UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 07 MARCH 2018
We like to stay ahead of the game and our fantastic industry links are just one of the ways we make sure that happens here at the New Technology Institute.
Our latest guest, Managing Director of 'Framework Digital’ Stephan Hayward, recently stopped by to show our students just how the new skills they’re learning can impact industry.
Stephan shares his thoughts below on his time with us at the School, our facilities and what he hopes to achieve with us in the future.
Creative and digital runs through my veins – along with a questionable amount of coffee – therefore when I get the opportunity to talk to people about what I do, I take it. Correction; I grab it.
Having attended University myself, I valued the time and effort my lecturers put into the talks, presentations and discussions, but I don’t think I ever realised how influential they would be in my later life.
University sets you up for a plethora of things, from work experience, depth of knowledge in your chosen subject, and the all-important social skills needed for the big, scary work world. Well, that’s the impression you get anyway! University feels safe, you know what to expect and you know what’s expected of you. At the end of the day, you get out of it, what you put in.
Its Digital Marketing courses, along with the astonishing array of equipment at its student’s disposal, far exceeded anything I had seen before.
So, with all this in mind, and using my 18 years’ experience in digital as my confidence backbone, I took the plunge and accepted an amazing offer from Birmingham City University to be a guest lecturer on their monetisation module, within its Digital Marketing course.
At first, I’ll be honest, I questioned whether anyone would be interested in my knowledge of the business, and how I went about setting up my own agency, but when I entered the lecture room, my concerns rightly vanished.
As alluded to in my title, Birmingham City University invited me to aid with three lectures within their Digital Marketing Course. My introduction was all about my business (see first paragraph and my favourite topic), how I set up the agency, my learning – one should always be learning – and our company values, and goals for the future. I had some guidelines from the university and incorporated and compared the students’ current learning, to real life agency situations.
I return for part two in a couple of weeks where I’ll get into the real grit of website development, so I’m expecting a line around the university building once word gets out.
Ultimately, what I’d like to get across during my lectures, is that everything they are learning; every extra bit of work they complete; every late night, is totally worth it when you land a job that makes it less about the work, and more about the love of what you do.
A very wise man once said, ‘Whether you think that you can, or think that you can’t, you’re absolutely right’. Oh Henry Ford, how right you were.
Read Stephan's Blog here