Talented graduate joins team Umber following partnership with The University of Hull

We’re pleased to announce we’ve recruited University of Hull graduate, Eleanor Brown, following the completion of her successful internship at Umber Creative. Eleanor, a BSc Computer Science graduate, joined Umber Creative in August 2022 for a 12 week internship via the Humber Internships Programme (HIP), which is run by the University of Hull. 

HIP was launched in 2021, and aims to connect Humber SMEs like us with the best emerging talent. It also provides practical support to help graduates move into the world of work, such as CV advice, mock interviews and access to expert Careers Consultants.

Here at Umber Creative we’re passionate about helping young people to develop their skills and kick-start their careers. Over the years we’ve run an extensive apprenticeship programme and tried to open a pathway for young people to join our industry. So, when HIP approached us to provide a graduate internship for one of its students, we were keen to get involved. 

After a recruitment process from several excellent candidates, we offered a position to Eleanor, who has a good understanding and enthusiasm for programming, as well as experience with AI-related projects. We knew instantly she would be a great fit for our digital team.

The first half of Eleanor’s internship involved working with Tom Holland, our Technical Director, who put her programming skills to the test and introduced her to new technologies. With Tom’s support, Eleanor helped us to develop a suite of image processing tools for our website content management systems. These tools help our websites to deliver more optimally-sized images in modern file formats, as well as supporting more obscure file formats such as .HEIC files (the native image format for iPhones). 

For the second half of her internship, Eleanor worked with Luke Foster, our Web Director, to gain some experience in building websites with our usual technology stack. Luke said:

“Since joining us, Eleanor has done a fantastic job. She’s helped us to complete her image processing project in a really good time and is acquiring some great experience whilst putting her skills into practise. 

“The HIP team have been excellent to work with, they made the whole process of appointing an intern easy and approachable. They’ve been particularly enthusiastic about helping us to find the right fit for our business, and ensuring the opportunity is appropriate for Eleanor. We would definitely be interested in taking on another intern in the future via the programme.”

Paul Thorpe, HIP’s Employer Engagement Advisor, said:

“Eleanor accessed support through HIP for advice on her CV and cover letter in preparation for applying for this role. Once successfully short-listed, Eleanor also undertook interview preparation with her Careers Consultant in order to reflect on and practice demonstrating her skills and motivations successfully. 

“This is her first industry role and she’s undertaken regular review appointments with the same Careers Consultant throughout her time with Umber Creative to provide her with space to consider her thoughts and feelings about starting the world of work and reflect on her continual professional development.

“Working with both Kevin and Luke at Umber Creative has been really easy, resulting in a very smooth journey. We’ve been particularly impressed with their preparation and planning for the internship. Their strategic approach has really added value to Eleanor’s experience and provided clear development for her. We’re delighted to see Eleanor gain a full time position at Umber Creative and we hope to work with the team again soon!”

Eleanor has hit the ground running, and is already putting some of the skills she learned during her internship into practice. She said: 

“I really enjoy working with Tom and the team at Umber Creative. It’s a relaxed, friendly environment and everyone is very helpful. During my Internship I had training in SQL, PHP, HTML, CSS and JavaScript. I was also taught how to navigate Amazon Web Services and learnt a lot about web development. It’s amazing how much you pick up on the job! I’m looking forward to developing my skills further and working on more Umber Creative digital projects.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to the team at HIP. They’ve supported me throughout my time with Umber Creative and made the whole process very easy. I’d definitely recommend other graduates start their career journey with HIP.” 

Find out more about the Humber Internships Programme.