A Leeds Met student has been selected for a year-long placement to work for telecommunications giant O2.

Levi Jackson, a BA (Hons) Sport Business Management student, fought off stiff competition from university candidates across the country to be chosen for the much sought-after position after his attendance at a lecture paid off.

Earlier this year Nic Fletcher from O2 visited the University to give a Sponsorship Engagement lecture to level two students studying BA (Hons) Sports Marketing & PR and BA (Hons) Sport Business Management as part of their Sport Sponsorship module.

As well as being the current shirt sponsors for Leeds Carnegie RUFC, O2 is one of the biggest sponsors in the UK with other partnerships including England Rugby, Arsenal FC, The O2 and Academy Music Group.
Senior Lecturer in Sports Marketing, Kacy Mackreth, who helped to organise the lecture, felt the event 'would add to the students' learning experience by bridging theory and practice through engaging with key industry players made possible through contacts that are so readily available'. 

Following the lecture students were selected, based on their module engagement, to attend a networking lunch to gain further insight into the sponsorship arena. Nic was impressed with the professionalism and interest level of the students and offered an opportunity to be considered for a year-long placement with O2.

Amongst the 65 candidates that applied, only four got through to the final selection process, including Levi and fellow Leeds Met student James Mearns. Nic explained, "It was a very competitive process with a lot of good candidates. In the end Levi was selected based on his enthusiasm, initiative and his final presentation."

Levi will undertake his new role as Sponsorship & Interactive Partnership Assistant in July and will have the responsibility of supporting sponsorship managers to manage the relationships with O2's portfolio and assist in the management of their high profile sponsorship events.

Levi said, "The O2 engagement lecture by Nic highlighted a dream career opportunity. What I learned in my Sport Sponsorship module helped me progress through this application process and I look forward to applying what I have learnt this year from this module to real sport sponsorship projects with O2."