By Bethan Head and Katrina Chilver
A BBC radio professional visited De Montfort University today to give students tips on getting work with the broadcasting giant and an insight into the industry.
Lucy Collins, programme editor at BBC Leicester, visited the university as part of Employability Week which aims to give students experience and knowledge in how to get their dream career.
Lucy said: “Above everything else I want enthusiasm, hard work and ideas, if you have them then you are laughing.”
De Montfort University has strong links with the local broadcaster and makes a number of valuable placements with them available to students.
She said: “I would say it’s the lifeblood of what we do, if we don’t find young talented people then we are not doing our job.”
Lucy took this opportunity to announce a new radio production placement for August 2015.
“This is a really good place to find people, having the partnership with DMU means we have some people who are already interested and have some experience if not lots of experience and lots of enthusiasm and knowledge of the industry,” added Lucy.
The person who is awarded the placement will be ‘somebody with lots of ideas’ who can demonstrate a good knowledge of BBC Radio Leicester, their website and BBC East Midlands Today.
Lucy added: “I want somebody hard working who can offer something out of the ordinary.”
Last year three students were taken on for summer placements, as the broadcaster was so impressed with the applications, Amit Nathwani who graduated from DMU with a degree in Business and Management with Media and Communications in July completed the placement last summer.
He said: “I found my time at Radio Leicester really enjoyable. Everyone was friendly and willing to answers any question I had. My time there gave me valuable experience in a real life newsroom.
“The knowledge I gained from my two weeks there has helped me in my Masters course in Broadcast Journalism at Cardiff University.”
Lucy added: “They have been fantastic. The level of ability and the quality of work we got from the people last year was very impressive. We only planned to take one student last year but we were so impressed we took three.
“If we get brilliant applications this year we wouldn’t rule out taking more than one.”
The experience will provide a variety of opportunities from interviewing to script writing and Lucy says that there is the chance to specialise in different areas of interest.
She added: “There’s the chance to do anything and everything if people want to. If people have specific areas they are interested in, then I am very happy to build that in to the plan.”
If you are interested in applying for the placement, all the information is available at facebook.com/groups/creativemedialab.
