Photography, Video and Digital Imaging graduate Antonia Barraclough was able to complete a three-week internship in Berlin thanks to the financial support from the Futures Fund Graduate Development Scholarship.
Antonia, from South Yorkshire, was one of the six people selected to work on a project with City Travel Review.
“The aim of the project was to create a travel guide on a WordPress website and a PDF file with some 'Welcome Pages' about Berlin. My main roles involved being the PDF designer and the photo manager. I also wrote eight different reviews for the website,” she explained.
“During my stay in Berlin I attended German language lessons in which we discussed and learnt writing techniques. I also attended workshops where I was taught by a freelance graphic designer how to use InDesign.”
As a future visual artist this was a great opportunity for the Sunderland graduate to network and broaden her horizons by experiencing other areas of creativity.
She said: “During the internship I gained new skills on InDesign, on how to work efficiently as part of a new group of people and on travel writing.
“I also learnt a lot about myself as a person, in particular the ability to confidently put forward my opinions during group meetings and discussions.”
She added: “With the Futures Fund money I was also able to purchase a professional camera which I will be able to use for future photography jobs.”
The 23-year-old is now working on a project as a Web Designer for a charity and she claims the confidence she gained during her internship is having a huge impact on her current role.
With her eyes firmly set on her professional development, Antonia is enrolled on a workshop to gain some programming skills to add to her growing portfolio of graphic and web design.
She was left in no doubt as to the role the scholarship played in boosting her employability skills.
She said: “Now I feel more confident in applying for job opportunities in graphic and web design. I would like to thank the Futures Fund and the donors for allowing me to go on this life-changing experience in Berlin.”