Undergraduate Communication on-demand videos

Hello, everybody.

Welcome to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences presentation on New

Courses for New Careers in Communications.

I'm really looking forward to telling you all about the wonderful programs that

we have in the school of communication,

telling you some of the exciting innovations we've introduced

very recently and I'm delighted to be joined by a

wonderful colleague Professor Saba Bebawi.

So professor Bebawi is actually the head of journalism and

writing and publishing. So we'll learn a little bit more about that.

I am the discipline head for strategic communication,

as well as looking after the brand new media business major.

But we will be discussing all of our disciplines and majors and just

hopefully giving you a really deep insight into what to expect in our school,

what you can look forward to.

So needless to say, there were plenty of times for questions,

so let's begin.

So the first thing that we do at UTS is an acknowledgement of country.

So I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation upon whose

ancestral lands our city campus now stands.

I pay respect to the Elders both past and present acknowledging them as the

traditional custodians of knowledge for this land and as people of great

ingenuity and innovation.

And just a few important housekeeping considerations.

Please put all of your questions in the Q&A box and between Saba and I

will make every effort to answer all of your questions and anything that we

can't answer on the spot,

we will follow up and make sure all your questions are answered.

Please note that this webinar is being recorded and will be available to view.

And if there's anything that comes up later that, you know,

you didn't get a chance to ask us during this session,

please feel free to contact us at @fass.international@uts.edu.du.

So today we'll be going over some of our flagship programs

that you can do as part of the bachelor of communication,

looking more closely at strategic strategic communication, media, business,

writing, and publishing and journalism.

And we're particularly highlighting these because we've introduced some

wonderful updates and revitalized programs to

future-proof our graduates for jobs that are still being designed.

But I'll also talking to you about the wonderful Bachelor of Music and Sound

Design and the brand new Bachelor of Animation Production.

So that's me Dr. Susie Khamis and Prof. Saba Bebawi.

So we look forward to telling you more about these fabulous programs.

One of the things I actually wanted to lead with though is a very fresh

headline.

We're absolutely delighted to learn that UTS has just very

recently risen in rankings for

graduate jobs. So agents, parents,

students take note that workers with a UTS degree are in a higher

demand than ever before.

We have spent many years cultivating the reputation for job readiness and the

really strong orientation towards industry folding,

industry imperatives and demands into all the subjects that we design and

deliver.

And this has been acknowledged and saluted with our rise in the

2022 edition of the QS world university rankings and this

surveyed 787 universities and place UTS fifth in

Australia in terms of employability for our graduates and moving it up to 62nd

in the world for graduate employability.

So something to keep in mind that at the other end of your study journey,

there is a nice planning job waiting for you.

So in the school of communication,

we actually have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

7 majors that you can choose from.

And we're really proud of the spread and diversity of these majors.

So all of them, needless to say, well,

cultivate graduates with professional fantastic communication skills,

but depending on your particular interests, your skillset,

where you want to actually land in industry, once you graduate,

you choose one of these. So we offer writing and publishing,

which Saba will speak to a little bit more specifically,

which covers obviously the worlds of writing and editing,

but also screenwriting and story development. We have, I mean,

it's not new,

but it's relatively recent addition to us where the majors Digital and Social

Media, which is extremely popular and that covers all things,

digital, all things social. And so that is one of our more, more popular majors.

One of our flagships journalism,

we are recognized as one of the top schools of journalism in the country.

And we'll discuss that in a little bit more detail,

Media Arts and Production, which looks at all things screen-based.

So if you fancy yourself a budding filmmaker, cinematographer, producer,

director, that's where you want to be.

Strategic Communication formerly called Public Communication,

which looks broadly at all sort of jobs and roles

where persuasive communication is, is what you do.

So that could be advertising, could be events management.

It could be public relations. It could be a social media strategist, again,

a really popular major.

We also offer Social and Political Sciences,

and this is really good for those students who feel like they might want to go

into advocacy, consultancy, government advising,

really strongly advocates positive social

change. So if that's your philosophical alignment, that's where you want to be.

And our brand new major, which is our first major in six years,

and I'm so proud to, to help this the Media Business major.

So this is really good for those students who feel like they don't necessarily

want to be making the creative content,

but want to be a key decision maker in how content is produced,

distributed and marketed.

And this is a really exciting major because it also includes two subjects from

the Faculty of Business.

So it's a really exciting innovation and cross faculty collaboration and on the

port, discussing that in a little bit more details with you shortly.

So the first major that we'll look at is Strategic Communication.

And this is where I've been for a couple of years,

and this is really designed for those students who feel like they want to

perhaps work on behalf of organizations,

individuals crafting strategic,

purposeful communication. So this is, you know,

often in response to say a client brief.

So there might be a high profile organization or individual who wants to get a

particular message out there.

And of course there's millons of ways to communicate a message.

And especially in the 21st century, that could be via,

a particular event. It could be a social media strategy.

It could be very clever marketing and advertising,

or perhaps a very astute brand strategy.

So if that's the kind of thing you want to do,

and if you kind of feel yourself drawn to that world of strategic communication,

this is where you want to be.

So we used to actually deliver this major sort of

as a twin, you know, between advertising and public relations.

And what we found in close consultation with industry is that

increasingly agency work is highly integrated.

So an agency will often offer not just say public relations or not

just advertising, but an integrated approach to strategic communication.

