Job success for students at The College CGI Graduate Expo

The Bournemouth & Poole College CGI students outside the Digital Design Center

13 June 2017 - Final year students of the BSc (Hons) and FdSc Degree courses for 3D CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) which covers modelling, animation and architectural visualisation showcased their work at the College’s 15th annual CGI Graduate Expo. 

Celebrating their achievements and competing for awards, the students stood by their presentations to be viewed by potential employers with the hope to enter either a one-year placement or a full-time post in the CGI industry.  And this year was a record breaking year!

66 people comprising 16 companies from all over the UK and across the globe attended looking to recruit 13 students in either a Placement or Full-time.  Of those 16 companies, 10 were represented by ex CGI students.  The 13 student work offers represent 31% of both our FdSc and BSc graduates.

Kurt French, CGI Lecturer said: “The year before last our Expo saw 6 employment offers and 4 placements as a result of the event, so it’s an important date in our calendar. This year however was the most successful year yet.

Uniform (uniform.net), Pixel Flakes (pixelflakes.com) London, Polygon Studios (thepolygonstudio.com) Brighton and international company, Visual House (http://visualhouse.co/), were just some of the companies that attended and who recognise the value of such first-hand recruitment. The College is recognised for its quality, creativity, industry relevance and studio-centric work ethic. Its degrees in CGI have been delivered for over a decade and have placed students in over two hundred of the major post-production and games companies as well as smaller animation, games and architectural studios throughout the country.

Lee Corbin, former student and now Lead Graphic Artist from the Bournemouth based Drilling Systems Ltd., officially opened the Expo.  He said: “From experience I know it’s a great course and a great opportunity for the students.  My colleague and I, Will Baker are here to interview this cohort of students and hopefully be in a position to offer a place to one lucky individual.”

On the day, each student demonstrated their chosen theme for their project of either Venice, Eco-housing, Apocolypto or Rock Star, as well as showcasing other work they had completed during the course.  Their work ethic, attitude and achievement throughout the course, along with their current presentation, were also judged for various awards of recognition.

Jacqueline Page, Vice Principal Curriculum who presented the awards said: “I just cannot get over the quality of the student work and could not believe the virtual reality experience – it was truly amazing!”

For the first time ever, the CGI Team could not separate the students so they decided to make joint awards.  Awards winners are as follows:

  • BSc Team Award:  Joe Wiltshire and Fergus Denton
  • BSc Most Improved Student Award: Rhys Lenthall and Jamie McDonald
  • FdSc Most Improved Student Award: Rose Sheret and Jessica Tarrant
  • FdSc Team Award: Ryan O’Donohoe and Ryan Lansing