Event-Do CAKE Tuesday 28th January

Our friends at the Do Collaboration Hub have told us about their latest do CAKE event and news...

Our FREE monthly CAKE mornings are changing. All future sessions will be held on the 4th Tuesday of the month.

To kick the New Year off we have some exciting speakers and as always real CAKE, so please join us at our 1st CAKE event of the year :-)

Garry Campbell from BBC Technology, Distribution & Archives will be talking about Putting the BBC archive at your fingertips.  
The BBC has one of the biggest repositories of social, historical and cultural information in the world. Working with the Digital Humanities Hub and other Creative City partners we are investigating how multi-touch table technology can be used to explore and surface the archive in a new and exciting ways.

Mar Dixon founder of MuseomixUK and Dominic Cushnan founder of Mixed Reality Studio ltd will be talking about The Experience of MuseomixUK.
What happens when you bring coders, hackers, graphic designers, storytellers, curators and communication people together?  You remix a museum and get 7 innovative prototypes in 3 days! 

To book a space onto CAKE Tuesday 28th January follow the link http://bit.ly/1arGjqV

Live! From... Call out for contributions

Community radio station 107.5 Switch Radio are developing ’Live! From…’, a new Arts/Music/Culture program for Birmingham. They have an open call out to all local artists, collectives, events and organisations who would like some arts/culture radio time.

‘Live! From…’ are looking for a committed individual, or group of individuals, who would like to help to organise, present, produce, edit and contribute to this new project.

Whatever your discipline or medium, if you feel it can translate to radio, ‘Live! From…’ would appreciate your contribution and ideas.

If you feel you can contribute your time and grey matter in any way to the project, you are urged you get in touch with ‘Live! From…’ by contacting live@baddeley.be for more information.

Creative Accelerator - Business support opportunity

Our friends at Creative Shift have asked us to spread the word about this fantastic opportunity! Please read on to find out more...

The beginning of a New Year is a good opportunity to think afresh about your business.

We have 10 places available on ‘Creative Accelerator’, a new business support and advice programme aimed specially at businesses like yours. Its being run by Helga Henry, Angela Maxwell and Noel Dunne at Creative Shift. This is a free programme to you, as its been fully funded through Cluster 2020, European Creative Industries Alliance and Coventry University Enterprises.

Creative Accelerator combines face to face discussions and advice with new software tools. It will encourage you to review your growth strategy, vision, sales, marketing, finance and operational plans, helping you set priorities and actionable goals for the year ahead.

To participate you will be committing to a one-day seminar with additional time to answer on-line questions and think-through your plans. Getting involved in Creative Accelerator might just be the incentive you need … to stop and think about the next steps for your business!

PHASE I – Self guided, answering a series of on-line questions on your business strategy and current operations.

PHASE II – Attend a one-day seminar with four other like-minded businesses where you will learn and explore some key business strategies as a group AND have a 1 x hour session with a business advisor for specific “surgery style” advice and support. Seminars will be on 10th or 12th February (09.30-17.00). To participate in this pilot you would need to be available on one of these two dates. Both options will take place in Birmingham City Centre.

 PHASE III – There will be on-line and telephone feedback after the seminar with a final telephone coaching session 6-8 weeks later. You’ll get a practical action plan and specific support. You can continue to use the on-line tools for the remainder of the year at no charge.

We will ask for your assessment of the programme and how it can be improved in the future.

Simply visit www.cluster2020.pipeten.co.uk to register your interest:  you will fill in an initial registration screen and shortly afterwards, if accepted, you will have an opportunity to access the site and put in your details. We will contact you to get your commitment to one of the seminar dates and answer any questions.

If February is too soon, you can still register your interest now for our second pilot, helping a further 50 businesses from the Spring onwards.

Find out more about Cluster 2020 and other European Creative Industries Alliance activities at www.cluster2020live.eu   www.howtogrow.eu/ecia .

Thank you for your interest – we look forward to your participation on Creative Accelerator. We would really value participation and feedback from a variety of companies with ambitions to grow.

This initiative is financed under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework programme (CIP) which aims to encourage the competitiveness of European enterprises.