So we decided to completely redesign and revamp this major and

make it fit for purpose for the 21st century. So rest assured that, you know,

upon successful completion of this obvious major,

you will be warmly welcomed and just about any comms agency in

Australia. So I actually teach the the branding subjects in this,

but, you know, it covers all aspects of strategic communication.

So that has been recently redesigned and we can't wait to start

teaching our new material

and the other brand new major that we are really launching for the first time

in 2022 is media business. And as I said earlier,

this is really good for,

for students who feel like they want to have a more entrepreneurial approach

to, to their work, to their profession.

So if you want to be a key decision maker and actually sort of approach media

more behind the scenes, more as a decision maker, this is where you want to be.

We does include two subjects from business.

And what we're really trying to cultivate with this major are students or

graduates who have a really in-depth knowledge of the media world,

the media landscape and can really take to market

media content and media ideas with sound, business,

rationale, and logic.

And so it will hopefully produce beautifully well-rounded students that have

that nice combination of media knowledge, but also sound business knowledge.

So if you do feel like you have a kind of entrepreneurial energy or,

or an entrepreneurial business minded approach,

then this is certainly the major for you.

One thing I will point out that before we get any further is and this applies to

Strategic Communication, Media Business, and all of our majors,

they're actually industry agnostic.

And what we mean by that is it doesn't matter if you don't,

if you see yourself go into work for say a corporate entity or a

not-for-profit or NGO,

or for government or any kind of organization,

really the skill sets that you'll develop will be just as applicable and

just as necessary, no matter what kind of industry you end up in.

And that's something that we take a lot of pride in that the skill sets that we

develop are really kind of industry agnostic and a very mobile.

Thanks, Susie. Hello everyone. And thanks for joining us today.

So I'll be talking about writing and publishing a brand new

set of subjects that have come,

and you will be starting with them.

If you decide to do writing and publishing the careers that you can expect from

this can vary a lot from, as it says,

an editor or publisher script writer you could be a literary

agent and working with other writers and reading scripts and deciding what

goes for publication or not. You could be a communication coordinator,

copywriter. You might want to be a fiction writer and be a novelist,

a feature writer, or a publications writer,

and certainly into freelance writing.

We have amazing set of staff who are publishers and

award-winning writers themselves. And we continuously they,

they somehow beautifully juggle their work between teaching and also

publishing books themselves and writing.

So they are excellent mentors,

and they will be able to put you in touch with industry.

We have industry speakers who come and speak to our students.

We also have a lot of mentoring that goes on

brand new subjects include very interesting

subject, which is professional pathways and writing and publishing.

And this is where we actually have also an industry linkage with not

only national Australian writers, but international writers.

So certainly if you enjoy writing or thinking about a

publishing career, this is the right degree,

and it's also a degree that you can marry with something else.

And we can talk about that later on.

So that's that for writing and publishing,

I'll talk about also journalism. So journalism,

as Susie said, we have one of the top schools of journalism,

not the top school of journalism and the oldest, one of the oldest in Australia.

We have students who come from different pathways and

it's often expected that you can only be a journalist when you study journalism.

When in fact that's not quite true, so you can be a journalist ,or a reporter,

or producer, you might want to do more investigative work,

which has in-depth journalism.

You might want to travel and do some foreign correspondence. Part of that,

we have study tours where we take students overseas and actually practice

doing a journalism overseas. You might be into editing or writing.

We have a huge focus on multimedia and social media.

So a lot of our students actually end up being social media editors,

or video editors, video reporters,

or multimedia producers.

And we focus a lot on making sure that you understand how to do a story

from an idea up to the very last product, which is multimedia.

We also have part of our degree central news,

which is if you have a chance to go online and check it out,

that's where all our students work is.

And we had multimedia stories, podcasts, videos, stories,

and we make sure that our students also get internships with central news.

And we're also a part of two SEO, which is a community radio station.

And I also would like to add that our staff are all journalists

who have experience in working in journalism,

and we have very strong industry connections.

So we make sure that all our students actually end up doing at least

one internship.

One of the exciting subjects that we have for journalism is

a kind of a startup,

a subject where you get to pitch an idea for a startup journalism

concept for industry. So something like shark tank.

So it's quite exciting what we have,

and we focused on making sure that you get individual skills like video and

audio and writing,

and then being able to put them together in a multimedia product.

So that's that from journals and.

Thank you, Saba. Another really exciting offering you know,

that we have is the bachelor of music and sound design.

And this is and this is really exciting because,

you know, you might hear music and, or sound and think, well,

I'm not a musician, is that for me,

this is actually designed for everything to do with music and sound

except actually being a musician and, and making music.

So if you think about all the encounters you have during the day with all your

screen devices,

pretty much every piece of content that you engage with has some kind of audio

or Sonic component. And, and that sense,

that experience actually enhances your engagement with that content.

So this degree is really an for those professionals who I needed to make this

happen. I said, if you're interested in electronic time being a sound designer,

it's really about making sound and audio work for a particular

piece of content, music, production, audio engineering,

perhaps a digital media artist, or an interactive media designer,

or if you actually want to go into the media business of music and sound,

cause it's this degree, this major,

so also includes creative entrepreneurship and how you go about actually

sort of monetizing or, or marketing these professional skills.

So we're really proud of this because it really speaks to what is required in

21st century to make amazing communication content.

So the more that we engage with screens and the more that the media that we

consume is immersive experiential.

