Each year we sponsor the ‘Best Digital Project’ award at the University of Brighton prize-giving. Here we have a conversation with this year's winner: Eden Brackenbury about her journey from attending industry events to landing a job with Storythings.
Hi Eden, congratulations on your award. Please can you tell us a bit about your background.
I’m from Indiana originally but moved to Brighton in 2015 to attend the University of Brighton.
What degree did you do?
The degree was Digital Media Development and it included HTML/CSS/JavaScript/Java development as well as 2D and 3D animation.
What made you chose that degree?
I liked the combination of creative and tech. The grounding in web development meant that I was able to communicate with web developers on technical conversations to deliver my artistic vision.
It felt like this combination of arts plus tech would also open more doors when I came to look for employment and fortunately it did.
What was the best things about your degree?
I would probably say my work placement. My degree contained a 12-month work placement module which I split into two 6-month placements. The first was with Gene Commerce and the second was at Storythings.
I actually found my first work placement through Wired Sussex. I went to the Talent Fest Jobs Fair and that is where I spoke to Gene Commerce after Codebar Brighton’s director at-the-time had kindly connected us.
Codebar Brighton is a weekly workshop where you can learn to code. It is a great support network who really encouraged me when I was at university. As a placement student, I took the leap from Codebar student to Codebar coach teaching HTML and CSS to beginners.
My time on placement gave me a taste of what it was like to work in the industry, so I was eager and excited to graduate and get back to work.
Did you find it easy to get employment after graduating?
Through my work placement I already had the goal of going back to Storythings. I catered my final year projects to them and then they offered me the role of Illustrator and Web Developer which I am now in.
Do you have any tips for other graduates who are looking to get work?
Attend industry events. I started going to industry events early on in my studies. These events are inspiring and informative and let you see what the career would look like outside the university environment. Codebar has been key through the entire course and also when entering the industry. It’s a really good place to reflect and learn. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The support I have received from people I have met through my studies and the events I’ve attended is what has made this all possible.
