As a digital media and communications graduate, joining Agent Academy’s Rise programme has proven to be the best decision I have made since finishing university. It has connected me to the industry in so many ways and, although my university experience was valuable, the structure and pace of Rise has really brought the industry to life. I thought that by the end of my degree I would be equipped with all that I needed to take the next steps into my digital career. It so happened that I wasn’t even sure what those next steps would look like, and I still had no idea of how to break into an industry I had spent the last three years studying to be a part of.

Rise is a direct insight into the world of creative, digital, and tech and being a participant over the last 10 weeks has been an experience I could have never imagined.. The programme is so beneficial and week by week, I am becoming more confident in my ability to use the skills I’ve gained through university, alongside my newfound networking and industry experience.

Here’s just a few of the things I’ve learned so far:

– How to plan and facilitate strategic engagement with key stakeholders.
– User behaviour and attitudes to help inform UX/UI design, engaging in design thinking.
– The fundamentals of digital marketing e.g SEO/PPC, data analytics, and social media marketing.
– How to create press releases and blogs to promote programme activities.

Aside from the skills and experience I have gained, the bond I have formed with my peers on the course is amazing and we constantly learn from each other. We are a diverse group of innovative thinkers and I know we will all go far, especially with the help of Agent Academy.

Throughout my time on the programme, I have noticed that while it is great to leave academia with skills that are useful in the job market, most of us also want to be able to apply for a job with the confidence that we’ll actually land the job! The only way to do this is to also have the real-world experience that recruiters crave.

Therefore, I believe there should be more opportunities in the academic sphere that allow young talent, like myself, to unlock their potential, obtain real-world experience, build their network and work with incredible brands.

Real client, real challenge, real world experience. If Agent Academy can make that happen while offering an industry led curriculum alongside this, there’s an opportunity for more institutions to bridge the gap between education and real world experience, and open up more doors for young people in the creative, digital, and tech industries.