The more important it is to have fantastic sound, fantastic audio.

And so this, this major again,

is really looking to the future and really speaking to the kinds of jobs that

are becoming more important

and a brand new addition to our school is the bachelor of

animation production.

So this course has been completely redesigned,

airy fitted within fast our faculty of arts and social.

It used to sit in a different faculty and we are delighted that we have managed

to migrate that over to fast.

And so this is another fantastic addition, and this is really,

again, really speaks to very contemporary industry requirements.

There are so many jobs they're growing and pathways for

graduates who are qualified in animation, whether as a concept artist,

as a pre-visualization artists or, you know,

involved in any part of PA preproduction in cinema visual effects

composite task or production editor increasingly animation

skills are being employed literally and figuratively across the production

process of content. And so we are absolutely delighted,

delighted to welcome animation production into our, into our family.

And so this is something that I really want you to sort of,

you know think about because it's a,

it's a brand new addition to what we do in communication. But again,

it's another skill set that we know will be in very high

demand, at least for the next decade or so.

And as you might expect for something

like animation production,

we are delighted to also boast amazing facilities.

So

our students have access to world class industry

standard facilities for all our majors,

but especially for things like music and sound design and animation production.

And you know, that one of the,

the features of studying at a university of technology is that you don't have to

second guess the technology that we rely on and that we use and that we enable

our students to use. So you don't just learn about, you know,

all these amazing concepts and innovations you actually put them to

practice. So we have fantastic state of the art animation labs labs,

and a hub and access to world-class professional standards, software,

and access to world-class 3d technologies.

And so this, you know,

mastery of the tech is fat factored into subject design.

And it will be a standing feature of your time with us,

this kind of access to amazing world-class technologies.

Another feature of studying at UTS and studying with you know,

the school of communication is that we actually encourage our students to

seriously consider that a second major. Now,

this is a relatively recent innovation in how we package our degrees and we did

it so that our graduates can really leave with the widest and most

robust skillset and really sort of have a look at the

array of disciplines, majors,

and skillsets that we cultivate and decide what combination you want to take

into the world. And what this effectively does is double your employability,

because you'll go out into the world,

really having a world-class education qualification in say

journalism and something else. And you know,

it's up to you how you combine that, that first and second major.

But some popular combinations might be journalism and DSM or media

arts production and writing or social and political science with strategic

communication.

I should note that every combination is possible except for media arts

production, which is not available as a second major.

And that's just comes down to resource availability.

But beyond that you really are free to,

so they've combined the majors in a way that speaks to your particular interests

passions,

and also where you sense you might want to work or how you want to work.

So that is something that we very strongly encourage.

So this is kind of what your program will look like,

what your degree structure will look like.

Every single communication student does three core communications

subjects, and these are essential foundational subjects,

which no matter what your major or second major unnecessary to have that

lovely deep dive into communication theory, concepts,

philosophies, controversies,

and then you will do eight major subjects subjects,

your first major,

and then two second major subjects and elective choices,

or six to eight second major subjects and electives.

So generally a full-time student will journey through this program in about

three years at full time study. So it's a manageable load.

And obviously, you know, w we, we kind of design your,

your study patent in such a way that there is a logical manageable

escalation of, of not just what you're being asked to do,

but the sophistication of what you've been asked to do so that by the time you

get to your, the end of your degree, your major,

you will do a subject called a capstone subject.

And generally that's where you get to take all of your learning over the last

few years and, and complete a subject,

which really gets you to apply those university skills to a real world industry

challenge or setting or scenario.

So all our majors are really applied,

really looking to the future and very closely aligned with industry.

And you'll notice no matter what your major there is a really strong industry

presence throughout.

And we consult with industry representatives and lanes all the time for subject

design assessment design. And in fact,

notice that quite a few of our assessments are working well with real life

industry partners,

and no matter which major you do rest assured that you'll be working with state

of the art equipment and technology. We're very proud of our bone mush studio,

our journalism at all our sound facilities and our editing suites.

And we, we have a fantastic tech staff that manage

how our students access these technologies,

but it's done in such a way that really tries to maximize the opportunities for

students to use these facilities and these these technologies

as they need throughout their degree.

And some of that you can really look forward to when you finish at UTS is an

illustrious career and future.

And we know that because we have some amazing alumni that have actually studied

with us you probably recognize quite a few of these names like Hugh

Jackman. So in all likelihood,

you'll be just as successful and famous as Hugh Jackman. We've got, you know,

a famous Polish,

political alumni like tenure cybersec amazing writers like

Nikki Jamelle and you know,

people working at great organizations like buzz feed, Aisha Bessie,

the CEO of screen Australia, Graham Mason. And there's plenty more.

So we take so much pride knowing that we produced such world-class

illustrious alumni.

So why should you study at UTS?

We have over 30 years of experience teaching amazing communication.

And we are one of the longest standing communication schools in Australia.

We've been around for a while and we do a brilliantly,

we are known for our hands-on courses and our industry connections.

They are folded into everything that we do.

We are ranked first in Australia and 11th in the world of communication and

media studies, the strongest endorsement. And you could ask for,

we have the highest overall employment rate before communication graduates in

new south Wales. So, you know,

obviously we produce graduates that employers want to hire.

We are in the global top 100 for communication and media studies. And,

you know, we have amazing flexible degree options.

So we remain a popular choice you know,

for so much of the Sydney basin, as well as international students.

