It’s a win-win for graduate placements


“I learned so much in just one month here,” said graduate Liam McDonald who has been working with Hunted Cow Studios in Elgin, Morayshire, for the past 10 months. He joined the company as part of


the TalentScotland Graduate Placement Programme which gives students real hands-on work experience in Scotland after they complete their degree. Liam is using his computer arts training


from Abertay University on the commercial games being developed by the studio. He said: “My role is to develop 3-D


artwork for the games environments, anything from landscapes and trees to objects that players have to find and use. I’ve been working on two games – Battle Dungeon for the iPhone, and I have been given a specific development project to refresh the levels on Hunted Cow’s big web-based multi-player game project Eldevin, which is due to release this year. It’s very exciting to be able to work on these projects.” Hunted Cow General Manager John


Stewart finds the graduate placement scheme very useful for the development of the company: “It’s a very good way to get


and Islands Enterprise, said the scheme is proving popular with local companies. She said: “The scheme enables companies to get work done that they might not have the time, skills or resources to achieve and we have found that the input of gradates can make a significant impact on the growth of these businesses.” A wide range of companies participate


in the graduate placement scheme, from engineering to food and drink and energy to games companies. The large majority of the roles are in marketing and business development or developing websites and social media as this is an area where graduates can make a big difference to a company development. The graduate placement experience


Liam McDonald learned a huge amount on his placement


new skills into the team to progress projects and to benefit from the different creativity and viewpoints that people have – Liam’s brought some really good ideas.” Lara Pollard, Business Engagement Manager for the programme in Highlands


has convinced Liam that he wants a future in games: “I’m currently a junior artist but I want to continue to develop in this industry now to become a Senior Art Director.”


www.talentscotland.com/gppgraduates DIG DEEPER...


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