Funded training -MANAGING CREATIVE TALENT WORKSHOP

We have just heard about this fantastic workshop, part funded by Creative Skillset. Read the text of the email we recieved below...
 

 

LIMITED PLACES ON THE NEW MANAGING CREATIVE TALENT WORKSHOP

BIRMINGHAM

Friday 18 October, Friday 1 November & Friday 15 November 2013

This will be a unique opportunity for everyone wanting to develop their skills in managing creative teams in television, film and new media. The three day modular event will fully immerse people in the art of managing people. The aim is to help potential and current managers get the best out of teams. Offered by Skills Channel TV, this event will be facilitated by Alec McPhedran, a key trainer in the people side of creative management and will feature a number of great guest speakers.

For more information and to register please visit our webpage on http://www.skillschannel.tv/managing_teams_2013.html

This3 days modular interactive programme will take place in central Birmingham on the 18^th of October and the 1^st and 15^thNovember 2013. and will be a great opportunity to learn the best techniques in the subject, Normally, this workshop has a price of £990.00 (ex VAT) per person for the three days. However, this programme has fantastic funding support from Creative Skillset. That means the current cost is now £175 (ex VAT) for the three days – a fantastic opportunity to invest in your key people.
 

For more information and to register please visit our webpage on http://www.skillschannel.tv/managing_teams_2013.html
 

About Alec McPhedran

Alec is well known in the Midlands having concentrated much of his business delivery in the area. He is currently working on projects with BECTU, the BFI, Creative England and a range of creative businesses and individuals. Before setting up Skills Channel TV, Alec was head of learning and sector talent development for Channel4 and worked closely with Skillset, BECTU, PACT and Screen West Midlands on a wide range of initiatives. This part led Alec into wanting to do more of this type of work and it led to the highly successful Skills Channel TV. One of the first key projects was the highly successful Screen West Midlands ‘DRIVE’ project – a series of learning programmes from start-ups to existing media companies. He has a passion for helping people to achieve and is now an established trainer and coach.

What others have to say about Skills Channel TV:

“What a star you are - thank you so much for providing us with an excellent mentoring workshop for the producers forum networking programme.”

The Producers Forum Mentoree Workshop

“Absolutely not what I expected. I am so glad I came.”

BECTU High Impact Interviewing Skills Workshop

“I think if the government want to throw money at trainers, to help us learn about export (which I think they should be doing even in these lean times), then they should be putting it in the right hands. That is you guys.”

Film Production Company

“Alec, thanks for yesterday, they, and I, really enjoyed it. I could see that they got a real buzz out of it, I am sure that the event has helped focus them on their job search!!”

Royal Opera House

“Just wanted to say what a thoroughly worthwhile and pleasant time I had yesterday, it really fired me up and was exactly what I needed. You sure know your stuff and I'm really grateful for all your tip top tips.”

BECTU Brand Me

For more information and to register please visit our webpage on http://www.skillschannel.tv/managing_teams_2013.html
  

Workshop Description

This three day modular programme will help new or experienced television people manage and lead creative teams.

The key benefits of completing the programme are:
- Improved and motivated teams
- Clearer focus on direction and roles
- Improved delegation skills
- Higher profile in the sector through developed networking techniques
- Heavily financially supported programme
- Opportunity to meet and develop relationships with industry peers
- Sessions delivered by industry professionals
- Access to one to one coaching support during and after the programme 

Module One: Strategic Leadership

Exploring the role and responsibilities of managers and leaders in the creative sector

Module Two: Getting the Best Out of People

What makes people tick, how does this work with your management style? We explore the skills of motivation, delegation and giving feedback to developing creative teams.

Module Three: Getting In, Getting On

How to promote your team and develop the business side of the services they offer. Content includes branding teams, networking and setting clear direction.

For more information and to register please visit our webpage on http://www.skillschannel.tv/managing_teams_2013.html

Who is this aimed at?

This course is aimed at ambitious, new or current creative who want to learn the art of people and team management. The group will be a great chance to learn and network from others who work in the creative sector, particularly from film, television and new media.