And the other option that you have if, you know,

if you're especially keen and really want to extend yourself academically

and professionally is a combined degree.

So it is possible to do a better of communication in combination with say a

bachelor of international studies, a bachelor of laws,

or a bachelor of credit intelligence and innovation.

If you're doing right and then publish,

and you can also do a master of teaching in secondary education

students might also study a language with a diploma in languages.

And if you are taking a bachelor of music and sound design,

you can combine that with international studies,

as well as credit intelligence and innovation.

And this is just a really tiny snapshot of some of the amazing industry partners

that we've cultivated over the years.

Huge names like Quantus the cancer council, ABC Google news,

vice media Roche Australian geographic, and, you know,

the New York times, these are some of the biggest names, not just in Australia,

but in the world. And we're so proud to have cultivated really robust,

deep relationships with these organizations.

And I believe now we have

time for questions. So Sam,

I'll take my cue from you regarding, oh, there's a Q and a, oh,

okay. I'll go to, I'll do a few.

Are there any go from the top.

Someone asked me to go from the top what's changed from the previous degree,

says Sam is going to answer this question. Sam, do you want me to take that one?

Or are you going to answer five?

You could tell us what's different about the new majors. That would be great.

Yeah. Well, for example,

the strategic communication has been renamed.

It used to be public communication and the new name really speaks to those

changes that we've introduced specifically

combining or integrating what was formally two separate streams.

So once upon a time you either studied advertising or you studied public

relations, and we had a look and thought, no you know,

our graduates of the future need to be across both because that's what the

modern agency looks like.

So that's really the biggest change that we've introduced in strategic

communication.

And we've done that indirect and very close dialogue with the media

Federation of Australia and industry advisory boards.

And so we're really excited about that.

The media business major brand new first time it's been offered next year.

And that is a direct result of consultation with industry advisory boards,

who told us that what the marketplace needs are graduates who have this

rounded skillset and knowledge base that covers both media intelligence

and insights, as well as sound business knowledge Saba,

do you wanna just cherry pick the biggest changes in journalism?

So we just sat around the table when we decided what,

how to devise and structure the new degree.

And we took into consideration industry requirements. We spoke to industry,

you had an understanding of what they wanted.

We also looked at how we can make sure that our graduates would reflect

digital skills that are required for the jobs.

So we made sure that that was taken into consideration.

So it was mainly updating our

degree to focus on digital and employability.

But also we decided to unpack a few of the subjects and make them to

subjects such as video and journalism.

We made them two separate subjects so we can focus and students can hone in

on their video skills and their or audio skills, for example.

So we make sure that we get students and graduates who have all the

skills, but know them really well and in depth.

And another really important change that we've made is how we offer and,

and kind of manage the second major. So previously it was,

there were certain conditions involved in how you progress with that second

major we've actually lifted or loosened.

I should say that those requirements are those conditions because we actively,

we want to actively encourage students to really

deep go deep into their second major.

And we're committed to producing graduates that have a really wide skill

set, literally to double your employability.

That's another really important change that we've made.

And all the subjects in all the majors have really been

revisited with with industry consultation in mind,

we've just undergone a massive redesign of our subjects because we were

up for reaccreditation, which basically just means, you know,

ticking some more boxes that we're doing the right thing by industry standards.

And we,

we embrace that opportunity to really have another look at everything that we

offer and consider how it can be improved and,

and really updated and, and made not just relevant for contemporary needs,

but future-proofing it for for,

for jobs that are literally still being designed. So, you know,

all, all our majors have been, have been updated and tweaked

in terms of prerequisite studies for communications oh,

oh, Sam's going to answer that one. And, oh,

somebody asking about drawing proficiency in animation,

not a problem that is why they use the fancy technologies that

they use. So it's not, it's not art class,

it's not like that at all. It's, it's, you know, quite tech driven,

so it would be good if you had an interest in things that are visual

and, and, and you know,

how you can communicate ideas visually and translating things visually,

but a skill in drawing per se is not a prerequisite,

not a problem at all. Thanks. could you ask the question about,

can I do an internship? Absolutely. You can. So,

so many of our students do internships and there's kind of two

ways they can go about it.

We actually have a subject called professional internship,

and you can complete an internship with an organization

and actually have that experience account for academic credit. In other words,

it goes, it counts towards your degree.

And what's fantastic at UTS is we have a central space

called careers hub.

And all the organizations that are keen to take on an intern will

actually provide like a role description.

And we actually vet them one by one.

We screen them and make sure that there is strong alignment between what they're

asking you to do and what your degree is, is trying to cultivate and strengthen.

So once they are vetted and screened, you can actually go into careers,

hub and choose from one of those organizations. And you know,

that's fantastic cause you get insurance from the university and,

and you can get academic credit for that experience.

The other thing that a lot of students do is actually do internships outside of

the curriculum. So they do it in, in their own time, maybe, you know,

during the breaks or whatever, that's also an option. But you know, we're,

we're so proud of the professional internship subject because we,

we monitor it so closely and, you know,

we make sure that all those internships and there are so many opportunities,

we make sure that, you know, it's time well spent for our, for our,

for our students and that they leave the internship with a really strong

sense of,

of what's required in industry and they've actually enhanced their study.

And I should also say that throughout all the majors and so many of our

subjects, we do everything we can to integrate work, sort of, you know, work,

integrated learning. In other words,

how can we embed exercises and assessments that replicate or recreate

industry problems, scenarios, challenges.

