Being among the first to participate in our Placement Programme in 2019, TVSquared by Innovid brought in two students to help them develop practical data science skills. This also posed an opportunity to assess whether a graduate could be a good fit for the organisation with a view to making a permanent hire.
We explore how the Placements Programme has positively impacted TVSquared by Innovid. Could our students bring similar benefits to your business?
The Background
Acquired by Innovid in 2022, TVSquared by Innovid is the world’s largest measurement platform for television and digital advertising, and has access to an enormous amount of data. While the team hadn’t worked with many graduate students previously, the company founders had their roots in data science and engineering, and so had a deep level of understanding around the importance of data science education.
The company had an idea for a project which, unlike many of its projects, had clear boundaries and constraints. The team identified this as an ideal assignment for a junior role in the data space and sought a data engineering graduate to take on the task at hand.
As TVSquared by Innovid is always looking to grow its team if it finds the right talent, this was also an opportunity to assess whether a graduate could be a good fit at the organisation with a view to making a permanent hire.
“There is no downside to participating in The Data Lab’s MSc graduate programme. Everyone – companies, graduates, and the data and technology sector as a whole – sees real and tangible benefits from it. For Scottish businesses, it’s a fantastic opportunity to better understand how they can use data science internally while also giving students and recent graduates practical experience.
We are extremely impressed at the calibre of The Data Lab MSc graduate students we’ve met so far and participating in the programme has exceeded our expectations. The students are proactive and very excited to take on responsibility; their enthusiasm spreads throughout the team and brings an influx of positivity into the workplace.”
Regina Berengolts, VP of Research, Analytics and Data, Innovid
The Graduate Experience
The organisation viewed participating in the placement scheme as an opportunity to gauge whether someone was a good fit for the organisation.
Employees are typically given ownership of a project, with the option to get involved in other projects based on interest and workload. Graduates have the same opportunity, though only offered a lead position on an assignment with clear boundaries and goals already identified, to ease their transition from school into a professional work environment. Line managers are briefed beforehand to provide additional support as required.
While there is not a formalised process for line management of students versus entry level employees, increased support and guidance is available for them as is needed . Students can also participate in weekly reviews with their team in the office; and gain access to the senior team at TVSquared by Innovid to have them read and comment on dissertation drafts.
The Impact
Bringing in The Data Lab MSc students to the organisation created a growth opportunity for full-time employees to expand their roles: the organisation saw those who were interested in taking on managerial roles volunteer their time to support junior members of the team.
Student Spotlight: Tommaso Ricci, MSc Big Data, University of Stirling
Tommaso joined The Data Lab’s MSc graduate placement programme in 2019. He had experience in quality assurance for a cloud services company, where he was first introduced to data analytics. At TVSquared by Innovid, he was assigned to lead a project investigating the possibility of creating a device graph. This is a tool linking together anonymous IDs into a specific entity such as a household. Tommaso’s investigation and prototype were critical in allowing the company to understand the feasibility, cost, and data requirements in implementing a device graph in-house.
He now has a full-time position at Innovid. In his current role, he works on various projects, one of which is developing new software to help clients better understand customer demographics for more efficient ad targeting. Additionally, he is implementing new tools, data pipelines, and automation to support data scientists and analysts, providing them with easy access to high-quality data.
“When I first learned about data analytics, my initial career goal was to become a data scientist. Having gained a more in-depth understanding of the industry during my time in The Data Lab’s MSc programme, I switched to data engineering. I’d urge anyone planning to work in data to consider which of the various career paths in the industry are right for them.
The support I received from The Data Lab and TVSquared was fantastic; the teams provided a great introduction to data analytics and helped me find the right internship and, eventually, full-time position.”
Tommaso Ricci, Senior Data Engineer, Innovid