On the 10th of November, we headed to Talbot Heath School, Bournemouth, alongside Nathan from global creative agency Crowd, to give students an insight into what it’s like to work within the digital industry and inspire them to pursue one of the many careers within the digital world. The students were given a brief for the day – their challenge this year was set by WWF.
The students were encouraged to consider different forms of technology that could be used as a way of coming up with a solution to the challenge. Before revealing the challenge, Dominic from Street Agency did a short presentation about Street Agency, Crowd, what the team’s job roles are, where they fit within the digital industry, and how they became part of it.
Dominic explained what digital means, the digital world, and how digital is used in daily life which would give them insights into how they can make their way into the digital industry, explaining that they don’t necessarily need to take a traditional pathway such as studying a degree.
Whilst being optimistic and encouraging the next generation of digital innovators, Nathan from Crowd importantly added – ‘Nothing is impossible’.
We got the students to split into small groups to work on their challenge together, using digital and non-digital tools to do research, gather information, get inspired, and think up solutions. They also had sweets to fuel their ideas – yum!
Once the students started thinking up ideas, they eagerly jotted things down on paper and researched on their iPad. Our team asked the groups what their ideas were and helped them to plan how to tackle their brief. Some of the students even started writing their ideas on post-it notes and sticking them to the wall!
Every group were starting to produce unique and exciting work. From creative company names like ‘Plastooze’ and ‘CarbonCraft’, to fun designs with cute characters, to more serious approaches such as virtual reality games where the player would see the world crumble beneath their feet every time they decided to do something that would impact the environment, the students were showcasing their intelligence, maturity, and ability to inspire professionals working within the digital industry.
The student’s ideas were impressive, well thought out, and ahead of their time. The level of knowledge and skill was something you would expect to see from a professional working in the industry. It was also great seeing how each group worked differently and had such different ideas and concepts.
Not only did the day help students develop their digital skills but students around the UK were also competing for a chance to win £500 for their school, as well as some great prizes for themselves.
The judging panel at Talbot Heath School consisted of Jasmine Branca and Dominic Brancaleone from Street Agency, Nathan Akrill from Crowd, Matt Desmier (who has one of the best laughs you will ever hear), and Philip Broadhead from Bournemouth Council.
The judges had a tough time trying to decide on a winner since all the student’s entries and work showcased a huge amount of talent and professionalism. Although each group produced fantastic ideas, and each design had elements that could be well utilized in the world today, sadly there could only be one winner.
The winning project was an app called ‘Climate Penguin’.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Talbot Heath School and were truly inspired by the student’s work. (We also enjoyed the great school lunch – roast dinner and a homemade cookie! What could be better than that?)
The winning entry is sent off to BIMA, for them to judge against the other entries sent in by various schools around the UK and we’re so excited to find out the overall winner soon.
We believe that the BIMA Digital Day is an important and inspiring event to be a part of and would strongly encourage other agencies to take part in these events in the future.
If you think you could help develop the young minds of the industry and grow the increasing success in the community, take a look at BIMA’s website where you can find out more, or check out our webinar where you can get the best insights and trends.