So even outside of the internship even within, you know,

most of our subjects there's work integrated learning because, you know, we,

we pride ourselves on our really strong integration with industry standards.

So definitely you can do an internship, we encourage them.

Thanks, Susie. And I'll just clarify the question about prerequisites. No,

you don't need to have studied any specific subjects,

just a strong interest and for animation production we do recommend

that you have a design technology, visual arts background is recommended,

but not necessary.

Could you answer the question about what kind of student assignments you'll get,

especially in media arts and production?

Yeah. So maybe arts production, is it, you know, it's the screen subject,

so skills around editing around cinematography,

really the technical,

but also artistic and creative insights you for any

kind of screen-based work.

So it also includes script writing and screenwriting,

but the, the student assignments will,

this is one of those majors where you know, that the assessments are kind of,

sort of designed in such a way that you build up a really strong tech

skills base in all things screen.

And I think probably of all the majors, you know, that that's,

that's one of the ones that is most tech dependent and tech driven.

So the student assignments will range from writing a short script.

Are there any jobs in the oh, wow. Wow.

so just I'll add to that first question media arts production.

So you you'll build up creativity skills writing

skills around, you know, writing a manageable and feasible script,

but also production skills about using the latest screen technologies and

cameras.

So they're the kinds of assignments they'll be designed around those in terms of

jobs in the field of communication. Wow.

Not only are there jobs in the field of communication, but I don't think,

I don't think the world has ever needed professional communication,

professional communicators more than it does right now.

I think it's, I think it's great to,

to be a dentist or to be a carpenter or to be a doctor,

but not every single organization needs a dentist or a doctor or a carpenter.

I can't think of a single organization or, you know high profile, you know,

important individual that doesn't need professional communicators on staff.

Whether that is managing the relationship between your organization and,

and publics or stakeholders, whether that's actually producing collateral or,

you know, marketing for the organization,

whether that is working on its website, making sure the sound is right,

making sure the visuals are right. Whether that is, you know,

being on the ground and applauding what is happening around the world or even,

you know, in your backyard. Yes,

there are fantastic jobs in communication,

and I'm proud to say that it's one of the industries where, you know,

touch what I think, I think we can count on there for some time yet.

In terms of Music and Sound Design,

I'm happy to report that in that major,

it's not actually about musicianship at all.

It's about using music and manipulating music

and rearranging music in ways that are fit for purpose for a particular

communication problem or challenge or requirement.

So in terms of not playing an instrument, you do not have to you know,

that's what the conservatorium of music is for.

There are schools for musicians who want to refine their musicianship

and you know, the art of music.

This is not that this is about working with music for professional purposes.

It's about using music and manipulating sound. It's about, you know,

using technologies to arrive at the right sonic component for a

particular communication product.

So you do not have to worry about not being able to applythe instrument.

Hi Susie,

we've had an additional question come through about how the communications

industry has been affected by COVID? Oh, wow. Oh man.

I don't think we've got time to go through all the chat,

all the ways it's changed. Look, I think, I think one that has,

has kind of affected the industry in.

So I'm going to get started also coming in here.

I think one of the things that the last two two years has taught us is

access to reliable, trustworthy information.

Isn't just important,

it's absolutely crucial for a functioning democracy for our mental

health, for our safety and for our security.

And really what we're seeing in in the last few years actually is an

absolute boom in audiences and readers and news

watchers actually actively seeking out quality information,

quality sources of information.

And I think most people are becoming increasingly aware of things

like echo chambers, misinformation filter bubbles.

And, and we now know the consequences of that. And so, you know,

demand for professional, reliable you know,

trustworthy communicators is more important than ever just, you know,

in the last year,

think of all the think of all of the apps and websites and the things that you

follow on Instagram or whatever Twitter or Facebook and consider

the effort they put into making sure how they communicate that to you in these

nervous times was reassuring was, was factual, was reliable.

And if you can just imagine how important that was for you,

multiply that by billions of people around the world.

So we have been affected by the industry in ways,

which has actually reaffirmed the importance of professional,

reliable quality information,

and that requires good professional communicators.

Saba, did you want to add to that?

You said it beautifully nothing to add absolutely support that. I mean,

journalists have never been busier. The importance of communication,

relying on daily communication. If you just see the press conferences,

the reliance on journalists to ask questions and

prod the society on

behalf of the people also the importance of

a global communication,

how that has become a it's a global problem and data and how you

use data, journalism and numbers and,

and what those mean and means you can go to the pub and have a drink quite soon

or not.

And so these are things that I think generalists are on the

spotlight,

but also communicators that people are relying on communication for their

livelihood. So I think, yes,

I think it's kind of as Susie said,

never has it been more important in some time?

And the one thing I'll just add very quickly is, you know,

in those nervous times,

when you see one person talking or one person communicating or one person

writing, there are teams of people behind that one person and it's communication

graduates that often make up those teams. So just keep in mind that,

you know, every spokesperson has a team of people behind them,

making sure that message lands the way it should.

And before we finish up completely,

there's one thing that I really wanted to highlight and talk to you about,

which is a fantastic showcase that we have about what we do about Life

in the FASS Lane. So any more kind of, you know,

evidence that you need as to why you should study in our faculty,

have a look at fasslane.uts.edu.au.

What's lovely there is you have a lot of student and graduate testimonials

speaking directly to their time with us and what they gained studying

communication with us. There's also showcases of student works.

