13.12.07
Falmouth selected to become part of first Skillset Media Academy in the South West

In a week that has seen University College Falmouth's Broadcasting and Graphic Design students excel in leading national awards schemes such as the Royal Television Society's Regional Awards and the FutureTalent Awards, today, the College becomes the first Skillset Media Academy in the South West as part of the world's first Media Academy Network.

This innovative national network of excellence was launched on behalf of Skillset – the UK Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries – in London today by Culture Minister, James Purnell and Skills Minister, David Lammy, together with leading figures from the media and academia – to create a national footprint of colleges and universities to work with industry in developing a new wave of talent to create the Facebook, You Tube and Bebo-style concepts and media content of the future.

Staff from University College Falmouth's undergraduate and postgraduate media courses, and BA(Hons) Graphic Design, which has also won recognition as part of Falmouth's Skillset Media Academy Network status, together with partners from Cornwall College and Truro College, will attend today's launch of the new Skillset Media Academy Network. After presentations by former Director General of the BBC, Greg Dyke and ministers, University College Falmouth's Director of Media, Paul Inman, will be presented with an award confirming the College's status as one of just 17 Skillset Media Academies in the UK, and the first Skillset Media Academy in the South West.

"UniversityCollegeFalmouth is delighted to be recognised as a centre of excellence in the field of vocational education and training for the media industries in the UK," commented Paul Inman. "Our new official status as a SkillsetMediaAcademy will enable us to attract more students to the College and invest in visiting speakers and lecturers of the highest calibre," he added. "It will also mean that we can focus on a number of strategic projects relating to IPTV and emerging media technologies which are changing the face of media around the world."

University College Falmouth will later celebrate the announcement of its Skillset Media Academy status at a glittering event at Chelsea Football Club, to which its many media and graphic design graduates have been invited to attend.

The Skillset Media Academy Network is made up of 17 Academies, drawing together creative education partnerships from 43 colleges and universities across the UK. The institutions in the network are already centres of excellence in television production and interactive media.

This is the first attempt anywhere in the world to 'hardwire' collaborative partnerships between the media industries and academia into the fabric of national education infrastructure.

The network will see world-leading academics, content creators, computer games developers, software programmers and creative artists working with industry to develop talent, creativity and business ideas to exploit new technologies and opportunities in broadcast television and interactive media. The engagement of industry will be at the highest level.

Sir Christopher Frayling, Chairman of the Arts Council of England, Rector of the Royal College of Art and noted commentator on culture and media, said: "The creation of the SkillsetMediaAcademy Network is a big step forward for Higher Education in the UK. With the new technologies in media and communications, we now find ourselves in a world that doesn't have borders and boundaries, a place of online social networks where people 'put their lives online' and increasingly use interactive media applications to navigate their way through everyday living. The space of places is making way for the space of flows.

"Pioneers and innovators, in this digital and interactive world, will play a key role – creative men and women from wide and varied backgrounds with the skills, information and knowledge to harness existing and create new media technologies for the benefit of all of us. It is absolutely fundamental that we lay down the educational infrastructure bringing together our finest minds, entrepreneurial flair and the best technical know-how. It's a question of convergence. The SkillsetMediaAcademy Network represents a new approach for a new digital age."

Greg Dyke, former Director General of the BBC, Skillset patron and chair of the Media Academy approvals panel, said: "We live in a very competitive world where one good idea can see a person move from mum's garage to global media magnate virtually overnight. The problem for the UK, though, is that a lot of people all over the world are having good ideas in television and interactive media! Good ideas are simply not enough – they have to be world-beating! This is where education and industry collaboration can play a crucial role.

"Media organisations are all about ideas and doing the unthinkable – going left when the herd veers right. You're looking for people who do things very differently. You go into a college or university in the SkillsetMediaAcademy Network and you find people who are working with industry and doing remarkable things that aren't predictable, and that's what you're looking for all the time.

"We are talking about the next wave of talent, the people who are going to come up with the next Facebook or You Tube and brilliant interactive entertainment concepts. It makes absolute sense for media companies to have partnerships and collaborations with the best academics and the best talent in a network that has benchmarked standards of excellence."

The Rt Hon James Purnell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: "The collaboration between Skillset, Industry and Higher and Further Education must be applauded for its strategic thinking, insight and commitment in establishing the SkillsetMediaAcademy Network. The partnership will guarantee a continuous flow of talent, creativity and business ideas to fully exploit the opportunities of the digital age."

David Lammy MP, Minister for Skills, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said: "The SkillsetMediaAcademy Network is the realisation of a new tradition of partnership between industry and Higher Education. I applaud the initiative taken by Skillset in building the key relationships that are needed to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of global competitiveness."

Dinah Caine, CEO of Skillset, said: "We live in a digital age where people can access information, ideas and entertainment wherever they want and whenever they want. It is a time of i-Pods, Bebo, Facebook, You Tube and broadcast television online. People can download movies and music to mobile phones, enjoy the best of British television on the internet, and even share their own video clips with an audience of millions through social network sites.

"We are experiencing unprecedented change in our television and interactive media industries. And where there is change, there is always opportunity. We can proudly say that the UK is taking a leading role in how this digital future is taking shape. But we have to get better at what we do, and the way we do it to stay ahead of a very competitive international field."

