06/11/09

Skillset Media Academy Wales becomes Wales’ first accredited Media Academy

A collaboration comprising of four universities, has become Wales’ first Media Academy to be accredited by Skillset, the sector skills council for the audio-visual industries in the UK. 

Co-ordinated by the University of Glamorgan’s Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries, the Media Academy Wales also involves Aberystwyth University, Cardiff University and the University of Wales, Newport , and supports undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in animation, documentary and fashion photography, television, radio and media production, broadcast and online journalism as well as digital  media and games design. 

The Skillset Media Academy Network is a UK-wide group of Centres of Excellence in creative media education and training. The institutions in the network have been identified by Skillset on behalf of the UK television and interactive industries.

The unrivalled reputation of the Academy network provides the ideal environment for the development of leading edge creativity, innovation and talent.

Dinah Caine, Skillset’s Chief Executive, said: “It is great news that Skillset’s strong network of Media Academies is extending into Wales, with an exciting collaboration between a number of universities. The new Skillset Media Academy Wales offers excellent leadership and solid plans to provide students with a large breadth of skills, as part of our commitment to developing a new wave of media talent.”

The Media Academy Co-ordinator, Professor Stephen Lacey of the University of Glamorgan, said ‘The Media Academy will bring real benefits to our students and staff. We are now part of a UK-wide network of Academies, linked to the most up-to-date thinking about media education, and with a national and international reach. The Media Academy will help us fulfil our mission to help prepare students to work in the media industries, which are vitally important, culturally and economically, to the future of Wales.’

The new Media Academy is the sister organisation of the Screen Academy Wales, which was set up in 2005 and is now an integral part of the film support structure in Wales. The Media and Screen Academies will be working closely to draw on best practice developed over the last 5 years to draw on the already excellent support garnered from within the film and animation industry. The first significant collaboration between the two Academies will be the Skillset Academy+ programme of training for the creative media industry in Wales, to be launched in November.

Notes
Skillset is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for Creative Media which comprises TV, film, radio, interactive media, animation, computer games, facilities, photo imaging and publishing. SSCs are licensed by the UK Government and by Ministers in the devolved administrations to tackle the skills and productivity challenge by sector. They are independent, UK-wide organisations, are employer-led, and actively involve trade unions, professional bodies and other stakeholders in the industry.