So you can see the amazing work that our students produce,

amazing work that gets published and produced.

There are also tips from students and parents.

There's also information about local and international placements, internships,

and also lots of information about the career options you have after graduation.

They more than you realize, so do check out the FASS Lane

and with that, we're done. Thank you so much.

So thank you for joining us.

Thanks to all the team for doing the behind the scenes,

kind of work with the Q&A chat boxes,

any other questions that you think of later, get them to us,

and we'll definitely get back to you with whatever information you need.

Otherwise I thank you for your time and

wish you a lovely evening afternoon,

whatever time it is in your world and part of the world.

And I sincerely hope we see you on campus at UTS soon.

Thanks everyone.

English

 

Speaker 1:        Okay. So I think we'll start now. My name's may Hasford you can see I'm on the beach on holidays. Um, and, um, I'm here to talk to you about communication at UTS, specifically the bachelors of communication. Uh, before I start, I'd like to, um, acknowledge the Gadigal people avail or a nation, um, on which UTS, um, campus dance, of course we're spread across, uh, [00:00:30] Sydney and its environs today. And so we're, we may be on, um, the land of the [inaudible] people or the dark nation or the buddy Argall the Gammagard. Uh, but we are on Aboriginal land and we pay our respects to their elders past present and emerging. And some of you here today might be emerging leaders for our Aboriginal community. And we also acknowledge as a university, um, that, um, uh, indigenous peoples [00:01:00] are the traditional custodians of knowledge in this place. So my name's may, may Hansford and I'm the deputy head of the school of communication. So I'm going to take you through, as I said, most of the, um, uh, discussion is about the bachelor of communication, but after this session, there are two workshops for music and sound design, and there's also an information session for the bachelor of animation production. Uh, so I'm [00:01:30] hoping those of you interested in that can, um, can stay and go to those sessions.

Speaker 1:        Okay. So, uh, communication at UTS, why UTS? So we have a lot of experience in communication. We have well over 30 years experience and making us one of the longest standing communication schools in Australia. Um, I remember one of our post-graduate [00:02:00] courses in strategic communication, I think began in 1984. So, um, I think it was called communication management at that point, but we certainly had our toe in the communication water for a long time and built up expertise and reputation around the world. And you see that by what we have up here on the screen. So we were ranked first in Australia and 11th in the world for communication and media studies. That's the times higher education, [00:02:30] younger university ratings, um, and, uh, which would be very important to you and parents, the highest overall employment rate of all communication graduates in new south Wales.

Speaker 1:        So if you're looking for communication, because clearly we have fantastic outcomes for our graduates here at ETS. Um, we're also in the global top 100 for communication and media studies, and that's the QS world subject rankings. And you notice we put the sources of each of these [00:03:00] claims up on the, um, up on the slide, which is what you'll get used to. When you come to university, you have to acknowledge where you got this information and you can see that, um, you know, they're quite a prestigious, uh, ranking systems, uh, where we have that. So we can reassure you that we've been around for a long time. We're thought very highly of in the industry and in Australia and around the world. And, um, one of the things we're renowned for is [00:03:30] this marriage of theory and practice. So we're very practical, but we do that in the context of all the research into these fields that you're likely to study, um, that you're interested in studying and that research into, you know, different genres, different, uh, ways in which we might publish from those genres, uh, different, um, uh, ways in which you might create successful communication campaigns, uh, ways [00:04:00] in which you can persuade or influence or learn about, um, your audiences or publics.

Speaker 1:        All of these things are in the theory. You know, they're built up in the research and theory building that we call on to provide context for the practice that we, um, get you to do, uh, the practical skills that you learn at UTS.

Speaker 1:        So we have some very, um, well known alumni. [00:04:30] They can see Hugh Jackman up there, Tanya Plibersek, Brooke boney, who's the current, um, journalists on the today show and indigenous journalists. And, um, Nikki Gemmell, who's a well well-known author internationally. And you can see through there, we've got, uh, writers, producers, um, filmmakers are academics, uh, people who have expertise [00:05:00] in the field. So not just researchers, but hands on industry experience, someone like Saba, but [inaudible] in journalism and writing. She has, um, she has many years experience in journalism as well as being a professor of journalism and, um, having, uh, an impressive research record, but she takes, um, our students, uh, on international study tours when the borders are open again, um, you know, people get to, uh, report from [00:05:30] countries around the world, those that, um, she's negotiated to, uh, have that experience. So he we've got representatives from the disciplines in our school from journalism and writing from public communication or strategic communication.

Speaker 1:        That's a new name of our course, uh, from media arts and production. So I'm moving along the top row here from animation. That's Matt from, uh, social and political sciences. That's Chris, [00:06:00] Heather forwards from digital and social media. And Robert says, dog is from music and sound design. All of them have a lot of practical experience, as I said, as well as research and contributions to theory building in the area. So, and the other thing that we do is we, because we've got this really close connection with industry, we've got a fantastic industry, advisory board, very senior people, uh, on that advisory board. And they've helped [00:06:30] to advise us on the, uh, review of our courses because, uh, one of the things I'll show you is that you, um, you might've heard of say, for example, a bachelor of communication, public communication, but not strategic communication.

