College student creates his own career path

Barnsley College student, Jack Robinson, has turned his passion into a career by launching his own games and film design business.

Jack decided to take the leap and create his business, Lunar Effect, with the help of iTrust, the College’s business start-up programme exclusively for students.

After often playing video games and watching films as a youngster, Jack began to try his hand at games and movie design when he was just 11. After gaining more confidence in his abilities and realising his interest in his own ideas and stories, Jack took the plunge and opened Lunar Effect back in 2018.

Current Level 3 Games Design student, Jack, said: “I’ve always been interested in learning how to make games and soon realised how much I would prefer to work on my own creations rather than those of another company so decided to launch my own business four years ago.

“I have also worked on various projects both on my own and as part of a group throughout my College course which has enabled me to learn more about the different types of games I can create and has opened my eyes to genres I wouldn’t usually work on.”

Throughout lockdown and outside of his College classes, Jack has been working on multiple games at once, learning how to use new software and researching the games industry as much as possible.

Barnsley College’s Enterprise department is home to the iTrust initiative, a joint venture between the College, The Barnsley Chronicle and The Business Village, which supports students interested in starting up a business in Barnsley. Students who choose to receive support from iTrust, will have access to an array of information and guidance such as mentoring from industry specialists and local businesses and financial investments.

Jack found out about the Enterprise team at College through friends and has really enjoyed his time with them so far. He added: “They have been so helpful and enabled me to gain a real insight into the world of business; I would definitely recommend them to any student who is wanting to get into entrepreneurship.”

As part of the iTrust programme, Jack will also receive a grant of up to £250 which he will use on assets for his game projects which will hopefully make the games look better visually and therefore be more successful.

Lee Perks, Enterprise Team Leader at Barnsley College, said: “Jack has taken both his true interests and the skills he has learnt at College and turned them into a business. He has a super creative mind and I am really excited to continue to support him and watch his business grow.”

The College also offers a range of courses for people aged 19 and over to increase their computing, digital and IT skills.

The courses are ideal for those looking to improve their career prospects or become more confident using digital systems in the workplace. These can be studied on a part-time basis to fit around existing commitments and some courses are also free to study.