For the last seven years, Mark Reynard and iet.tv have represented the IET on the Royal Television Society’s (RTS) digital innovation bursary panel. This incredible initiative gives out up to ten bursaries a year to high school students who want to pursue careers in TV and broadcast, giving disadvantaged young people the opportunity to go to university and study this chosen career path.

Not only do they give out bursaries to a select few students, but these students get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour around the companies that sit on the panel after they have finished their studies, allowing them to experience hands-on what working in the industry is really like.

Our very own iet.tv is one of many esteemed panel members, alongside major broadcasters such as the BBC, Paramount, Sky and STV. The students experience a two-week long tour in which they participate in lectures, visits to studios, talks with people that work there and, their clear favourite, hands-on practical activities at the organisations involved.

Referenced as “the most enjoyable part of the tour by far” and “a prime example of a good company tour” was their visit to Futures Place and iet.tv as the tour finale. The students had the opportunity to script, film, present, edit and fully create a video from start to finish, using all the equipment in the iet.tv studios. By the end of the day, they have completed an entire production!

One student commented, “I thoroughly enjoyed our day at IET as they…dropped us in the deep end with the video, but being slightly out of our comfort zone was really great…but then also go and edit it because it made me feel immersed in the TV world, not just talking about it.”

From feedback, we know the most valuable element of the experience was how practical it was. The visits to the other companies often involved technical presentations without the chance to be creative. Here, they were able be the directors, script writers, presenters, editors and animators for their own production. The students said that to have a video to take away from the day was incredibly rewarding. Being able to handle all the equipment and have free reign over the filming and editing was a refreshing experience in contrast to some of the talks and ignited their passion for the tech.

Further exceptional feedback included a student noting “We could physically experiment and practice technical skills that are part of the tv industry. It was an extremely fun experience, and I would love to do it again.”

Colleagues were also thanked for leading this great experience; “Fantastic hosts. Especially Mr. Reynard! Great food! Very nice building! Super work atmosphere. The very first time we were challenged and got to do something resembling the actual workplace. This needs to stay in the RTS Digital Innovation Tour for a long time.”

Mark Reynard, who personally received so much positive feedback on his incredibly engaging and effective way of conveying information and the way he led the day, said that, “for such a small company, our production value and the way we understand television is second to none."

“Video is so important in a corporate environment and being able to show the students and help them understand that the video and content quality is as important in this setting as it is in television was brilliant. Except here, we have an all-internal team and can do everything in-house. The turnaround of video creation is also much quicker.

We are delighted to have received such positive feedback, from such a big operation, that involved the whole iet.tv team on the day. We are at the forefront of corporate video and enjoy giving the students the opportunity to experience such a fast paced, real-world experience that isn’t available anywhere else.

We look forward to welcoming the next group of students in June 2024!”

The students and RTS have created a video about the tour which you can watch below.