05.08.08
University College Falmouth in top ten for graduate employment
Cornwall's leading University College for Art, Design, Media and Performance has been declared the sixth best Higher Education Institution in the country for graduate employment.
94.3% of University College Falmouth's graduates had gained employment or taken up further study within six months of leaving the institution in 2006/2007, according to performance indicators released recently by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
Falmouth is renowned for its academic quality, and all of its courses emphasise the vital importance of work placements and contact with the creative industries every step of the way – a focus that has prepared thousands of graduates for successful careers.
Miranda Hicks gained employment as Assistant Print Designer at leading clothing brand, Joules in Market Harborough, only one month after graduation from BA(Hons) Textile Design this June. "The full-time position that I now have is down to the two-week work placement that I did last summer and the quality of my portfolio," explains Miranda. "I did a two-week work placement during my holidays, which meant I could demonstrate some of my skills, and got to know the design team," she adds. "As a result, I was interviewed for a paid three-month placement, but when I arrived, the company's situation had changed, a full-time position had become available, and I was offered it. The combination of a positive placement and the skills I learnt on my course about the design process helped me secure the job."
The College also focuses on teaching transferable skills – such as communication, project management, planning and an understanding of business – to prepare students for a wider range of roles in the outside world. This has prepared fellow BA(Hons) Textile Design graduate, Victoria Luxford, for a management role at Lawsons, a family business in Devon that retails goods for the domestic environment across four stores and a website.
"I work within one of the branches as a supervisor and am currently undergoing a management training programme to set me up for a higher management role within the next few years," says Victoria. "Although it is very different from being a textile designer, what I have learnt during my degree has set me up well for a future in business," she adds. "I am able to use my project management and planning skills, which were an essential aspect of my course, to enhance my management capabilities. As a specialised weaver I aim to use this experience as a stepping stone to guide me into the business side of textile design within the buying and ordering sector."
Another recent BA(Hons) Textile Design graduate, Mary Lowe, will be working with Tom Cody in New York at his eponymous print studio. "Studying at Falmouth has given me both the abilities and confidence to enter the textile design industry," comments Mary. "On the recommendation of my tutor, I applied for work experience with Tom Cody Design in 2007, and completed three months in the summer between my second and third years. I was then offered a full-time position in the New York office once I had graduated."
Falmouth's Spatial Designers are also achieving wide ranging success. "From design studios to architectural practices, graduates from Falmouth's BA(Hons) Spatial Design course find employment quickly and do well," says Co-Course Leader, Andrew Harbert. "To name but a few, Tim Miller from Mabe is working at leading design studio, Heatherwick, in London; Charlotte Burden is employed by GHK architects in Plymouth, Suzy Clyne is working at Harrison Sutton Architects in Totnes and Pete Bragg is employed by LDA Design in London."
Likewise, graduates from the College's BA(Hons) in 3D Design go on to greater things, with the likes of award-winning product designer, Jethro Macey; furniture company, Sixixis; and Hamley's toy designer, Stacey Dix, making their mark on the design industry, both nationally and internationally.
Graphic Design enjoys a similarly impressive track record with its graduates achieving prominence in the UK's leading design studios. As Bruce Duckworth, partner at Turner Duckworth, the international design consultancy, says in his external examiner's report this year: "Graphic Design at Falmouth is a top tier course with top students emerging every year. The course is regarded in the industry as a significant player in producing very employable graduates, and had yet another great year of winning national and international design awards. Winning awards provides huge student confidence and great pride in the course internally and externally."
This calibre of industry interaction is also one of the most important aspects of Falmouth's BA(Hons) Illustration course. Students not only learn their craft and develop their individual styles but also learn how to promote their work by producing websites as part of their coursework; how to pitch their work to authors' agents across the world; and how to negotiate commissions and work placements, long before they graduate.
"One of the many unique aspects of our Illustration degree is our annual trip to New York," explains Course Leader, Alan Male. "No other course in the country offers its third years the chance to pitch their portfolios to agents in New York, amongst whom are some of the toughest to please," he adds. "Most agents wouldn't even open their doors to students, but because of the eminence of our teaching staff, all of whom have been published internationally, they are willing to offer feedback and advice, and offer commissions, because they know that Falmouth students can be trusted to deliver quality and a distinctive style every time."