Kate O'Connor, Skillset Deputy CEO and Executive Director of Policy & Development, said: "In this new world, the UK is up against fierce international competition. The focus can no longer be about 'Education', on the one hand, and 'Industry-led demand for Skills' on the other – the infrastructure for a more holistic approach is needed and the SkillsetAcademy Network model is delivering that vision. The SkillsetMediaAcademy Network is providing the blueprint for how industry and education can work together, harnessing collective resources and knowledge into a tangible network to unleash a powerful new force in creative education in the UK."

Clive Jones CBE, Skillset Chair, Chairman of GMTV, and Chairman of Two Way TV, said: "The industry support behind the SkillsetMediaAcademy Network is a who's who of leading and innovative media organisations. There's a simple reason for this – broadcast and interactive media organisations know the crucial importance of creating the human and intellectual capital needed in a fast-changing environment where traditional media is crossing over to new media with content across many platforms."

For further information about Media courses and BA(Hons) Graphic Design at University College Falmouth, please visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/media or www.falmouth.ac.uk/graphicdesign, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or contact Admissions on 01326 213730.

For further information please contact Jilly Easterby, Head of Public Affairs, University College Falmouth on 01326 213792 or email jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) project, both Phase 1 and Phase 2, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). UniversityCollegeFalmouth is a partner of the CUC.

Editor's notes:

1. High-resolution jpeg images of University College Falmouth's celebration event at Chelsea Football Club will be available from 3pm on Friday 14 December 2007
2. High-resolution jpeg images of James Purnell awarding licences to representatives of Network institutions will be available from 3pm on Thursday 13 December 2007
3. University College Falmouth is a leading university college, specialising in art, design and media at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall, a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education.  The CUC is funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall County Council. In 2008, University College Falmouth plans to merge with Dartington College of Arts, which will result in a wealth of exciting new opportunities for students.  The merger will not only secure the future of Dartington's portfolio of Performance courses and international reputation, but will also result in dynamic new courses in Music, Theatre and Choreography at Falmouth. Dartington's planned relocation to Falmouth is scheduled to take place in 2010.
4. Media companies supporting the Skillset Media Academy include: BBC, C4, ITV, Five, Nickelodeon, Adobe, QVC, Sony, Nesta, Dare to be Digital, Nokia, Bafta, Tate Media, Cogapp, Attic Media, SMG, UTV, Two Four Productions, Lime Pictures, b.TWEEN Digital Festival, Public Zone, Illumina Digital, Endemol, Chapter Eight, DESQ, Fiftbusiness, Startcreative, Airlock Chinwag, New Media Knowledge, Wired Sussex, AKQA, Tribal DDB, LBi, AvenueA Razorfish, Tequila, Preloaded, RGA, PACT and BIMA.
5. Skillset is the Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries covering Broadcast, Film, Video, Interactive Media and Photo Imaging.  Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are licensed by the UK Government and by Ministers in the devolved administrations to tackle the skills and productivity challenge by sector.  SSCs are independent, UK wide organisations developed by groups of influential employers in industry or business sectors of economic or strategic significance.  SSCs are employer-led and actively involve trade unions, professional bodies and other stakeholders in the sector. For more information see www.skillset.org.
6. The Skillset Media Academy Network (note: a number of Academies are stand-alone institutions while others are partnerships of a number of institutions and training organisations):

• Birmingham City University Skillset Media Academy
• Bournemouth Skillset Screen & Media Academy (Bournemouth University, Arts Institute at Bournemouth)
• Central Saint Martins Skillset Media Academy (Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design)
• Cornwall Skillset Media Academy (University College Falmouth, Cornwall College Truro College)
• Creative Loop Skillset Media Academy (Aberdeen College, Adam Smith College, Cardonald College, Dundee College, Perth College, Reid Kerr College)
• Goldsmiths, University of London Skillset Media Academy (Goldsmiths, University of London, Documentary Filmmakers Group, Hi8us, London Film Academy)
• Hertfordshire Skillset Media Academy (University of Hertfordshire, West Herts College, The Film and Digital Media Exchange)
• Liverpool John Moores Skillset Media Academy (Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool Community College)
• Middlesex Skillset Media Academy (Middlesex University, SAE College, Top TV Academy)
• National Film and Television School, A Skillset Screen & Media Academy
• North by Southwest: The Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Skillset Media Academy (University of Gloucestershire, Cirencester College, Gloucestershire College, Wiltshire College)
• Northern Ireland Skillset Media Academy (University of Ulster, Coleraine, Belfast Metropolitan College, North West Regional College, Southern Regional College)
• Ravensbourne Skillset Media Academy (Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication, Cass Business School, 01zero-one)
• Yorkshire and Humber Skillset Media Academy (University of Bradford, East Coast Media)
• University of Teesside Skillset Media Academy (University of Teesside).
• University of Sunderland Skillset Media Academy (University of Sunderland)
• Westminster Skillset Media Academy (University of Westminster, City of Westminster College)
• For more information about University College Falmouth visit:  www.falmouth.ac.uk
• For more information about Cornwall College visit:  www.cornwallcollege.ac.uk
• For more information about Truro College visit: www.trurocollege.ac.uk

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
The Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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