Saturday 21 February 2015

Festival Hack Day - BBC6 Music

Summary of the Event...

Friday 20th February 2015, 9:30am till 4pm the next day!!! 
Located at The Core, Newcastle University, Newcastle, Students and local tech based SME's attended and partners included BBC 6 Music, Generator, Newcastle University.

AIM: To produce an app that would develop their festival ideas into web and mobile apps to trial at the event. From creating personal line ups, to finding friends, learning more about the bands performing live and sharing unique festival stories – the creators at Festival Hack Day will have an open brief to look at all elements of the live music experience.team







So where do skignz fit in?

We decided to take part as one of the regions Tech based SME's, but we felt as the skignz technology platform which we have been developing over the last few years. 

skignz provides any festival with a significantly enhanced user experience, introduces fresh new tech and helps in areas where problems have only been present in the past.



  
We felt it would be unfair to 'enter skignz' so what we did was provide the 'hackers' with some code that they could include in their own app ideas that would launch the skignz tech. So we developed an onsite demo for each of the hackers to access, giving them an understand of what skignz is capable of then we encouraged them to set up their own accounts, so when they launched the skignz browser from their apps they would have meaningful content.


              

Many congratulations must go to the awesome OrangeBus team as they were overall winners with the best Hack!


Check out the story of the hack on their storify feed:

https://storify.com/orangebus/orange-bus-follow-the-music-and-win?utm_source=orangebus.co.uk&utm_content=storify-pingback&utm_campaign=&awesm=sfy.co_i0KTL&utm_medium=sfy.co-twitter

What did some of the participants say?:


Take a look at the below links all connected with the event. Lots of feedback, insight and musing about the whole event:

Hugh Rawlinsons Blog Post:
http://blog.soundwave.com/bbc-6-music-festival-hack-day/


Newcastle University:
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/item/hour-festival-hack-day-announced-as-part-of-the-6-music-festival-on-tyneside

M Magazine:

http://www.m-magazine.co.uk/news/6-music-festival-host-hack-day/

OrangeBus:

http://www.orangebus.co.uk/en/blog/orange-bus-follow-the-music

If you would like to know more about Generator NE
http://www.generator.org.uk/

For more information on BBC Radio 6 Music festival then please take a look here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e8qbj5

Check out the Gallery below for some further images through the eyes of skignz:

























If you would like to know more about skignz then please visit our website at http://www.skignz.com and don't forget to check us out on a range of the popular Social Media Channels.

Monday 9 February 2015

Are you the right person for skignz? We are hiring for varying positions.

Are you coming out of University and need that experience? Or are you ready to move on to that next step? Then skignz are pleased to announce that opportunities have opened up within the business for a wide variety of roles. 

skignz welcomes anyone to the company and considers all applicants. 


So if you or anyone you know is looking for a job or is looking for a new job, then don’t hesitate in checking out these roles and get applying as in some cases some positions have an almost immediate start.


Available Roles:


1. Graphic / UX  / Digital Designer

The ideal candidate will be:-

Proficient in the use of Photoshop/Illustrator
Knowledge of HTML5, CSS would be a huge advantage
Experience to show working with websites / Apps
Knowledge of Responsive design

Number of vacancies: 1

Degree subjects required: Graphic, 3D, industrial, product, UX, web design or other relevant digital design subject.

Location: Stockton-on-Tees.

Type: Permanent

Basis: Full Time

Salary Details: Competitive Salary

Method of application: Email CV and Covering Letter

Include 2 references in your CV. In you covering letter include which role/ company you are applying for, a short paragraph as to why you would be the ideal candidate for the role and why you would like to work for the company. Please ensure the job title is the title of your email.

Contact name for applications: Si Brown

E-mail: uk@skignz.com

Web Site:     http://www.skignz.com

Closing Date: 20th March 2015







2. Programmer/App Developer in Objective C

Skills:
Essential:-
Proficient in the use of Objective C

Desirable:-
Ability to build apps for IOS, Android, Windows and Google

Desirable Additional Skills:-
HTML, PHP, Javascript, CSS, XML, XHTML

Number of vacancies: 1

Degree subjects required: Computing or Similar

Location: Stockton-on-Tees.

Type: Permanent

Basis: Full Time

Salary Details: Competitive Salary

Method of application: Email CV and covering letter

Include 2 references in your CV. In you covering letter include which role / company you are applying for, a short paragraph as to why you would be the ideal candidate for the role and why you would like to work for the company. Please ensure the job title is the title of your email.

Contact name for applications: Si Brown

E-mail: uk@skignz.com

Web Site: http://www.skignz.com

Closing Date: 20th March 2015







3. Programmer/App Developer in Java

Skills:
Essential:-
Proficient in the use of Java

Desirable:-
Ability to build apps for IOS, Android, Windows and Google

Desirable Additional Skills:-
HTML, PHP, Javascript, CSS, XML, XHTML

Number of vacancies: 1

Degree subjects required: Computing or Similar

Location: Stockton-on-Tees

Type: Permanent

Basis: Full Time

Salary Details: Competitive Salary

Method of application: Email CV and covering letter

Include 2 references in your CV. In you covering letter include which role/ company you are applying for, a short paragraph as to why you would be the ideal candidate for the role and why you would like to work for the company. Please ensure the job title is the title of your email.

