Boomtown Advertising has once again given back to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) graphic students by awarding just under R20 000 in bursaries to two students.
Boomtown believes in recognising talent and rewarding hard work, which is why aspiring graphic designer, Tim Jones, a third year student at the NMMU received a R10 000 bursary from Boomtown Advertising. Managing director of Boomtown, Neil Hart, says “For our students such as Tim, we aim to help in the development of his creative skills and to ready him for the working world. We hope the bursary will be a great boost for Jones.”
Xolani Siyona, a third year NMMU graphic design student is the recipient of Boomtown’s R8 000 bursary. Siyona had humble beginnings as a self-taught artist, but maintained his vision of becoming a renowned graphic designer. The University’s Brand Manager Karen Coetzee, says “The essence of the NMMU brand is the fulfilment of dreams and aspirations. Xolani is one of our internal success stories reflecting excellence. This bursary will not only add value to his student experience, but will enable him to realise his dreams.”
The agency caters for a 12 month internship for one NMMU public relation student each year and 6 – 10 Graphic Design students from the NMMU each spend two weeks at the agency to gain valuable work experience. In addition, 2 interns, one completing his BCom (Marketing Management) Degree and the other completing her MA in Applied Media are fulfilling internships at the Agency too. Hart believes, “Our commitment to invest in graphic design student of the NMMU goes back a number of years. Several of our professional staff members are ex-students (PR, Marketing, Graphic Design etc.) of the institution so we like to give a little back where we can. Beyond the bursary we have been giving input through internships, guest lecturing and independent appraisals of creative portfolios as part of our giving-back program.”