Isabel told us about some of the exciting opportunities available to Games students here at BCU.
Why did you study Games at BCU?
I've always been into programming, but I found game development the most fun and creative part of software engineering. I knew I didn't want to study Computer Science as a degree because it's the programming that I like about it, and BCU had a good reputation for employability after graduation, so I decided to study here. I'm also from the West Midlands, so it was still close enough that I could live by myself, but still be able to visit family quite easily.
How are you finding being an undergraduate so far?
I'm really enjoying it so far. I've learned a lot from it. My modules cover different aspects of the industry so when I leave, I've got a wide range of expertise to choose from. I like all of the programming aspects, so it's been really good so far.
What opportunities and support have you had to boost your career prospects?
The course is very good for career prospects because it covers a lot of different aspects. My latest experience with Kainos was a great one as well as it provided a grant. There was also a mentorship program where I've made a connection with someone who works at Kainos. It's great because he's currently helping me develop my web skills for my module this semester.
What was showcasing your own game at Innovation Fest like?
It was really good fun. My game was based on Nando's, because I work there I decided to make a busy cooking SIM, which was great. We had some industry guests come in and they played my game as well and gave me some really good feedback. I appreciated the honesty on what I could improve going forward especially. I also made some connections which I'm still in contact with today.
What support did you receive from academic and support staff at BCU?
The staff are supportive. Their emails are always open. They've also recommended me a lot of these opportunities including this blog. I've got three part-time roles for the university now, which was also suggested by my lecturers.
What have you gained from your experience with Kainos?
We got the opportunity to visit Kainos for three days. Each day was like an insight into a different job role within the company. We had quality assurance, software engineering, testing, AI and data analytics. We also got to experience the day in the life of one of the team members. The first day they provided us with small tasks to complete. We also had a mentor they matched us up with that worked in the relevant department we wanted to go into. I'm actually still in contact with the mentor. We usually chat once a week and it's great because we discuss my career development and other areas. He's currently helping me learn web development which has been great to have.
Games Courses
Find out more about our Games Courses
What advice would you give to others thinking about studying Games at BCU?
I think the main thing for me is read the course spec. Some people have come into this course because they like playing video games but this course is specifically a programming course. BCU has art courses, animation courses, games design courses, so it's just researching exactly what you want to do.
How will your experiences at BCU help you with your future career?
It's been great. My course offers a lot of industry connections. We recently had an industry speaker come in and talk about the publishing side of games, which is very interesting to know because the course is taught from a development perspective. This talk was from a publishing perspective, so you really get to see a lot of the different sides of the industry. It's also great because the course covers a lot of the wider industry as well. A lot of the people in my course don't just go into game development. They go into web development or software engineering, things like that. The course teaches you a lot of those skills, so you have the option to say that if I don't want to do games anymore, I could get into a lot of other programming roles.