Speaker 1:        Well that's because public communication has a reputation of built over a number of years, but it's changing to be called strategic communication next year. And I'll explain to you why similarly with creative writing, that's changing [00:07:00] to writing and publishing next year. And that's all part of the reaccreditation that we do in universities were expected to review and refresh our courses. We're always refreshing our subjects, um, because we work in a very dynamic field in communication, uh, communication of media, uh, but this reaccreditation process that we've just been through, it gives us a chance to look at everything and have another go and see where we can incorporate [00:07:30] industry's student feedback, our own, um, uh, impressions of where things can change. And so we've been doing that.

Speaker 1:        So the majors that we have in, um, the bachelor of communication, so you can talk about them as courses or majors. So when you put your preference for a course, it would be bachelor of communication and in brackets, the name of one of these majors, so their majors [00:08:00] in the bachelor of communication, but they also stand alone as a course better of communication writing and publishing digital and social media and so on. But I'll explain how this works. So this slide gives you an idea of the areas you can move into with this course. So this is what we develop, where we develop your skills and your knowledge, um, so that you're well-equipped to as graduates [00:08:30] to move into these areas. And you build over over the course, you in the individual subjects, you build up a portfolio, which, um, is a very useful, uh, tool.

Speaker 1:        But when you go to employers, um, you've got a portfolio of things you've created as part of this practical course. Uh, and you can show, this is say, I can do this job. Here's a demonstration in my portfolio. So let's start with lighting [00:09:00] in publishing. So, as I said, this moved from creative writing to writing and publishing. And this is because we had a lot of feedback from students and industry saying the students don't just want to know how to write creatively. They also want to know how to publish their work. And so we've incorporated this into this expanded, um, suite of subjects in the major. So instead of six subjects, we now have eight. So that gives us room [00:09:30] to teach you about publishing and editing so that you're able to edit your own work. You practice on your own and other people's work, uh, in workshopping workshops.

Speaker 1:        And, um, and you learn where, where might be the best place for you to seek publication for your work. Um, you look at screenwriting, you look at story development, writing and publishing as an exciting. And, um, and I think it's a burgeoning area. It's becoming [00:10:00] more important. Storytelling for organizations, for example, is becoming more prominent in, um, as an area of employment. So digital and social media is where we're looking at user experience and user interface design. So how is it that you use digital and suit social media in a way that makes it more, most accessible to those people you're wanting to communicate with. And, um, [00:10:30] and this means that you need to research your audiences. So one of the first subjects you do in that is called understanding, uh, digital audiences. And, uh, you do that by finding it, how do you find out what people like, you know, where people go, um, who is it, who's using this or looking for that.

Speaker 1:        And so that is part of what you do with digital and social media. You do app prototyping, um, and you learn about the digital platforms and how best to use them for, [00:11:00] um, a client or a cause. So the next one journalism, it's what you expect, but it's more than what you expect. Journalism is not just television, newspaper, radio, it's, uh, it's right across all digital and social media. Um, so you're doing reporting of news stories. You're doing visualization data visualization and with data visualization, that's a big part [00:11:30] of the course. You, you, when you're thinking about, uh, the coverage of COVID, for example, how there views data, data visualization to help people to understand what's going on with, uh, the up tick in, um, cases. And, uh, and the, like, you know, the, and the uptick in vaccinations, which is, um, which is heartening investigative journalism, which along with, you know, that involves much longer stories.

Speaker 1:        Um, then now straight [00:12:00] news reporting and of course, longer periods of time. And, uh, one of the students who's with me today, I have two students with me, Annie and Tanya, to talk to you, um, is doing journalism. And, uh, so she might be able to, uh, tell us a little bit about, um, that course, uh, in media arts and production. So this is, um, mostly filmmaking, but that filmmaking goes across documentary making drama and all the different roles that you can, [00:12:30] um, both practice at the university, but also go on to, um, fulfill. So cinematography producing, directing pro post-production, interactive media sound, design, all of these things are part and parcel of media arts and production. And, uh, and, uh, our students, uh, get involved in each other's films. They get involved in crew work. Um, uh, we're a bit stymied at the moment with the lockdown, but hopefully things will [00:13:00] improve in a few weeks time where people can get back into crews and out there filming, uh, for their large projects.

Speaker 1:        Um, and you know, it's an exciting, uh, area to, um, study and to working in strategic communication. So this is a one I said has moved from being called public communication to strategic communication. We used to have separate streams within this, where you choose either PR or advertising, [00:13:30] but like, you'd have a couple of subjects in common, but then you'd make that choice. And students were telling us that they wanted to do the other one as well. Um, and industry was saying to us, well, really, if you're designing a campaign, you need it to be integrated. You can't have a different message in your advertising to what's in your publicity. So what we've done is we've with the expanded number of subjects. We have eight subjects in each of these majors, we've [00:14:00] put them together. So we've got some, a couple of subjects that are specifically advertising, more specifically public relations, but, um, mostly, you know, we are taking you across both.

Speaker 1:        So when you look at campaigns, you're looking at campaigns, uh, for advertising and for public relations. So you come out of this because being able to work in both of those areas, you can work in advertising agencies, PR agencies, or the, um, many more agencies that are integrated doing both. [00:14:30] Um, you can do campaign development, you can be social media strategist. You can be a writer, you can be a writer for, uh, social media, uh, or you can be a writer for copy and advertising, for example. So with social and political sciences, um, this is where, you know, you learn your learn and hone your research skills, right from the beginning, because you're interested in the social and political context in which we operate, [00:15:00] you know, both how institutions are formed and operate and how individuals, um, live and work within those. And so the sorts of things you're looking at are advocacy.

