From left: Mark Seddon (Chief Executive Officer at CloudZync), Matthew Kay, Bianca Corsatea, Luke Wheeler, Catalina Chioveanu, Andrew Smith (Chief Technology Officer at CloudZync), Charlotte Morgan and Lydia Lacey.
The first British company to develop a comprehensive mobile digital wallet has taken on six graduates from Essex.
Keen to employ talent from their local area, CloudZync Ltd, which is based in Brentwood in Essex, worked closely with the University’s internship team to find the right graduates to fulfil the company’s needs and positions.
The six graduates ̶ three computer science, one ICT, one criminology, and one psychology ̶ are currently working under an internship scheme at CloudZync, which progresses into a graduate scheme.
Mark Seddon at CloudZync said: “We were over the moon with the duty of care and the high standards performed by the internship team at the University of Essex and have recommended both the University and the idea of taking on interns to various other businesses that have progressed with this. We will continue to work with the University and look forward to a positive future together.”
He added: “Being a technology company, the computer science and ICT courses which the graduates had undertaken at Essex were a very important draw for CloudZync. The University of Essex course content and application of the courses fitted much more in line with our needs compared to other universities based in London and south-east England.”
The company has founded the digital wallet, a free smartphone app which allows you to safely pay in store, over the phone and online with your smartphone. It works by customers using the app on their smartphone to pay, and the retailer accepts the payment by scanning a QR code on the customer’s phone. CloudZync’s mission is to change the future of payment transactions for the better. CloudZync Ltd’s mobile wallet app is already available on iPhones and Windows Phone and will be available to all android phones by the end of the year.
One of the successful graduates, Charlotte Morgan (BSc Psychology), who has been taken on at CloudZync for marketing, PR and events, said: “The Internships Essex team at the University was incredibly helpful when it came to my employment. They made me aware of the CloudZync internship placement which was perfect for my career interests. My frontrunners placement at the University as a Communications and Events Assistant also provided me with invaluable skills for the field. I feel that the University prepared me to be ahead of the game in a very competitive job market.”
Fellow Essex graduate Matthew Kay (BSc Computer Science), who is now a software developer at CloudZync, said: “My final year project was recognised at the University’s Computer Science and Electronic Engineering open day by the Chief Technology Officer of CloudZync. I was offered a full-time internship which has totally exceeded my expectations. I feel the University taught me numerous applicable skills to work within a company at the forefront of cloud technology.”
Susan Stedman, Employment Engagement Manager at the University, said: “We work with a huge range of leading companies and organisations to provide really worthwhile and valuable paid internship opportunities to our students and graduates. We also work closely with local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) matching the skills of our interns to local business needs, and supporting micro-companies and charities with University funding to help enable internships where otherwise they might not exist. We receive incredible feedback about how much those undertaking internships are valued and many placements have led to permanent employment.
“We are delighted we have matched the right graduates with such an exciting opportunity at CloudZync. We are passionate about getting our graduates the right jobs after University and we are always interested to hear of any companies with potential internship opportunities for either our students or our graduates.”
Ends
Notes to editors
To download a photo with this story please visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/universityofessex/9607483460/
For more information please contact the University of Essex Communications Office on 01206 872400 or e-mail: comms@essex.ac.uk.
For more information about CloudZync please visit: www.cloudzync.me or contact the Cloudzync team via e-mail: cloudzync@diffusionpr.com or call on 0207 291 0231.
For more information about internships please contact Internships Essex on telephone: 01206 872495 or e-mail: internships@essex.ac.uk.