UEL art students secure prestigious internships
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Published
26 March 2024
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Three students from the University of East London’s (UEL) Visual Arts cluster have completed much-prized internships at the advertising agency Mother, and at the production workshop of the Royal Opera House (ROH).
Camilla Serini and Nelson Miakouikila, who are both studying graphic design, won a competition to work at Mother. Jay Ho, a BA student in fine art, was taken on by the ROH. Ms Serini says her main interests are in branding and advertising, while Mr Miakouikila specialises in photography and videography. The students came together as a team to win a contest for a three-day internship at Mother, one of the country’s most dynamic agencies. They only had 30 minutes to come up with an advertisement for the grocery delivery service of Uber Eats, with their winning entry based around the concept of a Christmas meal that was missing key ingredients.
Ms Serini said she thrilled to come up with a real-world project during the competition,
You are sometimes so contained within the University that you don’t really know what to expect of your future roles. It was so hectic, competitive, and stimulating. It was amazing to get to know different creatives.
Mr Miakouikila was also delighted to have excelled in the competition. He said, “I am glad to have won with Camilla. I think we nailed the brief. The Mother internship gave me a clear vision of what I want to do next in my career and I made a lot of contacts for the professional world.”
The two competition winners visited every department in the company including the media, creative, producer, design and client teams. The company also offered the pair feedback on their portfolios. The contest was held as part of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising’s Advertising Unlocked project, an industry open day with a brief to explain the industry to new talent. UEL Senior Lecturer Alicia Hart tutored the students throughout the experience. She said, “Students were able to have talks with all the key departments such as the creative, production, strategy and accounts teams, with tours of the offices. I'm very grateful to the Mother London team for hosting this event with UEL and look forward to their future collaborations with our students.”
Jay Ho, a third-year Fine Art student from Singapore, secured a two-week placement at the ROH’s Production Workshop. The internship focused on creating the elements for set design including props and stage parts, allowing him to meet a range of different production professionals. He said,
The experience has been enlightening. It made me feel more at peace with job opportunities and knowing there are different avenues to create.
Mr Ho’s tutor on his BA course, Alexis Harding, supported his student during the process. He said, “Jay has a wide lens on contemporary art and will be one to watch in the future! It’s been a pleasure to have been a small influence on his early work and for him now to come to London and completely stretch his thinking and artwork has been a critical pleasure to observe. Jay’s time at the Royal Opera House fabrication studios went down well with everyone there.”
Mr Ho chose UEL after the University was recommended to him by a mentor in Singapore who had previously worked with Mr Harding. He is a practising artist in his native country but wanted to make and exhibit his work in London. He said, “The best aspect of the course are my peers and the artists who teach on the course who share their practices. I’m always open to be involved in different exhibitions, trips and activities, even from different courses.”