talented student working with us for two weeks later this year.

“But it’s also great that – through the judging process – we will be able to get a feel for the standard of graduates emerging from college or university during 2010.

“Our company requires flexible, highly-skilled employees – and we quite often recruit a large number of team members to work on once-off projects – so this is a good opportunity for us to take note of talented students and keep them on our radar for the next time we have jobs going.

“I have little doubt that if a student wins a work placement with Kavaleer and gets on well with us, we may be in a position to offer him or her a more substantial role.”

Students now have until 7 May to submit an entry to Best in Show.

By John Kennedy

Photo: The Best in Show website

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com