21 hours
Duration: 3 days
Dates: Friday 18 October, Friday 1 November & Friday 15 November 2013
Location: mac, Birmingham

Price: £175 ex VAT, £210 inc VAT (For current BECTU, BAFTA, RTS and Producers Forum Members £100 ex VAT, £120 inc VAT)
Maximum number of participants: 12
Contact: info@skillschannel.tv

For more information and to register please visit our webpage on http://www.skillschannel.tv/managing_teams_2013.html

Job Opportunities - GBSLEP

Another job opportunity spotted on the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership GBSLEP website. The links to apply will go live on Monday 2nd September so go take a look before the crowds
They say..
'At the forefront of the national LEP movement, GBSLEP is looking for three talented and enthusiastic individuals to support the Board to deliver its Strategy for Growth. Focusing on project management; communications and engagement; and professional, policy and administrative support; the successful applicants will have a key role to play in driving forward this exciting agenda.'

Job Opportunities Spotted!

Rob, who's a member of the Digital Media Businesses Steering Group, emailed us yesterday to say 'Do you post Job Opportunities?' Well, yes! He'd spotted these job opportunities posted on LinkedIn and wanted to share them with the DM community.

The first opportunity is with Connecting Element, Digital and Social Media consultants based in Birmingham. They say 'We regularly scout for new talent to join our friendly team of digital professionals, which include consultants, content writers, social-media monitors, SEO experts, developers and designers.
Interesting in working with us? Call Karen on 07776 257932 or email your CV and one or two work samples to karen@connectingelement.co.uk'

The second batch of opportunities is with Red Eye, who say they are 'Conversion Rate Optimisation Specialists' with expertise in email marketing and web testing and optimisation. (I hope I got that right!). they have a whole list of jobs on their website, including this one for an Email Designer

'Email Designer / Executive – Milton Keynes
RedEye are seeking a talented Email Designer/Executive who will be responsible for the design, and building of emails for our client base. You will be creative, motivated and able to hit the ground running on a variety of tasks.'
Visit the jobs page on thier website for more http://www.redeye.com/about-us/jobs/

Innovation in Growing Cities - Nesta Event

We saw this event in Nesta's latest email newsletter... Sounds perfect for those with an interest in Birmingham as a centre of innovation

Date: 24.10.2013 10:00 - 16:00
Location: Birmingham
Join us at this major innovation event in Birmingham to explore the central theme of social innovation in growing cities.
This free two-part event will provide Local Enterprise Partnerships  (LEPs) and other organisations with the practical tools to grow jobs and use open data effectively.

To maximise the benefit of the event the day will be split into two distinct sections - a morning of presentations and conversations exploring innovating growth in jobs and an afternoon event workshop on Open Data Challenge Prizes.

The afternoon session has been designed specifically to bring together those with interest and expertise to offer to our open data challenge prize around energy and the environment and will be focused around a participatory workshop during which we will agree the challenge questions for our prize programme.

Following the session, we will issue an open invitation for ideas based on open data which address the challenges set, an innovation and creation weekend, development support to promising ideas and the opportunity to pitch for a grand prize of £40-50,000.
Speakers will include Birmingham City Council’s Leader, Sir Albert Bore and Nesta’s Chief Executive, Geoff Mulgan, amongst social innovators and experts.
You're welcome to attend one or both events but please register soon as places are limited.

Read more and book a place here

Invitation to Birmingham Show and Tell – Young Rewired State 2013

BBC and Birmingham City Council are delighted to invite you to Birmingham Show and Tell - Young Rewired State 2013
Please RSVP: digital@birmingham.gov.uk by Tuesday 6 August 2013

Invitation to Birmingham Show and Tell – Young Rewired State 2013
Come along and meet Birmingham’s Next Generation Coders


Where: BBC Mailbox
When: Thursday 8 August 2013
Time: 18.00 – 19.30
Dress code: Informal

Programme includes:

• Welcome: Catherine Hearne, Head of Regional & Local Programming, BBC Midlands
• Creating a brighter future for Birmingham: Sir Albert Bore, Leader, Birmingham City Council
• Code a better Birmingham – what next for YRS: Lara Ratnaraja, Independent Consultant
• Rising to the challenge: Birmingham Centre Kids & Mentors

