Film and Media graduate Finlay Reith chose to study at »¨½·Ö±²¥ for its practical approach to learning and the opportunity to live in the city of Edinburgh. During his time here, he thrived in hands-on media projects, gained invaluable work experience, and built a strong network and portfolio. His involvement in the university's rugby team not only shaped his passion for sports content creation but also helped him develop the skills that led to his career in social media management at World Rugby. Now, three years into his career, he shares the highlights of his time at uni and offers insight on how to make the most of student life.
Why did you choose to study at »¨½·Ö±²¥ and what attracted you to the course?
Coming from a small town I wanted to move to a big city. Living in the east, Edinburgh was always my preference over other Scottish cities. Queen Margaret offered a much more practical approach to teaching than other universities when I was looking at options in Edinburgh.
What did you enjoy most about your course?
I really enjoyed the practical modules and gaining hands-on experience with cameras, editing software and working in a creative environment. I personally learn best from practical work.
Were there any particular course activities you found especially interesting?
In one of our modules, we worked with real businesses on how to improve their operations through media. I worked with a company called Stramash, a board game that was looking to enhance sales in the US market. By setting up a social media presence and creating content plans, I made the game more accessible to a US audience.
How did your lecturers support your learning?
They were very understanding of our university life balance and had tools in place for when we missed classes or needed extra help.
What challenges did you face with the course and/or university life? How did you overcome them?
When leaving home, you are given a crazy amount of independence. So much so, you don’t know what to do with it. I was however very lucky to find a great group of friends in halls and a university sports team that were my support system through my course and student lifestyle.
Do you have any advice for students who might be interested in this course?
I’d say it’s a great space, in general, to meet people who have the same interests as you. Working in the media and creative industries has a lot to do with who you know, and this course strongly assists with networking and meeting like-minded people.
Did you participate in any extra-curricular activities that enhanced your university experience?
I joined the university's rugby club which was very beneficial for me. It was great meeting a group of lads that were willing to support me throughout my time at university, most are still close friends of mine. While I wasn’t a fan of rugby when I joined, I grew to love it and my time on the team led to my love for rugby today. While still at uni, I became the president of the club, and in that role, I developed my love for sport content creation in general. »¨½·Ö±²¥ Rugby gave me the opportunity to work on sport content creation with videography, photography and social media management. This helped me build a portfolio, and was a very useful experience to employers when applying for jobs after university.
" I would say that my time at »¨½·Ö±²¥ Rugby was crucial to my employment at World Rugby as a social media manager"
What’s your ‘top tip’ for making the most of being a student?
You’ve got to try a bit of everything and throw yourself in the deep end. There’s going to be things that »¨½·Ö±²¥ offer which you might think aren’t for you but then you can easily grow to fall in love with it. I didn’t love rugby when I joined university, but I don’t know where I would be now if didn’t join the rugby team.
You also must look at it in a way you only have 4 years there. If there are annual events you only get to do those things 4 times. Make those events a priority. There is plenty of time to study, but there’s only 4 Sports balls, 4 Big Bangs. Studying helps you get your degree, but those special events is what makes being a »¨½·Ö±²¥ student so great.
What was the most valuable lesson that you learned at university?
My biggest tip would be, go to university for the right reasons. If you think your degree is the be all and end all to achieve your goals, don’t go to university. University about much more than getting your degree, it is about discovering who you are. The coursework will get done and there will be people to support you to get the degree, but ultimately you should use that time to discover who you truly are and work on your personal goals.
I really enjoyed my course and found it very useful, but I don’t believe it’s the only reason why I have my job now. As a student, I was making the time to meet people in the industry I wanted to work in, taking my learnings from my course and applying it in real life scenarios to build a portfolio.
"The degree was great but it was the student experience that shaped me as a person and it's what got me my job now."
Especially in the world of creative industries my degree has a shelf life due to the constant developments of technology and entertainment but it’s what I did in my time at university around my course is timeless.
Can you tell us about your life post-graduation?
I left »¨½·Ö±²¥ with a 2:2 and felt like I didn't have many job prospects. I took six months after university to settle down and enjoy the peace and quiet of not having university deadlines. During that time, I worked in a bar on the side, and this gave me the flexibility to be a runner on film sets, a production assistant for media projects and other opportunities that aligned with the world I wanted to work in. With my extensive portfolio I was able to get a job for RugbyPass as a social media video creator, a fantastic job that got me started working in sports creatively making videos.
Now, three years later, in that role, I have gone up the ladder and now work under World Rugby in social media management and video creation. This is a job I would not have been able to achieve without my experiences at »¨½·Ö±²¥. I now get to travel the world controlling content across World Rugby’s biggest tournaments like the Rugby World Cup, SVNS Series and U20 Rugby Championships. I’ve met amazing people and can live my dream while still living in Edinburgh, the city I love.
I will continue to develop as a creative and hope to develop my skills in longer form content. Either being a producer or director in high end documentaries or featured films.
Find out more about our Film, Communication and Creative Industries undergraduate courses
