Check out what Alex Newson, a final year student, has to say about studying Multimedia Technology and Design at Kent, including a Year in Industry with Nintendo in Germany.
What attracted you to studying at Kent?
Actually, it was my A-level IT teacher. She knew I like doing creative stuff alongside technology and she told me about this course at Kent. As soon as I read up on it on the website, it sounded great. Photography, film, website design, all the things I was really interested in, and I thought ‘I’ve got to try that out’.
Tell us about more about the areas you cover on the course.
It changes from year to year because they try to keep up with the changes in technology – and that’s good because it means they’re listening, keeping their eyes open about what is the next thing and teaching you that. It’s very practical. We had so much fun in the first year doing a module on tangible media: we made our own little game pads. With a partner, I made this thing called Wizard Wars where you fire a cannon at evil wizards. We had a photography suite, we had a green screen, there’s a sound booth. The studio was awesome. I remember sometimes me and my friends would just book it and play around with the cameras and stuff, learning about filming. We learn theory as well. I did visual culture in my first year, which gives you a really good foundational knowledge of ways of looking at the world.
You don’t get to choose lots of optional modules on this degree until final year but I didn’t mind that. It’s important to be open to having a go at learning different things, rather than thinking ‘I do illustration, I don’t do coding’ or whatever.
Are the lecturers supportive?
Some people talk about lecturers like they’re the boogieman, as if they’re not approachable. Well, actually, if you go and talk to them, they’re just people who have a really big passion for your subject. They’re researching it and because of that they’re up to date, they know what’s going on. All they want to do is help you. I’ve spoken to my lecturers about what I’m interested in and what I want to learn, and from that I’ve been offered job opportunities and made links with other people in the industry. My lecturers put me in touch with a guy who needed some website work, and also got me involved within the School [of Engineering and Digital Arts], helping with events and student takeovers on social media.
Did you do a placement year?
Yes, I did a year in industry and I went abroad for it. Of course, you can do it in the UK, but I was lucky enough to get a placement at Nintendo in Frankfurt, Germany; the School has good links with them.
They treated me like an intern, which was exactly what I wanted. I was pushed, but their approach was ‘You’re here to learn, so if you don’t know it, tell us’. I felt very comfortable with that. They were very blunt with criticism, but that was good for my resilience. They separated the work from the personal: I used to hang out with my supervisor after work because we got on so well.
Do you speak German? Was there a language barrier?
I spent a month on Duolingo trying to learn the basics before I went! Then, on the plane going over, I sat next to two German people, so I asked them if people use English in Germany and they said I would be fine! Nintendo is an international company – you’ve got people from Japan, Spain, France, the UK as well as Germany. Pretty much every country in Europe was represented in that building. You hear so many languages being spoken and learn so much about different cultures – it’s really cool, it’s very diverse. Outside the company, I used the one phrase I learnt from my manager – ‘Entschuldigung, sprechen Sie Englisch?’ And then you usually get the response ‘Ah, yes, I can help you’.
What about social life at Kent – are you in any clubs or societies?
My course is creative but I sit down at the computer all day so I wanted to do something that was creative and energetic as well. I’ve been in the Improv Society, where we do improvised comedy, for three years. You do improv scenes which you turn into sketch scenes which you then perform to people. We also do fun little improv games and there’s audience participation in some of them. That’s the thing, none of it’s rehearsed, it’s all made up on the spot. We’ve performed in London, I’ve been on radio shows in London and I’ve done shows on campus here.
It’s really interesting to talk about improv to people who don’t know about it, and it’s a really good skill to have. It’s helped with my communication, it’s helped me take things less seriously, be more flexible, more adaptive, more reactive, to listen to people. And all these skills are transferable, they don’t just apply to improv.
How do you think you’ve changed, over the course of your time here?
If I look back at myself in first year, it’s been a complete change, and that’s what I wanted. I feel that when I was in secondary school I didn’t take every opportunity handed to me: I just stayed in, studied, played my video games. I thought, when I get to uni, I want to get the best experience I can, so that’s why I’ve taken every opportunity I can here. I’m a student ambassador, I’ve done volunteering, and every single year I do something new. Everything I’ve done up until now has really helped shape me, especially in the year abroad. I’ve seen so many different pathways, and those same pathways are open to me; I can just explore anything and go forwards. Coming to university and being open to every opportunity has allowed me to have that sense of self.
What are you planning to do next?
I’m weighing up my options between applying for a Master’s degree or going into a job. I want to focus more on design, with maybe slight front-end development. Working at Nintendo definitely opened my eyes to digital design and digital artwork; it was fun and I got good at it. In particular, what I’m finding interesting at the moment is user experience design, which is also a growing field in the industry. I want to learn something new, but also be able to use my existing skills. That’s why I don’t know if I want to do a Master’s or just jump into the industry and learn from there.
Finally, what advice would you give somebody thinking of coming to Kent?
Look into every opportunity and use it all. Don’t think, ‘Oh, I won’t need the careers advice people’, or ‘I won’t use the Employability Points scheme’, or ‘I don’t think I would be a good fit as a student ambassador’. Don’t say that. Do everything that you can, take every opportunity and see where it can go.