Member Article

Eutechnyx offer students and graduates experience in video games production

A North East games firm is offering graduates and students chance to gain experience in the video games production sector.

Gateshead-based Eutechnyx is encouraging more graduates to apply for its Level Up Academy which gives recent graduates and students looking for placement years a chance to fast track their careers in the games and technology industry.

Nearly 40% of Eutechnyx’s recruits have gone through the Level Up Academy and a large proportion of those have been Teesside University graduates.

Eutechnyx is one of the world’s leading independent game studios and has produced more than 350 titles and specialises in driving games such as ‘Auto Club Revolution’ and ‘Nascar: The Game’.

It employs nearly 140 people and as well as its headquarters in Gateshead has offices in China and the United States.

The Level Up Academy is open to students and graduates from all Universities and offers placements in areas including programming, art and animation, graphic design and marketing.

One of the first students to take part in the Level Up Academy when it began in 2005 was Dave Hawes, who is now the company’s technical director.

After taking part in the Level Up Academy, he joined Eutechnyx on a permanent basis upon graduating from Teesside University with a BSc (Hons) Computer Studies.

He said: “This is a job that people do because they love it. It’s a fantastic feeling to watch people enjoying games that you’ve worked on.

“Doing my degree at Teesside University and the placement at Eutechnyx really complemented each other.

“Working with professionals every day for five days a week is immensely valuable experience, but I wouldn’t have been able to do the job without the skills I learned at Teesside University.”

Eutechnyx has recently opened a new division, ZeroLight, which designs 3D virtual showrooms for luxury car brands, allowing customers to explore every aspect of the vehicle at their leisure.

Another Teesside University graduate, Luke Turner, has taken a leading role in this new venture as a technology programmer.

Luke, who graduated with a BSc (Hons) Games Graphic Programming in 2012, said: “I’ve been given chance to work with a whole new range of products which wouldn’t be available to a standard graduate.

“Emerging technologies are a major part of my job and Eutechnyx have given me lots of opportunities.

“I recently flew out to Tokyo to do support work. It’s been a real challenge and very exciting.”

One of Eutechnyx’s latest recruits is Haydn Peterswald, from Leyburn, North Yorkshire, who joined the company in May 2013 after completing his BSc (Hons) Computer Games Programming at Teesside University.

Haydn took part in the Level Up Academy during his third year at University and while he was on the placement, he won Eutechnyx’s Employee of the Year award.

A job was offered to him upon graduation and he joined Eutechnyx as part of Teesside University’s Graduates for Business scheme which gives employers a wage subsidy to support the employment of a graduate.

He said: “I applied for the placement after being encouraged to do so by the University.

“It was fantastic to get the offer of a job at the end of it. It certainly removed a lot of stress in my final year and I think I did a lot better in my degree because of it.

“It’s really challenging work but I really enjoy it.”

Erin Turnbull, recruitment and HR coordinator at Eutechnyx, said: “Our Level Up Academy has been a fantastic success and a lot of the participants have gone on to have very exciting careers at the company.

“The placement is open to students from all Universities and we’ve been lucky to have some very talented graduates from Teesside University join us and I hope this will continue in to the future.”

Dr Simon Stobart, Dean of Teesside University’s School of Computing, added: “Eutechnyx is an internationally renowned company and we are delighted that our graduates have been able to play a vital part in producing world class games here in the North East.”

For more information about the Level Up Academy visit http://www.eutechnyx.com/recruitment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Teesside University .