Contact name for applications: Si Brown

E-mail: uk@skignz.com

Web Site: http://www.skignz.com

Closing Date: 20th March 2015





4. Programmer/App Developer in C/C++

Skills:
Essential:-
Proficient in the use of C/C++

Desirable:-
Ability to build apps for IOS, Android, Windows and Google

Desirable Additional Skills:-

HTML, PHP, Javascript, CSS, XML, XHTML

Number of vacancies: 1

Location: Stockton-on-Tees

Type: Permanent

Basis: Full Time

Salary Details: Competitive salary.

Method of application: Email CV and covering letter

Include 2 references in your CV. In you covering letter include which role/ company you are applying for, a short paragraph as to why you would be the ideal candidate for the role and why you would like to work for the company. Please ensure the job title is the title of your email.

Contact name for applications: Si Brown

E-mail: uk@skignz.com

Web Site: http://www.skignz.com

Closing Date: 20th March 2015





5.  Marketing Executive / Marketing Manager

Essential:
  • Marketing or related qualification
  • Understanding of PR & Blogging
  • Proficient in the use of Social Media
  • Customer Service Experience
  • Responsible, show initiative, enthusiasm & dedication
  • Excellent attention to detail and deliver work of the very highest standard
  • Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
Desirable:
  • Knowledge of of Mobile technology & App development would be a huge advantage
  • An eye for good design, understanding & identifying trends is very helpful
  • A second language is desired but not essential
  • Experience is desired but not essential
Number of vacancies: 1

Degree Subjects required: Marketing, Business, Design Marketing

Location: Stockton-on-Tees

Type: Permanent

Basis: Full Time


Salary Details: Competitive salary

Method of application: Email CV and covering letter

Include 2 references in your CV. In you covering letter include which role/ company you are applying for, a short paragraph as to why you would be the ideal candidate for the role and why you would like to work for the company. Please ensure the job title is the title of your email.

Contact name for applications: Si Brown

E-mail: uk@skignz.com

Web Site: http://www.skignz.com

Closing Date: 20th March 2015



The roles above are also available via Teesside University website on the careers search site. 

If you know of anyone who is looking to start their career or further advance in any of the above roles then please don't hesitate to let them know and share this post. 

If you would like to know more about skignz then please visit our website at http://www.skignz.com and don't forget to check us out on a range of the popular Social Media Channels.

Monday 2 February 2015

Placement Opportunities

Each year current students and graduates start looking for placement opportunities to gain themselves some essential experience or even to hopefully start their new career path. And some people can find this stressful, but it doesn't have to be as hard as it seems.
There are a lot of companies out there that do start to hire at the beginning of the year, and while some may be hard to get into as they already require experience and good education, there are some that are always open to offering placement opportunities to graduates, students and the younger generation.
That is where skignz comes along.

All year round skignz is always offering placement opportunities to students and graduates. That is one of the most important aspects about skignz itself as a company. skignz believes that everyone should be treated equally and that by allowing the opportunity to be available to everyone, we are providing that equality.
skignz is currently actively looking at the moment to hire. So any graduates or students who are currently looking for work experience please feel free to contact skignz.

skignz vacancies are advertised through Teesside University as that is where our focus is. We currently through Teesside University provide the opportunity for a graduate to come and do a 3 month placement through skignz as part of their degree, hopefully with the intention of leading onto full time work.

Jeff Bramfitt came to join the skignz team this year on a 3 month placement with the possibility of keeping on as full time employment. Here is a little brief on himself:

I trained initially as a Graphic Designer then spent over 20 years as a computer graphics artist at legendary games company Psygnosis/Sony Studio Liverpool, until recession hit and Sony started downsizing drastically.  Sadly, the studio ultimately closed as a result.  In my time there I had the pleasure of contributing as a 2D and 3D Artist on over 30 titles, including classic Playstation franchises Wipeout and Formula 1.



More recently, I decided to update my skills and improve my career options by doing a Degree in Web & Multimedia Design, graduating with a 2:1 in 2014.  I hope my unique combination of recent Web Design development combined with my C.G. production experience will help me move forward in a rapidly changing landscape.

I have an unhealthy habit of purchasing large dilapidated old houses and lovingly restoring them, which is the closest I come to having a hobby. At the moment (the last 4 years) all my spare time is spent bringing an early Victorian town house on Hartlepool's historic seafront back to it's former glory.”


skignz will be looking at expanding the team as the year goes on as you can read about our 2015 plans in skignz year ahead blog post. So do feel free to apply if you are interested or contact us personally to see what vacancies are available.


If you would like to know more on skignz current vacancies then please visit http://bit.ly/1myDwzK 

If you would like to know more about skignz then please visit our website at http://www.skignz.com and don't forget to check us out on a range of the popular Social Media Channels.