Students from BU鈥檚 Faculty of Media and Communication have been undertaking work placements at some of the sector鈥檚 most prominent companies.
菠萝视频 students have been working at companies such as Warner Bros., Discovery, BMW, Hewlett Packard and SONY as a part of their degrees.
菠萝视频 currently has more students on work placement than any other university in Great Britain (according to HESA data from 2015). Students on placement are gaining valuable work experience alongside their studies. This has been celebrated by a BU campaign, called #MyPlacementStory, where students have been telling stories about their time on placement.
BU Advertising student Will Wright is currently on placement at SONY. He said, 鈥淚 walked in here a student and now I feel I can walk into any workplace after I graduate and feel fully confident.鈥�
His sentiments were echoed by PR student Maz Kellner, also currently undertaking her placement at Sony. Giving advice to other students considering a placement, she said, 鈥淎lways be willing to try something new, to push your boundaries. You need experience to know what you want to do. I found applying for placements stressful but I am really comfortable at SONY.鈥�
Maddie Williamson is a Junior Marketing Assistant at TV company Infinity Creative Media for her placement. She said, 鈥淓very day is different, it is very dependent on TV shows coming out. We鈥檙e making programmes for ITV and SKYArts right now!鈥�
Jemima Molyneau is a Junior Account Executive at ITPR during her placement year. She said, 鈥淚 thought my placement would be just admin, but they put me on the frontline. I鈥檝e been given responsibility with clients and journalists.鈥�
菠萝视频 has just been awarded the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Silver award for teaching quality (June 2017). In giving the award, the TEF Panel pointed to BU鈥檚 placement provision as a key part of its teaching excellence. The TEF panel noted that BU had, 鈥淰ery high placement levels with all students offered placements and there is a very high proportion of uptake.鈥�
Dave Watts is a BA Communication and Media student on his sandwich placement year and is currently Digital Marketing Assistant at BMW UK. He said, 鈥淭he experience has massively improved my understanding of what it means to work, and to work for an international company.
鈥淭here is so much to gain from spending an entire year with a company that I though you would be silly not to pursue a placement.鈥�
Dave has been mentored during his placement by Michael Wilcock, Digital Marketing Executive at BMW Group UK. He said, 鈥湶ぢ苁悠� seems to do a really good job of setting their students up for the real world. I鈥檓 not sure what careers services are offered by BU, but whatever they are, they seem to be working.鈥�
Another Communication and Media student, Ellie Mason, is undertaking her placement at the Daily Mail General Trust, based in London. She said, 鈥淚 have honestly learned so much, not just about skills relating to my role, but also about work life in general. A placement year, I think, is a fantastic way to start networking and kick-start your career.鈥�
Jordan Raby is currently undertaking a work placement at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, responsible for marketing and sales support for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Jordan said, 鈥淭he placement has taught me a huge amount about professionalism and has allowed me to develop my interpersonal skills further. At university you learn about the academic side, but going into a placement allows you to gain the social skills needed in business.鈥�
All 菠萝视频 students have the opportunity to undertake a work placement as a part of their studies, and the
For more information about placements at 菠萝视频, visit