What’s it all about?
Around 600 young coders will be arriving at Birmingham’s Custard Factory on 9 August as Young Rewired State’s Festival of Code returns to the city for its second consecutive year. Participants as young as 5 and up to the age of 18 will be working in over 50 centres across the UK including the local centres BBC Birmingham and Birmingham City University in the lead up to the festival. From the 5th - 9th the young coders will develop apps, websites, and digital prototypes alone or in teams using open data and will then unite in Birmingham at the Custard Factory on the 9th August for the weekend to present their ideas to Judges.

Join us at the BBC for an informal gathering of key city leaders across the public, private and community sector together with the Birmingham young coders to share and celebrate with them what they have created. Hear from them why coding, collaboration and creativity will be an important bedrock of innovation for Birmingham’s future economy and how YRS is helping them to exploit the economic, social and education potential of coding.

Refreshments and pizza!

Invitation only event: Please RSVP to digital@birmingham.gov.uk by Tuesday 6 August 2013

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY!

We all know that funding is getting harder to come by, so we were delighted that Susannah Goh of Birmingham Science City told us about this opportunity from Creative England.

The £1m pot is targeted at small and medium sized enterprises in the Creative Digital Media Sector in our region and comprises of deferred payment and/or interest free loans. If you're developing new work in the markets listed below, why not get the Expression of Interest form filled out straight away.

•     Cross Platform TV development
•     feature film production
•     Healthcare
•     Government Services
•     Games, Interactive Entertainment and Mobile Content
•     Business To Business
•     E-Learning
•     Mobile applications

The deadline for registrations of interest is: 21st August 2013. Visit the web page for more details and to submit your expression of interest.

Another fantastic opportunity!

We've had this fantastic email in our inbox this morning. It sounds almost too good to be true!

Are you a UK creative innovator? Need a grant to meet up with your opposite numbers in the Far East? Check out the opportunity being offered below...

UK-China 'Design in Innovation' Forum and Business Partnering Workshop 

This initiative is being organised by BIS/ FCO Science and Innovation Network (SIN), Innovate China UK (ICUK) and the Technology Strategy Board/ Creative Industries KTN and will visit the cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou between 14-18th October, 2013.

The mission will connect UK creative innovators and designers with their counterparts and technology-based companies in China across target sectors including creative economy, sustainability, additive manufacturing, future cities and digital healthcare.

Travel and accommodation grants will be offered to 10 successful applicants. Further information including a downloadable application form can be found on the website here. Completed application forms should be returned to richard@creativeindustriesktn.org by Monday, August 5th.

The Tales of Shakespuss -DM Opportunity

We've just heard about an exciting new project about a cat called 'William Shakespuss' The basic premise of the project is to bring the elements of Shakespeare to children as soon as they can sit up and look at pictures.

The Tales of Shakespuss have a number of facets, including a stage show which is presently the element which relates to the crowd-funding indicated on the website at present www.shakespuss.com.  For digital media businesses, the interesting element will be the creation of the animation of the Tales.  They have secured the wonderful talents of Patricia Quinn (AKA Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show), whose appearances include acting with the RSC and a great many roles including children's roles such as The Box of Delights in the mid 80s.  She is to be the voice of Shakespuss, and no doubt they'll have other exciting actors for the many colourful characters which are members of the Shakespuss troupe.


Support on any level for Shakespuss will have a tangible supporting effect on every aspect of the project, and they certainly hope they can enjoy the talents of the many professionals working within the animation and support industries in and around the Midlands.


Shakespuss and Shakespeare naturally share the same home of Stratford upon Avon, the creator of Shakespuss, Melissa Mailer-Yates, says she was born in Yardley, and keeping the creative side within the Midlands area is very important to the Shakespuss project. Support on any level would be gratefully received, particularly as they are currently seeking the financial backing in order to achieve what will no doubt become a worldwide phenomenon.

