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. <\/p>\n
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 \u2018I\u2019ve got to try that out\u2019.<\/p>\n
It changes from year to year because they try to keep up with the changes in technology \u2013 and that\u2019s good because it means they\u2019re listening, keeping their eyes open about what is the next thing and teaching you that. It\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t get to choose lots of optional modules on this degree until final year but I didn\u2019t mind that. It\u2019s important to be open to having a go at learning different things, rather than thinking \u2018I do illustration, I don\u2019t do coding\u2019 or whatever.<\/p>\n
Some people talk about lecturers like they\u2019re the boogieman, as if they\u2019re not approachable. Well, actually, if you go and talk to them, they\u2019re just people who have a really big passion for your subject. They\u2019re researching it and because of that they\u2019re up to date, they know what\u2019s going on. All they want to do is help you. I\u2019ve spoken to my lecturers about what I\u2019m interested in and what I want to learn, and from that I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
They treated me like an intern, which was exactly what I wanted. I was pushed, but their approach was \u2018You\u2019re here to learn, so if you don\u2019t know it, tell us\u2019. 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u2013 you\u2019ve 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 \u2013 it\u2019s really cool, it\u2019s very diverse. Outside the company, I used the one phrase I learnt from my manager \u2013 \u2018Entschuldigung, sprechen Sie Englisch?<\/em>\u2019 And then you usually get the response \u2018Ah, yes, I can help you\u2019.<\/p>\n 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\u2019ve 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\u2019s audience participation in some of them. That\u2019s the thing, none of it\u2019s rehearsed, it\u2019s all made up on the spot. We\u2019ve performed in London, I\u2019ve been on radio shows in London and I\u2019ve done shows on campus here.<\/p>\n It\u2019s really interesting to talk about improv to people who don\u2019t know about it, and it\u2019s a really good skill to have. It\u2019s helped with my communication, it\u2019s 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\u2019t just apply to improv.<\/p>\n If I look back at myself in first year, it\u2019s been a complete change, and that\u2019s what I wanted. I feel that when I was in secondary school I didn\u2019t take every opportunity handed to me: \u00a0I 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\u2019s why I\u2019ve taken every opportunity I can here. I\u2019m a student ambassador, I\u2019ve done volunteering, and every single year I do something new. Everything I\u2019ve done up until now has really helped shape me, especially in the year abroad. I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n I\u2019m weighing up my options between applying for a Master\u2019s 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\u2019m 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\u2019s why I don\u2019t know if I want to do a Master\u2019s or just jump into the industry and learn from there.<\/p>\n Look into every opportunity and use it all. Don\u2019t think, \u2018Oh, I won\u2019t need the careers advice people\u2019, or \u2018I won\u2019t use the Employability Points scheme\u2019, or \u2018I don\u2019t think I would be a good fit as a student ambassador\u2019. Don\u2019t say that. Do everything that you can, take every opportunity and see where it can go.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhat about social life at Kent \u2013 are you in any clubs or societies?<\/h4>\n
How do you think you\u2019ve changed, over the course of your time here?<\/h4>\n
What are you planning to do next?<\/h4>\n
Finally, what advice would you give somebody thinking of coming to Kent?<\/h4>\n
Apply now<\/h4>\n
If you are interested in applying for Multimedia Technology and Design<\/a> at Kent, there is still time.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t worry if you missed the UCAS January deadline, you can still apply for entry in September 2020. The final deadline for UCAS applications is 30 June.\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n