Examples of this success are impressive: John Aggs, who graduated two years ago, is currently illustrating a graphic novel for bestselling author, Philip Pullman. Juliet Percival, who graduated in 2002, can be seen on television as the leading medical illustrator on Channel 4's series of live anatomy shows with Gunther von Hagens. Joel Stewart, who graduated in 2000, has achieved rave reviews for the mixed-media illustrations he created for 'The Adventures of a Nose' by Viviane Schwarz and the classic poem, 'Jabberwocky' by Lewis Carroll. Kasia Dudziuk, who graduated in 2006, is designing children's books for leading publisher, Egmont, whilst Ben Mounsey, who graduated last year, is an artworker for Cartoon Network.
First-year students are also encouraged to think commercially as soon as they enrol.
One year in, BA(Hons) Press Photography students have already caught the attention of both publishers and industry professionals. Magnum, the celebrated photographers' agency, has already selected the course for its educational partnership programme, and all first-year students have earned money from having their photographs published, with new commissions coming in all the time.
According to Course Leader, Mal Stone, it's that attitude towards professionalism that sets the course and its students apart. "We want to make sure that students on this course get something special; a head-start in a challenging industry, with the very best resources, contacts and experience at their fingertips. That, and actually getting out there and shooting great pictures, is the best way of preparing them for the future."
First-year students on the College's new BA(Hons) Fashion Design and BA(Hons) Performance Sportswear Design courses are also leading the way by winning competitions run by industry giants such as Lee Cooper and responding to live briefs set by global fashion brands via video conferencing.
Following Falmouth's recent merger with Dartington College of Arts, Performance graduates are no exception in this catalogue of success.
BA(Hons) Choreography graduate, Beatrice Jarvis, has been commissioned by The Rough Guide to take photographs in China; BA(Hons) Theatre graduates, Sarah Ruff and Martin O'Brien and BA(Hons) Music graduate, Ed Currie have been awarded funding from Arts Council England South West to showcase contemporary clowning at the Bristol Harbour Festival; performance collective, Living Structures, has won a residency at the Battersea Arts Centre in London, and MA Contemporary Music graduate, Matthew Kerr, the renowned producer and musician who goes under the name of MaJiKer, has co-written and co-produced albums with the French singer, Camille, appeared on 'Later... With Jools Holland' and toured the world over.
For Media, the story is the same. Achievement is its watchword. From household names such as Matthew Amroliwala (BBC Newsreader and co-presenter of Crimewatch), Fergus Walsh (BBC Science Correspondent) and Angus Walker (ITN News) from MA Broadcast Journalism, to MA Television Production graduates, Toby Lobb and Tom Eldridge who founded award-winning film production company, ikandi:media; from BA(Hons) Film graduate, Dan Johnson, who has forged a successful career in the film industry to MA Professional Writing graduate, Elfrea Lockley, whose upbeat look at motherhood, 'Things to Do Now That You're a Mum', has just been published by Octopus Publishing's Spruce imprint, it's just one long tradition of success.
As Director of Media, Paul Inman explains: "At Falmouth we punch above our weight. Our good standing in recent university league tables confirms what we've known for a number of years. To be placed in the top 10 universities for graduate employment in the UK is a tremendous achievement and reflects our new status as a Skillset Media Academy. We work directly with employers and our students engage in live projects and professional placements during their studies. We hope to ramp up this aspect of our operation with EU Convergence funding in the coming years."
Another manifestation of this is the College's wish to establish an Academy of Innovation & Research to foster entrepreneurialism and dynamic collaborations between graduates and industry, as a positive contribution to Cornwall's continuing social, economic and cultural regeneration as a creative hub.
Whatever you aspire to in terms of a future career, there is nowhere like Falmouth for giving you that professional edge to help you stand out from the crowd.
In April 2008, University College Falmouth merged with Dartington College of Arts to create a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing.
The merger will pave the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall in 2012, creating a Higher Education institution unique to the South West.
University College Falmouth is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, 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.
For further information about University College Falmouth, and study opportunities for 2008 entry, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/clearing.
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). University College Falmouth is a partner of the CUC.
Editor's notes:
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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