We at Digital Media Businesses wish Melissa and William Shakespuss every success and look forward to telling you about any creative opportunities that arise during the project

You can watch a video about the project on the website www.shakespuss.com

Opportunity- ITV seek apprentices for ITV News Central team

This Friday is the closing date for applications for the ITV apprenticeship in the ITV News Central team, working in the Birmingham studio. Interviews and assessments happen towards the end of this month. Why not visit the web page for more details or tweet or share this opportunity with someone you know? http://bit.ly/11dFxvb
 
ITV even have Top Tips on applying to and working at ITV on YouTube ...

'Up' your street smarts with Smart Streets - event

Designing Smart Streets – InfoLab21 event 25 June Lancaster University

Digital Birmingham is leading the Smart Cities agenda on behalf of Birmingham City Council. It is working with many of its strategic partners to ensure that we can maximise the city assets and resources and accelerate the release of data so that it can be used by businesses to create new applications, products and solutions to help the city achieve its strategic outcomes.   The potential benefits of Public Service Information have been estimated by Deloitte at £1.8bn of direct value with wider social and economic benefits raising it to £6.8bn.  The release of real time information by Transport for London has enabled new apps to be developed, promoting public usage and generating business opportunities.

The InfoLab21 event on 25 June at Lancaster University provides a great opportunity for businesses and organisations who work in app development or who have an interest in open Data to develop creative solutions for highways / street maintenance challenges and work on a competition entry for part of a £60K prize fund. The project is a TSB funded collaboration and will bring together project partners Carillion, Balfour Beatty and Amey and the small business community to explore how our highways can be digitally enhanced/enabled and, more importantly, what data might that might provide and how a range of stakeholders, particularly smaller businesses, can access the data and make money from it.

To register your interest visit:  http://smartstreets.eventbrite.co.uk/#
For further information please email: Paul.Rose@amey.co.uk or download poster at: http://www.digitalbirmingham.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/DesigningSmartStreetsPoster.pdf

3D Print event - do.CAKE 25th June

You are invited to attend the next FREE do.CAKE morning 10am on Tuesday 25th June 2013, at do.collaboration's Chowen and Garfield Weston Foundation Prototyping Hall. This month's exciting theme is 3D printing and there will be presentations from Black Country Atelier and 3D Creation Lab.

To find out more and register, visit http://docake.eventbrite.co.uk/

image credit Keith Kissel

Venue:

do.collaboration Hub
Chowen and Garfield Weston Foundation Prototyping Hall, 

Ground Floor, ERI Building
University of Birmingham, Pritchatts Road, Edgbaston
United Kingdom, B15 2TT

Job Opportunity - Creative Skillset

Creative Skillset's Jo Welch has drawn our attention to a post they have just advertised for a Training Network Manager (Creative and Digital Media). Sounds exciting, why not check it out?

 The timescale for recruitment is very tight and the closing date is 12th June. Click this link to view the details on the website, which are also copied below, so please do share, post and tweet as you see fit. The post holder will work closely with existing networks and employers to ensure best use of resource for the area.
 
Training Network Manager: Creative and Digital Media
Birmingham
Full time
£38,000 pa
Fixed term until March 2014
Applications close at midday 12 June 2013
Interviews to be held 18 June 2013

The Training Network Manager (Creative and Digital Media) will build relationships with employers, raise awareness of apprenticeships, stimulate and aggregate demand for apprenticeships, link employers with quality training providers, and support outreach and recruitment of apprentices.
Rather than duplicate existing structures, this network will work closely in partnership with business groups, such as existing media clusters, trade associations and the Local Enterprise Partnership, across Birmingham and the West Midlands.
The Training Network Manager will also work as part of a team of five other Managers serving the Advertising and Marketing Communications sectors, the Fashion and Textiles sectors and the Creative and Digital Media sectors in London, Manchester and Bristol.

Opportunity- free training sessions from Virgin Media to help your business build online presence

An opportunity brought to our attention by Nicola Bryant, Business Development Manager
Digital Birmingham. Click here to contact Nicola for more information and to book

Virgin Media offers FREE training sessions to help your business build its online  presence

 Virgin Media is working with training provider Freeformers and Innovation Birmingham to offer small businesses in Birmingham the opportunity to participate in a series of online training workshops to learn how to build a live web page, release a viral social video, develop a web app and new social online marketing techniques. The workshops will take place on three days across three consecutive weeks in June 2013 at Birmingham Science Park, Ashton.

