Paddy Mackenzie
Junior Creative Media Designer
“I have felt like a respected member of the team whose input and contributions are just as valuable to the team as anyone else.”
Dynamic Insights
Digital learning placements 2025: inspiring the next generation
BY PADDY, MURPHY, SAM AND HANNAH
10 JUNE 25
Among all the digital learning placements out there, we’ll admit—we’re a little biased—but we truly believe a placement at Dynamic offers a valuable and rewarding experience. Still, it’s not about us; it’s about the students. Now that this year’s digital media placement students have reached the halfway point of their journey with us, it’s the perfect moment to reflect on the impact they’ve already made in such a short time.
This year, we’ve welcomed four placement students: three junior creative developers and one junior creative media designer. Their contributions have been felt across the entire business, playing a key role in delivering some outstanding elearning solutions.
Let’s dive into what they’ve been working on.
Murphy Wrightson
Junior Creative Developer
“My year at Dynamic has met and surpassed my hopes for what a placement year could be, and it’s been an invaluable experience.”
Sam Lowe
Junior Creative Developer
“I’ve learnt a wide range of development and design skills since being here.”
Hannah Harker
Junior Creative Developer
“Placement has been a real breath of fresh air before returning to my final year.”
Paddy Mackenzie
“Hi, my name is Paddy and I’m from Manchester. I’m studying Creative Media Technology at Leeds Beckett University and have been working as a Junior Creative Media Designer at Dynamic for the past 12 months.
I have particularly enjoyed the design aspects of the course so far, especially any projects which have involved creating motion graphics and using 3D software to produce models and animations, so it felt right to apply for the Junior Creative Media Designer placement role here at Dynamic. I also previously studied Music Production at Leeds Beckett so have an understanding of the role of music within digital media and the technicalities involved in creating tracks and using recording equipment to capture live sound.”
Tell us about your time as a placement…
“During the past year working at Dynamic, I feel like I have developed enormously across so many areas, from hard technical skills to transferrable soft skills like time management and collaboration. My experience working with both the designers on the team and with colleagues in other roles across the business, has taught me a lot about how the business runs and has given me an appreciation for the importance of each stage of the process. I have not felt like a placement this past year, I have felt like a respected member of the team whose input and contributions are just as valuable to the team as anyone else.”
“Paddy has demonstrated great creativity and commitment in the development of a bagel-themed animated character to use in key project for a new client. I was really impressed with the originality of his early prototypes, and the care and persistence he showed in refining the final model and adapting it for use in a range of animated scenarios.”
Dominic Rogerson
Project Manager
What have you enjoyed the most about your placement?
“My favourite part of the placement has been the client film shoots. As designers, we have the opportunity to travel all around the country to visit our clients and capture footage in a range of forms. This involves taking our filming equipment to large production facilities, offices, hospitals, sports grounds etc. to record anything from sit-down podcasts and interviews to high energy paramedic operations or staging scenes in public places. These days can be exciting and have given me invaluable, hands-on experience working closely with clients and actors whilst practising my technical skills with cameras, lights, microphones etc. something I would not have had if I didn’t choose to apply for this placement role. After the shoots we take all of our footage back to the office for editing, which is a really rewarding experience seeing how well the shots come out.”
What advice would you give someone who’s considering a student placement?
“Throw yourself into it! It’s impossible to know exactly what skills and experience you will gain from a placement beforehand; you just need to go in with an open mind and enthusiasm to learn. One great benefit of Dynamic is that they will spend time finding out what skills and experience you currently have, so that they can help you to work to your strengths and do what you enjoy, whilst also giving you the opportunity to develop the skills you’re keen to improve.”
And your favourite piece of work?
“My favourite overall project was for Warburtons. I was tasked with creating an animated 3D bagel character which helps to lead users around the training course. I got to go to Warburtons HQ to capture footage in the warehouse and office buildings, and we even got to film the CEO. The project helped me to develop my 3D skills in Blender massively, whilst also using After Effects to combine the 3D work with the footage captured at the site, collaborating with the team to produce engaging learning content.”
Murphy Wrightson
“Hi, I’m Murph and I’m from Manchester but I moved to Leeds to study Creative Media Technology at Leeds Beckett University. I’m just about to complete my placement year at Dynamic, where I’ve been working as a Junior Creative Developer. It’s acted as a sandwich year between my second and third years at university.
When I started university, I was determined to take a placement year. I wanted to be able to learn new skills and develop my practical and professional application, before entering my final year. Dynamic seemed like a brilliant place to do this, so I applied and after two interviews, I got the role.”
Tell us about your time as a placement…
“It’s such a warm and welcoming environment and you’re treated as an important part of the team from day one. I feel I have advanced both personally and professionally during my time here – from being trained on brand-new software to being assigned dedicated time to improve skills I find challenging. I’ve also been given the opportunity to speak directly with clients, allowing me to also progress my confidence and communication even further. My year at Dynamic has met and surpassed my hopes for what a placement year could be, and it’s been an invaluable experience.”
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Murphy on several projects during his time at Dynamic as a placement student.
I’d say the most notable, has been World Rugby, where Murphy has been the lead developer on several different builds using the authoring tools Evolve and Articulate Storyline. In addition to this, he’s been a constant and reliable point of support when we’ve needed to turn client amends around, often at short notice.
His ability to work at speed, combined with his eye for detail and understanding of our clients expectations, makes him a project managers dream and ensures the quality of his work is of a high level.
Really happy that Murphy will be joining us full time at the end of his studies.”
David Pryde
Project Manager
What have you enjoyed the most about your placement?
