GenUp North Placement Scheme

My name is Mohamed Tawfik, I recently finished my Gen Up North Placement scheme where I was pleased to be one of the trainees chosen for this fantastic opportunity.

I recently graduated from Northumbria University studying Multimedia and Digital Entertainment, I am very passionate about creative digital media , TV and Gaming after all that’s the main reason I moved from Cairo, Egypt to Newcastle, England to pursue my passion.

The Placement consisted of seminars, personal branding and working in the Gen Up team on live pitches within the BBC and Channel 4.

I can’t really put into words how much I learned and gained from this fantastic experience. One thing I’ll say is that the Gen UP placement did more than it said on the Tin. A famous quote from one of the guest speakers who told us “People would do anything to meet half the industry professionals you’re meeting throughout your placement”.

The Gen up Group was varied in terms of the skills each member had, everyone had different expertise to offer ranging from TV, Graphics, Gaming and Broadcast. The group worked collaboratively on the live briefs given throughout the placement which helped me understand what group work is all about.

Two days of the last week of the Gen Up placement took place at Northern Film and Media in Newcastle.

NFM was really hospitable and we had seminars that ranged from personal branding on the web to BBC seminars and CV workshops which were very useful. Northern Film and Media spoiled us by providing lunch on both days and giving us support and advice when needed which was really helpful.

Overall, the placement opened my eyes on the different roles within the Media industry which I have never considered before. I learned a lot of new skills that university would have never taught me but it’s always worthwhile remembering that to get on to the Gen Up Scheme I first had to excel and be the best I could on my course at Northumbria University through which I was recommended by my lecturer.
IF you have got any questions about my placement experience find me on twitter.com/tawfikkhal