You should consider applying for this free training programme if you are:

• A small or medium-sized business based in Birmingham;
• Are able to commit to attending three sessions, either on 12th, 19th and 26th June, or 13th, 20th and 26th June 2013 at Birmingham Science Park, Aston;
• Agree to provide feedback on your experience that can be used in case study material for other small business to benefit from;
•Have an idea of how you will use digital training to improve your marketing or business model.

If you are interested in applying, please contact Digital Birmingham by 17th May, or get in touch with Virgin Media directly at Daniel.Butler@virginmedia.co.uk or on 0207 909 3287.

Technology Apprentices sought at the BBC

Another fantastic opportunity via Jenny Wilkes at the BBC...

The BBC is currently advertising for technical apprentices based in London, Salford and Birmingham – please pass on this link to anyone interested in an engineering career within the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/careers/trainee-schemes/tech-apprentices

Closing date 20th May- click the link above to find out the details.

Radio To Go - Digital Media Business

Radio To Go's latest blog post is an interview with violinist Erica Nockalls. I enjoy Robin's informal interviews, examples of which sit alongside the occasional opinion post. If you have any interest in the music scene- local, national or international- have a look around the Radio To Go site
www.radiotogo.com

Event news -LAUNCH: Meet The Games Press!

Are you in Games sector? Then this event could be just what you need to understand how to get your story in the media, and we've been offered a great discount! Digital Media Businesses who use the promotional code 'Digital' to book this event will be entitled to 50% off the booking fee.

 LAUNCH: Meet the Games Press

Tuesday, 9 April 2013 from 10:00 to 17:30
Birmingham Science Park Aston
Holt Street, Faraday Wharf
Birmingham
B7 4BB

One of the best ways to generate interest in your latest product is to get media coverage about your game or games business.  If utilised correctly, unbiased media coverage by respected media in the online and physical press can have a huge impact on your business.

So how do you get journalists to write your story?  What makes them tick?  How has the media world changed? Should you be focusing on industry or consumer games press? How important is twitter, LinkedIn and other forums?

This year, to answer these questions, we have assembled two panels of game-media giants from industry and consumer press, including; Talal Musa, Daily Mail;  Keith Stuart, The Guardian; Will Freeman, Develop magazine, Alex Wiltshire, Edge Magazine as well as communication experts from studios such as Codemasters and Blitz to name a few.

Keynote presentations from industry experts will inform you how journalists view the world; the importance of relationship building and PR strategy.

Find out what makes them buzz, what they want to write about, and what annoys them!  The journalists will also be on hand to provide one-to-one sessions at the end of the day.

This year's LAUNCH: Meet the Games Press event is sponsored by Creative England, who will be on hand throughout the day to discuss how its work in the industry can help, including access to funding.

Read more and sign up here

Space available in lovely shared office @ Fazeley Studios

We have been asked to share this news about office space in Fazeley Studios by Sam from Mubu Music.

Sharing with just two other people, we have a space in our splendid little office available from the beginning of May at Fazeley Studios, in Digbeth, Birmingham.

The office is on the first floor of this old restored chapel, and has heating, natural light, high speed wi-fi, storage space, sofa, a gnome, 24/7 secure access, reception, and complimentary chat about obscure jazz on request.  You even get a desk, with slightly wonky drawers.

Tenants must be lovely, and like cake. Brandy optional.

Image by NickWhitworth

Rent would be just £35/week, including internet/wi-fi, office phone, electric/heating, reception, and courtyard/garden area.  No long-term tie-in.

The office is part of the excellent creative/digital hub of Fazeley Studios - http://www.fazeleystudios.com - with very nice cafe/bar, and just around the corner from the shops and studios at The Custard Factory.

Under 10 minutes walk from the city centre, Moor Street and New Street stations.

Feel free to say hello/pop in for a look.

Contact sam@mubu.eu and/or @SamwiseBaggie for more details