Placement of the Year Awards 2014
Leading Scottish simulation software company Simul8 has been awarded first prize in the e-Placement Scotland placement of the year awards at ScotSoft2014 in recognition of an outstanding student placement. Placement student, Alistair Weir, of the University of Glasgow worked with Simul8 over the summer using skills developed on his computer science course and gaining new skills and business awareness.
e-Placement Scotland was established to boost the number of paid work experience opportunities available across Scotland for students with computing skills. Their 1000th placement opportunity will be announced any day.
Nicola Hamil-Phillips of Simul8 who regularly use e-Placement Scotland as part of their recruitment strategy said: “Ally is not an intern that makes tea; he is a contributor that has a huge impact on our business and is the driving force behind his projects. We work in a fast paced agile environment and it’s important for us to have people in our company with the skills to make the business successful, Ally is one of those people. He has made a vast contribution to not only the team but also to the company.”
Ally had a very rewarding summer with the company: “Any illusions that some things taught at university were pointless were shattered. Having control over what I was working on was empowering and made me want to work to the best of my abilities to deliver great results”.
Two runners up were announced. Relaymed, a dynamic healthcare software startup launched in 2012 together with their student Alexander Grant of the University of Dundee were one of the runners-up. Jamie McHale of Relaymed said: “We are a small startup, with a lot of big tasks. Alexander has helped work on our core product, contributing meaningful work that advances us towards our business objectives. He asked questions, worked hard, and became part of the office team. “, adding that “a placement was a good option for Relaymed compared to recruitment. The search and interview process was quick and efficient, and we received a lot of support in organising the applications. It was a low-risk way of improving the work we did in the office, and also giving experience and training to a potential future recruit.”
Exterity were announced as the other runner up. Founded in 2001, Exterity is firmly established as the global leader in enterprise IPTV. Exterity benefitted from both the skills and positive attitude of placement student Robbie Binnie of Abertay University. Richard Neville of Exterity stated that “Placement students are an invaluable addition to Exterity; with the right candidate even the process of explaining a concept within a product makes all parties in the conversation consider what they are doing and question if there is a better way. Robbie is the right candidate.” Robbie is taking his placement experience back to Abertay: “I can see a shift in my confidence levels and an increase in practical understanding of software development has reinforced this self-belief”.
e-Placement Scotland co-ordinator, Leigh-Ann Donoghue thanked all the companies who entered the awards and offered congratulations to all of the winners.
Source: ScotlandIS