This city's reputation as centre for new media excellence has convinced job-hunting graduates from Bournemouth University to showcase their work here.

About 35 new media graduates showed their work at the premises of Hove-based computer company Solutions Inc, hoping to impress representatives from Brighton companies like Victoria Real and Kerb with their designs and ideas.

The projects took about nine months to create with some of students travelling to countries such as Bangladesh and South Africa for their research.

The brief was to design an interactive media project.

Exhibits ranged from Third Dimension, an adventure game by Paul Speller, to Katie Andrew's interior design online magazine and Jodie Dobson's New Zealand Maori culture CD-Rom.

Course representative Elinor German, who organised the event, said there were a number of reasons why Brighton was the best place to host it.

She said: "There are so many good new media companies here and it's within easy commuting distance of London. So we were able to invite more of those companies who might be interested in our designs and ideas."

Ms German, who has designed a portal for children with special needs, said although there had been a downturn in the industry, jobs were available and the course had prepared students from the challenges ahead.

She said: "The course was always changing to reflect the real world.

We're all going to have a shock when we find out how little we're going to be paid but the jobs are there. You just need to know where to look."

Niki Strange, communications and skills manager for Brighton-based new media agency Wired Sussex, said: "I was very impressed by the standard of the show and pleased Brighton has, yet again, been recognised as an attractive place for new media talent."

The Bournemouth course is one of the few specialising in new media production and former students have found work in BBC Online and multimedia production specialists Digital Marmalade.

Ms German said: "We don't all know what we'll be doing next but I'm sure we will all be involved in the industry at some level."

www.bournemouth.ac.uk
www.solutionsinc.co.uk
www.wiredsussex.com