Charity breaks new ground with help from students

Talented students at Teesside University have received praise from a local charity after they designed its new website.

A team of four BA (Hons) Web and Multimedia students were given the task of creating a website for the Tees Heritage Trust (THT), a charity which rescues, conserves and finds new uses for neglected, historic buildings in the region.

The project was designed to give students an experience of what it is like to work for a real client. They set about researching the charity, liaising with members, photographing projects and designing and creating the website.

Tees Heritage Trust were delighted with the results and say the new website makes its work more visible and raises the profile of the Trust.

Charles Morris, Chair of THT, said: 'We rely completely on volunteers and we contacted the University to see if they would be interested in working with us.

'From the beginning the students were extremely professional and ambitious. They talked to us about what we wanted and provided a first class service.

'The result is fabulous – we have a very well presented and informative website which explains about the work we do and will encourage more members to join.'

The four students involved in the project were Tom Armstrong, Sam Stevenson, Adam Angell and Steven Dent.

Steven said the experience has given him the motivation to undertake additional freelance work.

He added: 'It has been a great project and working for a real client allows you to put everything you learn on the course into practice

'It has definitely made me more confident and it is really nice to know that the charity is happy with our work.'

Myriam Mallet, Senior Lecturer in Digital Media and the Web, said: 'We made the experience as real as possible in terms of working with external clients. The students were able to liaise directly with the charity and work to a specific brief.

'They really threw themselves into the project, going out on site visits and working long hours. The results are fantastic and the fact that members of the Tees Heritage Trust wanted to visit the University to personally thank the students speaks volumes about the quality of their work.'

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