Four graduates from Athlone Institute of Technology have made the shortlist for a prestigious national internship competition run by the Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA ).
The competition – ‘Best in Show’ – places winning digital media and creative graduates in internships with leading companies in their chosen fields. To be in with a chance of winning, graduates submit examples of their college work to be assessed by a panel of industry insiders.
The closing date for entries for this year’s competition was July 15. Twice as many entries were received as in 2010, from graduates from all over Ireland, and 45 made the shortlist, including entries by AIT graduates Ciaron Fitzpatrick, Carole Fannon, George Beattie, and Keith Bogan.
Entries to ‘Best in Show’ are submitted under five different categories: animation; audio/ music production; digital design; multimedia; and film/ video production. In addition to these five categories, a graduate from a community education centre – D8CEC, located in Dublin city centre – will win a work placement at The Digital Hub. For this category, the winner will complete a placement focusing on office administration skills.
Ciaron Fitzpatrick, Carole Fannon, and George Beattie were all shortlisted in the digital design category for their entries, ‘Three Problems with Design’, ‘In your Face book’, and ‘The Weapons of Influence’. The three AIT graduates are now going head-to-head to be in with a chance of winning a work placement with Red Dog, one of Ireland’s leading graphic design companies.
Keith Bogan’s entry – ‘Carousel’ – was shortlisted in the film/ video category and he is now in with a chance to win an internship with Areaman Productions based in Dublin.
Dr Stephen Brennan, director of marketing and strategy with the Digital Hub Development Agency, congratulated the A IT graduates for making the shortlist for this year’s ‘Best in Show’ competition.
“Digital media is one area where there are actually going to be job increases in the next few years. Last year, three of the winners went on to work on a more long-term basis with the companies where they completed their ‘Best in Show’ placements.
“We were delighted with the quality of entries received for the competition this year.”
All shortlisted entries are currently being assessed by representatives of the companies involved in the competition. The winners in each category will be announced in September and a special networking event for winning entrants will take place at The Digital Hub on Wednesday September 14.
The full list of shortlisted entrants for ‘Best in Show’ 2011 is available at www.thedigitalhubexhibit.com/bestinshow/shortlist-announcement
