RGU offers plenty of amazing placement opportunities that can be a stepping stone towards your dream career. Digital Marketing student Grace Sanderson spent 12 weeks on placement with EODEX and got offered a part-time role with the company, which she will juggle with her studies during her last year at university. Read more about her RGU journey in this blog.

A bit about myself

Hi, I am Grace, a 3^rd year Digital Marketing student at RGU. I have a passion for fitness and the outdoors and like to incorporate this into my studies and work life where possible. I have also worked part-time as a care assistant at Balhousie Huntly for the past 5 years. This is a challenging job while also trying to balance studies. However, it is extremely rewarding and I see the home as a big family now.

My RGU Journey

My journey at RGU started back in 2018 when I began studying on the Law and Management course. Semester 2 came around and I quickly realised this wasn’t the path for me. I wasn’t enjoying my studies and I felt lost and confused that my university experience wasn’t going as expected.

Around the same time, the new Digital Marketing course was announced to launch in September 2019. It immediately sparked my interest. However, this felt like a big change after focusing all my school qualifications around studying law. After a meeting with the course leader, I put all my uncertainties aside, and I knew this was what I wanted to do.

The course covers a variety of creative subjects from digital filmmaking and a simulating digital marketing agency, to web design. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the course so far. A highlight for me was creating content for one of my favourite sustainable fashion wear brands, TALA. The coursework was to create a promotional video, a vlog and a testimonial for the brand. I was able to use my creative abilities and passion for the outdoors in this project and filmed in a number of locations along the coast around Macduff and Portsoy.

My placement experience

There is only one opportunity currently to do a placement on the course, which is in 3^rd year. I knew I wanted to do a placement and take the longest option of 12 weeks. I wanted to get into the real corporate working world as I felt I possessed a lot of skills ready for work. As such, I was looking forward to putting these into practice and solidify my knowledge of digital marketing.

After going through the placement application and interview process, I was thrilled to be offered a Marketing and Media student placement with EODEX.

Working in a unique industry

EODEX are a specialist UXO and explosives engineering company. A UXO is an unexploded ordnance which did not detonate when employed and therefore still poses a risk of detonation. After WWI and WWII, these left-over explosives were discarded in the sea. Now, with the rise of the renewable energy industry, they must be disposed of safely before windfarms and their cable routes can be built upon the seabed.

There are around 500,000 UXO’s in British waters which need to be disposed of. There has been a mass increase in offshore windfarms under construction or planned construction to start in UK waters since the government’s Offshore Wind Sector Deal in 2019. This is expected to further expand in the coming years in the government’s efforts to achieve net zero by 2050.

I knew this placement would be out of my comfort zone as I knew nothing about the offshore renewable energy industry. I had also never even heard of a UXO! But I knew I wanted to push myself and make the most of this opportunity.

Learning with a versatile and exciting role

During my time on placement, I undertook a number of roles. These included creating social media posts, a monthly social media company report and a newsletter, as well as being involved in exhibiting at Subsea Expo 2022.

Subsea Expo was a fantastic experience. It was great to be part of a big corporate event and meet new people within the market. I also worked alongside the CEO and Managing Director of EODEX at this event. I enjoyed working alongside the people who created the company. They are so passionate about the message behind what they do.

My plans for the near future

On week 11 of my placement, I was over the moon to get offered a permanent position as a Marketing and Media Executive. This is something I never would’ve expected to come from a student placement experience. I am extremely grateful to be part of a great team who are so motivated and inspiring and will support me through my 4^th year at RGU.

My role will continue the work I have been doing while on placement. However, I will have more responsibilities. The role is currently two days a week, so I will be able to juggle work and university when I go back in September.

In the future, I plan to continue to put my studies at RGU to use in my work at EODEX. I want to help continue the amazing growth of the company which has already taken place so far this year. EODEX have a number of exciting events coming up this year, including the WindEnergy Expo taking place in Hamburg in September. This is something I will be working on when the time comes around.

After graduation, there is the possibility of a full-time role at EODEX. This would exceed my hopes. Starting as a timid 3^rd year placement student, I am now turning this experience into the start of my marketing career.

My passion for Digital Marketing

My favourite thing about the digital marketing industry is the flexibility and creativity of the everyday working life. There isn’t one day that is the same. Projects can come out of nowhere, which requires the ability to multitask, but it’s always an enjoyable day at work. My favourite role is creating social media content for the LinkedIn and Facebook pages of EODEX and seeing the engagement from like-minded individuals.

Grace Sanderson

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