Career College students showcase digital talent to help children affected by homelessness

Creative digital and business students at BMet have proved to be pitch-perfect after winning a competition set by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and homeless charity, The Roberts Centre. Five students who are part of BMet’s Career Colleges, an employer-led education programme, developed a website, YouTube film and a game to promote the launch of a children’s book about homelessness.

Digital Lead for the Career Colleges Trust, Julia Von Klonowski, said: “All the students did a fantastic job. Taking part in a live project with one of the world’s biggest digital companies has been an amazing opportunity for them.

“This project is about linking education, business and community – benefiting the children and families helped by The Roberts Centre. It has given students first-hand experience of how a multinational company works and also given them insight to the huge number of career opportunities available within the growing digital sector.”

15 of BMet’s Career College students completed the eight-week live project which involved them developing a variety of digital applications and describing how these would be promoted. In addition to being named overall winners, the BMet team picked up an award for best presentation.
Deise De Carvalho, group leader of the winning team said: “This was an amazing project to be involved in. We used all kinds of digital features in our film, website and game. We designed animation and made sure the website supported people with visual or hearing impairments. I narrated the book for the film as well, which I loved doing.

The 20-year-old, who also gave a presentation at The Career Colleges Trust’s recent annual conference added: “The pitches from the students were really good. There were some brilliant ideas so everyone was inspired. We’ve all learned a lot.”
As well as developing a creative plan, students had to cost the project, working to a ‘budget’ of £60k. They attended an initial brief at AWS’s offices and had to hold regular meetings, mirroring a real-life industry project.

BMet Career College lecturer, Fredericka McFarlane said: “Having launched our Career Colleges 12 months ago for the business professional and creative digital industries, this win is the icing on the cake for all we have achieved so far. Our students worked incredibly hard to create lively digital personalities for each book. And now that they are gaining an understanding of interactive design, development and business strategies, they are becoming ready for the workplace and are starting to believe they have a lot to offer.”

Every student taking part received a certificate and a t-shirt, with each college also being given a ‘Robert Bear.’ Members of the overall winning team were each presented with an Alexa as a reward for their success.