A GRADUATE has designed a work placement scheme to help university students gain business experience.
Chris Newell, who graduated from the University of Northumbria in 2002, started his own company, TextYou, which gathers information through text messaging.
He recruited Ian Gifford, a multimedia design student, through a work placement scheme, New Ventures.
Mr Gifford, 21, helped develop three design concepts for interactive games as part of the placement.
One of them was a chat screen that allows users to send a text message on to a screen, which is displayed in a pub or club. The idea was displayed in Fever Bar, in Newcastle's Quayside.
"Working with TextYou has given me the opportunity to see how a start-up company follows a strict business plan and has good foundations in place to make sure the company reaches its goal," said Mr Gifford.
Mr Newell said: "Ian's contributions to TextYou have pushed the company forward and allowed us to tackle the problems we face with fresh ideas and enthusiasm."
Mr Newell plans to take on more Newcastle and Sunderland university students as part of his New Ventures project.
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