Francis Nicholls-Wunder

Francis Nicholls-Wunder's Bachelor of Arts, with majors in Media & Communications and Sociology, kick-started his interest in writing and interpersonal communications that led to him become a Managing Director of two creative agencies and a coworking space.

"I chose broad electives throughout my undergrad, but the common theme was learning to write, read, and speak with a range of people about a range of subjects. These core communication skills led me to work as a copywriter and team leader for a range of businesses in the travel, marketing, and education industries.

Getting paid (albeit barely enough to keep a roof over my head) to run my own travel blog as I backpacked around the world was a definite early highlight. With my degree and some professional and worldly experience under my belt, I secured some freelance writing and editing gigs for smaller publications (including acting as Managing Editor for an online magazine co-founded by another Swinburne graduate, Chris Hawthorne) and travel businesses before ending up as the National Programs Manager at a not-for-profit focusing on cultural education.

After a few years in the workforce I fatefully met another Swinburne graduate - seriously we are everywhere. At the time, Nick Parker was an accomplished multimedia creative who was looking for a way to grow his one-man creative business into a full-blown creative agency. We teamed up, along with Kim Gardner (Nick’s partner in more ways than one), and founded Framework, a creative coworking space that helped us to build our network and create a great environment to foster the growth of our creative agency, Light Creative.

We now have a strong, young team with skillsets ranging from video and animation through to web design and development. Recently, we launched our brand new venture, Full of Content, that offers a transparent, efficient, and affordable way for startups and SMEs to build their own creative teams. We help these young businesses take the next step without the headaches of managing freelancers or the price tag of boutique creative agencies.

I’ve even had the pleasure of returning to Swinburne to sit on a few panels and run lectures and workshops. Maintaining the connections with Swinburne has been extremely valuable. Several of our staff have joined us through work placements and we have even been able to provide creative services for some research development projects.

My advice to any current or future students, as well as any alumni, is to make the most of your time at university. Whether you’re solidifying connections with people who will help your career or going the extra mile to develop practical industry skills, your time at Swinburne can open the door to career paths you never even considered."