Bournemouth University has again hosted this year’s Meet the Professionals event, organised by Gordon Cooper of the Royal Television Society (RTS) and Stephanie Farmer, Executive Producer of RedBalloon Productions, based in the Faculty of Media and Communication. Stephanie is also Chair of the RTS Southern Committee.
The meeting was held in the Fusion building on Talbot Campus on an April afternoon and is an opportunity for students to meet informally with media professionals to discuss current TV opportunities, issues and career development.
This year, over 200 students from Bournemouth, Southampton Solent, Portsmouth and Winchester Universities listened to 3 panels of media professionals at different stages of their career path talking very honestly about their own experiences in a discussion entitled ‘Making Progress in the TV Industries’.
Commenting on the event, Stephanie said: “Meet the Professionals event is an amazing opportunity for students to practice their networking skills and crucially make contacts for placements and get lots of really good advice about how to get started and move forward with a career in media. It’s also great to see so many graduates doing well and returning to speak on our panel of experts!”
Five BU graduates returned in a professional capacity at this year’s event; Izzy Hammett, (Video Production Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support), Tom Farmery (MD of production company, The Film Farmers), Shannon Reeve (Production Assistant at LoveLove Films), Joe Simpson (Junior Animator at LoveLove Film), and Victoria Musguin-Rowe, Freelance TV Producer. Victoria’s commissions included The Stephen Lawrence Story, a new three-part documentary aired by BBC TV.
Gordon Cooper commented at this year’s Meet the Professionals, “I'd really like to thank all the professionals who gave up their time in their busy schedules to come down to Bournemouth - I know the students really do appreciate it!”