“I really enjoy the variability of each workday and the range of projects I’ve had the opportunity to work on as a result. Being able to work on live projects for a variety of real clients has massively improved my confidence in myself and my skills. It’s great to be able to look back and recognise the progress I’ve made in my time here.”
What advice would you give someone who’s considering a student placement?
“Just go for it! I’ve found that during my placement, my confidence in my abilities has increased. As well as this, my time-management, organisational, problem-solving and interpersonal skills have all dramatically improved. A placement is a great opportunity to gain real-world experience in the creative industry whilst giving you space to explore your career goals.”
And your favourite piece of work?
“I really enjoyed working on research and development for the new Storyline AI tool. I had the opportunity to test the new features and evaluate their usefulness to us, whilst also showcasing some of the skills I’ve learnt over the past few months. This allowed me to create a visually engaging and interactive module that I got to share this with the rest of the development team.
The Women’s Rugby World Cup module pushed my development skills and was one of the most complex modules I’ve built during my time here. It’s one of the most rewarding too though, seeing all the progress I’ve made since the start of my placement.”
Sam Lowe
“Hi, my name is Sam, I’m 36 and I live in Leeds. I decided to have a career change from being a Dental Nurse for the last 14 years and I returned to university aged 32 to study Creative Media Technology at Leeds Beckett. Becoming a mature student was a little scary, but making the change has been the best decision I’ve made in a long time.”
Tell us about your time as a placement…
“Getting a placement at Dynamic as a Junior Creative Developer has also really helped me build my confidence and affirm that it was a good move. Everyone is so friendly and supportive if you’re ever unsure about anything. There is always someone on hand to help you out.”
“Sam has made a really great impact during her placement year, working on a wide range of development tasks for a variety of clients. Sam also played an active role in scripting up some learning materials and produced some excellent written content to help start the collaboration process with the client.”
Lisa Johnson
Projects Director
What have you enjoyed the most about your placement?
“I’ve learnt a wide range of development and design skills since being here and I have discovered areas that I didn’t know I’d be interested in, such as scripting content.”
What advice would you give someone who’s considering a student placement?
“I would always highly recommend applying for placement opportunities. The knowledge and experience you will gain whilst working in the industry for a year will help so much in your final year of university. If things go well, you might also get a job offer after university which helps take the worry out of finding employment afterwards.”
And your favourite piece of work?
“My favourite piece of work so far has actually been a scripting piece, which I have also design into a storyboard which can then be developed. I also really enjoy building elearning content for any healthcare and NHS projects.”
Hannah Harker
“Hi, I’m Hannah and I moved from Scarborough to Leeds to study Creative Media Tech at Leeds Beckett University. I am currently doing a placement year at Dynamic as a Junior Creative Developer.
I initially came from a strong design background with a small interest in front-end development. When I finished my Foundation year in Art and Design, I knew that coming to university would help me learn skills in development and doing a year in industry would really help put those skills into practice. For that reason, Dynamic looked like the perfect fit for me as an aspiring creative and developer.”
Tell us about your time as a placement…
“My time at Dynamic has been incredible. I’ve learnt so much and the people have been so supportive. It’s been so interesting to see the stages of what makes an engaging digital learning experience and I’ve had the chance to collaborate with incredibly talented designers, developers and project leaders to make it all possible.
Placement has been a real breath of fresh air before returning to my final year. With the skills I’ve learned at Dynamic, I know I can go back to university with confidence.”
“The Football Association (The FA) commissioned dynamic to create a new eLearning module on sexual harassment in the workplace. New protections from sexual harassment came into force in the UK in October 2024, so The FA wanted to ensure it was communicating this important legislative update, to its approximately five thousand colleagues based across the UK.
Due to hearing great things about Hannah’s design ability and strong development skills, I asked to work with Hannah on the creation of the module. Hannah was given The FA brand guidelines and some previous modules developed for The FA by dynamic as a starting reference point. Working with a script with minimal instructional design applied, Hannah took on the design and development of the module in the Evolve authoring tool with great care and attention. I was very impressed with the way Hannah followed the brand guidelines to the letter and the speed at which she was able to work. The Evolve development was first rate, with very minimal amends from me on first review. Hannah has a great attention to detail and shows clear pride in the quality of her work. Client feedback from The FA was also extremely positive, with very few design or development-based amends requested. All in all, this was a great project to work on with Hannah and I wouldn’t hesitate to work with her again on any design and development projects.”
Dan Blades
Project Manager
What have you enjoyed the most about your placement?
“Despite being a placement, you don’t feel like one which is great because you have the chance to be involved in so many projects and even be lead developer in some of them. I have been able to work on projects throughout their different stages, including designing, development, testing, getting projects over the line and seeing the final product on our LMS. I’ve also loved being inspired by others and seeing how we use code creatively to craft bespoke digital experiences. I’ve even looked into developing my understanding of JavaScript and how to use GSAP to build interesting animations into modules to elevate user experience.”
What advice would you give someone who’s considering a student placement?
“If you’re looking to get experience and level up your work, then you should absolutely do a placement year. There are so many benefits of taking a placement year that you can guarantee you will be in a much better position when returning to university. Dynamic are great at giving you opportunities to learn and improve your skills and support you throughout.”
And your favourite piece of work?
“Creating the Storyline template for Warburtons, a Storyline quiz for World Rugby and an Evolve module for The FA.”
Start your career at Dynamic.
At the beginning of every year, we offer exciting placement opportunities in Leeds for students to immerse themselves in the world of digital learning. It’s part of our commitment to innovation and supporting future talent. Over 30 placement students have launched their careers at Dynamic. Could you be next?
Want to find out more about the placement opportunities at Dynamic? Head over to our placement page for more information.
