The Business Co-Design (BCD) team have developed a media internship program to ensure ‘student voice’ is at the heart of what we do, and how we do it. It is also designed to provide valuable production experience to emerging media makers.
The program developed from a small cohort of students who were employed in 2019 to create media for learning content. BCD and the Department of Media & Communications, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences have collaborated to help media students to complete the practical component of their studies. Since then, a constant flow of students have gained experience in pre and post-media production with the BCD Media Internship Program.
Last year, the COVID-19 restrictions made this a precarious time for student placements (and a lot of businesses closed or were not able to host students). Fortunately, BCD could continue to host students, upskill them and support their learning so they were able to graduate.
The BCD Media interns are a great asset and resource to the BCD team. They are nurtured and encouraged to experiment with new media, and work on self-directed projects. They also contribute to the production of learning content and engage in mentorships.
Key Areas of Contribution
- Student voice
- Create media artefacts
- Media processes
- Review
Q&A With Iris and Vanessa
I caught up with Iris Zeng and Vanessa Li to find out more about their individual experiences working with BCD. Both Iris and Vanessa were part of our first cohort of student interns in 2019 and are currently working with BCD in different capacities.
What Did You Enjoy Most About the 2019 Student Media Officer Initiative?
Iris: Being just a student, I’m particularly grateful BCD entrusted a newbie like me with taking charge of a media project. I gained experience in scripting, creating, and editing videos. At times, it felt like being thrown in the deep end but ultimately, the learning curve was rewarding.
Vanessa: One of the things I enjoyed most about the 2019 Student Media Officer Program was the opportunity to collaborate with various people in the Business School. The Student Media Officers were given different projects to lead, which was a great learning and empowering experience. I loved being able to bounce ideas off my peers; gain insightful perspectives from the academics; and also ask for help from the other colleagues within the BCD unit.
Can You Give an Example of the Media Content You Created?
Iris: I worked with Ethan Crosweller, another student media producer, on a project that aimed to teach academics about creating animated videos. We used Vyond to produce a short, punchy animation.
Vanessa: Each Student Media Officer was assigned a different media project to produce. I collaborated with Ethan, another student media producer, on an interactive video around the impact of artificial intelligence. This included brainstorming how the interactive wireframe might look like. It involved writing the script; shooting the content; and using various editing and animation software to create the final video. It was great being able to experience the different stages of a production process.
What Was Most Challenging?
Iris: Perhaps imposter syndrome kicked in too, but I felt my lack of experience made some tasks harder to accomplish – especially editing videos. Luckily, there was always a friendly editor or media producer at BCD happy to help out, or various online resources I could access.
Vanessa: At first, it was quite challenging getting my head around how to build a successful interactive wireframe that was engaging and cohesive. It also took some time to become comfortable with all the new digital and software equipment. But I learned a lot from this experience and from everyone else in the BCD team as well.
What Are You Doing Now?
Iris: I’ve been lucky enough to nab a casual job with the BCD media team. I work 2 days a week, sometimes in the office or WFH, switching between copywriting to shooting videos. Currently, I’m collaborating with a team of designers, writers, and media producers. It’s on an interactive journalism piece profiling Indigenous NRL-legend Percy Knight – which is a unique and exciting opportunity. Stay tuned to hear more about it in a later blog post!
The Future of the BCD Media Internship Program
Having student voices throughout the production process has been invaluable. It facilitates the creation of accessible, relevant, and engaging multimedia learning content. It also creates a mutually empowering relationship between the academic faculty and the student community. Through establishing a vibrant student intern alumni network, BCD aims to continue to engage with this community.
This is the inspiration for the future of the BCD Media Internship Program. Student perspectives will continue to deliver new and exciting approaches for educational content. Students help us find alternative forms and styles of visual content to truly transform the student learning experience.
We are always looking for students across the university to join us at BCD. If you are interested in media and/or learning design and would like to know more about the BCD Media Internship Program, please email prudence.murphy@sydney.edu.au.
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