Expanding the work environments for students and young people is something that we are passionate about here at ZynQ 360. Hands-on experience holds great value in the world and we want to continue to add to that experience for our students and young people.
Over the years, we have invited students to join us for placements as part of their university courses.
It is therefore fitting that two of our part-time Project Builders needed a 6-week placement this year. When they asked us – we, of course, said yes!
So today, we meet Callum Morrison and Matthew Garden to find out about them and all about their experience during their 6-week placement here at ZynQ 360 HQ in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Tell us about the placement at ZynQ 360 – what was it for?
Matthew
In third year at Robert Gordon University (link https://www.rgu.ac.uk/), students get the fantastic opportunity to attend a 6 or 12-week placement in a real work environment. The purpose of this is to give students insight into working in a professional environment and prepare them for life post-degree.
I was delighted to work in a different department of ZynQ 360, away from my current part-time build work, allowing me to pick up as many different experiences and skills in different roles.
Callum
We study Digital Marketing, so having the chance to learn about how the team at ZynQ 360 run their marketing campaigns but also being allowed to get involved has been brilliant.
What did you do on your placement?
Callum
Throughout the placement, we undertook several tasks in various departments. In the first week, we learned about the photography side of the company and captured a 360 tour of the office and Victoria Park in Aberdeen.
A screenshot of Callum’s project in ZynQ.
Matthew
That was so much fun! It was really interesting getting involved in 360 photography, and seeing how the photography team create the digital twins for our clients.
The following week, we learned about the creation of photogrammetry and 3D models thanks to Richard Steele, one of our Lead Photographers.
We discovered how challenging it can be to create a 3D Model!
Matthew created this 3D Model of the office trophy for their yearly Fantasy Premier League competition.
We also got to participate and contribute to live marketing campaigns and social media strategies. The first of which was a social media campaign to welcome our two new starts in our American office.
Callum
That was a great task. We had to create two posts for the new starts in America which were to be published on the company’s Social Media channels. We brainstormed ideas and brought together everything we needed for the post – information about the new team members, graphics, text, hashtags etc. It was so good to get hands-on time with Photoshop for a real project.
Matthew
Beth Alexander, our Marketing Coordinator took us through LinkedIn, Hashtags and Social Selling so we had a really good understanding of how to best utilise social media. Alan Watson, our 3D Projects Manager helped us gain knowledge in video, 3D animation and virtual reality content creation. Lauren Wragg, our Senior Creative Designer helped us with all things design and photoshop wizardry skills.
What was your favourite task and why?
Matthew
I enjoyed every task over the 6 weeks however, I would say my favourite would have to be the social media campaign we created for the new starts in the US. It was a great opportunity to be creative. From welcoming the guys to the company and getting to know a little bit about them. Then being creative and designing the posts and writing the captions the overall experience was both fun and insightful.
Callum
I would say my favourite task was the photography training in week one. It allowed me to understand what it takes to capture the digital twin for the clients. Because I’m a Project Builder with no photography experience, I never truly understood the procedure of how ZynQ 360 create the digital twin for their clients. This was a great experience, as I went from never using a camera properly before to capturing 360 images of the office and Victoria Park.
It sounds like you both learned a lot! Are there any key learns that stand out?
Callum
I think learning about the process involved in the digital twin capture process for clients. And through the social media posts, I learned about how LinkedIn can be extremely beneficial to a company. It can allow for finding future clients, maintaining relationships with current ones, demonstrating your services through video posts etc.
Matthew
Before the placement, the only camera I had used was on my smartphone. Having the opportunity to learn basic camera functions and settings to create different outputs like our 360 imagery was so great.
I would also say developing our knowledge of marketing campaigns. We learnt about how to research, plan and create a successful email marketing campaign. This got us involved in using so many different tools, enhanced our design skills and also taught us how to become more professional and speak in a corporate manner. Equally, when to avoid corporate-speak and appear more ‘human’.
Callum
Yes absolutely.
I also think learning about 3D Modelling stands out for me, mostly because of how challenging it was.
The process of creating a 3D Model involves taking overlapping images and using the contrast in colour within the images to create control points. This then allows the images to merge to make a mesh of the model. Textures can then be applied, and the model is finished.
This was challenging, as with the capture method being used, the camera has to be set up perfectly. Otherwise, there would not be enough overlap between the photos and the software would not be able to create a full and accurate model.
Awesome! What would you do differently next time and why?
Matthew
If I was to do my placement again, I would like to spend more time on photography projects. I really enjoyed the brief introduction I got to 360 imagery, and it contextualised my current part-time job a bit more. It developed my understanding of the workflow, and it gave me some more common ground with the photographers in the office.
I would also like to spend more time watching the marketing team generate campaigns for the business. I’d like more insight into how other people work and the processes they use as I feel their knowledge and experience would be conveyed in a different way.
Callum
I think what I would do differently next time is to be less afraid of making mistakes. This placement is all a learning experience and therefore it’s natural for questions to be needed to be asked. And for mistakes can be made too. It’s all a necessary part of learning and broadening your general experience and knowledge.
What do you think of ZynQ 360 and your placement overall?
Callum
ZynQ 360 is a fantastic company – both with what services they provide to clients, but also to be a part of. They take extreme care in ensuring the demands of their clients are met and that they are delivering a consistent high-quality standard of work. There are multiple opportunities with ZynQ 360 making it an exciting company to work with from a client’s perspective but also as an employee. They’re a company I am proud to be a part of and the placement was excellent.
Matthew
ZynQ 360 is a fantastic company to work for. The professionalism of the company and the quality of the work we do has always impressed me. As a student, the placement, opportunities they have offered and the experience that I have gained have given me a great opportunity a lot of students maybe wouldn’t get. I look forward to seeing the potential for the future.
It’s so great to hear that the placement experience was valuable and that you think positively of ZynQ 360. Thank you so much for your time and we hope you have a great day!
Find out more about the ZynQ software and our services on our website
Watch a short video introducing ZynQ, our Digital Twin Software, here.
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