Speaker 1:        So social causes, um, you're doing research, as I said. So that goes from all histories right through to how to do surveys, how to, um, research, um, social media posts. You know, you've got a pretty broad, um, canvas [00:15:30] with research methods across the eight subjects. You learn a different method each for each one and each is in context. So you're learning about a concept and, uh, you learning about public policy that might be relevant to that. Um, and you work in policy analysis, you work as an advisor, you work in government and in the last subject in social and political sciences, they actually have [00:16:00] a placement. Um, um, all of these subjects, you can do an internship. All of these majors, you can do an internship, but in social and political sciences, they actually have in their capstone subject a placement. And, um, they help you to line this up.

Speaker 1:        And one of the options is the new south Wales parliament. So obviously working in one of the offices of, um, members of parliament. And the last one here on this side is a brand new one media business. [00:16:30] And with media business, we were responding to industry and, um, student feedback wanting to, they wanted to know about, um, uh, more about how to run the finances of the business, how to actually ensure a business, a creative business is successful. And in all of these, you really, um, you need some of these skills, you can't run a film project, you can't run, um, uh, uh, uh, [00:17:00] an entrepreneurial, um, journalism site. In other words, setting yourselves up with your own followings without understanding something of that. And so you can see that those, um, those career areas, uh, match that.

Speaker 1:        So one of the things you can do, that's really innovative in this course. And, um, I think others might've followed with this, but we've got another innovation you can choose two majors. [00:17:30] So the first your preference that you put on your UX sheet, you might put bachelor of communication, media, arts, and production, but then you can also choose a second major. So going back to that list, the only thing you can't choose as a second major is media arts production. That's because we've got a finite number of resources, um, cameras, uh, lighting, um, sweets and so on. And we can't, uh, [00:18:00] open it up too far. So if you do want to do media arts and production, you need to do it is your first major, but the second major is a complimentary, um, uh, one, but also it's, it gives you a broader scope for the careers you can pursue.

Speaker 1:        So journalism and digital and social media is popular media arts and production with writing and publishing. We can see how that would work, social political sciences with strategic communication. So you might learn about advocacy and then with strategic communication, you learn how to communicate, [00:18:30] um, on behalf of a cause or a client, um, and strategic communication with digital and social media writing and publishing, uh, with, uh, journalism. So you can see there are, uh, complimentary skills and knowledges you would get across, uh, these, um, first and second majors. But the other thing you have here with this new course is that we have the option to, if you don't follow the second major all the way through, so you need to [00:19:00] do your first major, I'm following it from year to year like this, this one, I hand movements. That's what they mean. Um, you, you do all of eight subjects in your first major, but with the second major, you must do the first two.

Speaker 1:        And then after that, if you choose, you can do some electives instead of completing the full, um, eight second major subjects. And those electives, interestingly, you now have a choice of the first three [00:19:30] subjects in each of the majors, as well as other electives. So you could do writing and publishing strategic communication as your first and second majors, and then you do three electives in digital and social media. So it gives you an extraordinary range of, um, of careers. And of course, of your interests while you're here at UTS, this just shows you the structure of the course. So you've got three communication, core subjects. Everyone [00:20:00] does those eight major subjects. So that's the course you choose in your preferences to, um, definitely to second major subjects, but up to eight, second major subjects. And depending on how many of those you do, you have electives to do as well.

Speaker 1:        So we have fantastic facilities here, a journalism lab, we've got central news for journalists, uh, for journalism students. We've got bombed mush studio with green screens and all the other equipment. Um, we've got the [00:20:30] video suites that sound facilities, and, um, and we've got the media production labs. We also have the video equipment store for students in journalism and media arts and production for them to borrow free. These courses can all be done with other degrees. Uh, so most of them can be done with a bachelor of laws that they can all be done with a bachelor of international studies. One of them [00:21:00] writing and publishing can be done with the master of teaching and secondary education. So it's, what's called a stack. So it's a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in one. So it's just that one. There there's diplomas of languages. Uh, the bachelor of music and sound design can be done with international studies and the bachelor of creative intelligence and innovation.

Speaker 1:        All the others can be done with creative intelligence and innovation. These are some of our industry connections. So we have this through guest lectures through our [00:21:30] tutors through placements or internships, uh, through case studies that we use. And all of them create links that you can hopefully build on for your graduate employment. There are many opportunities beyond the classroom. So once the borders are open, we have six month exchanges. You can go on, um, overseas study programs that are short courses at the moment, we're doing those, offering those virtually [00:22:00] for students there for foreign correspondent study to, I mentioned that with Saba who's head of journalism and writing, you can of course join clubs and societies. I strongly recommend this, especially, you know, if we ever have any lockdowns next year, I'm hoping that all of that it will be behind us, but if we ever have any lockdowns, it's important, you've got all those connections. And, uh, and you use them to feel a sense of belonging and, and feel, you know, that you're, you're going along with your peers, [00:22:30] their industry events, we can clue on student films study a language. And of course, we've got UTS startups for those who are interested in creating their own, um, creating their own, uh, business. So I want to introduce you to any and Tanya, so they're going to talk a little bit about, uh, their experiences students and how that might help you to understand what it's about.

Speaker 1:        Um, [00:23:00] yeah, I can go first, um, introduction. My name is Tanya I'm currently in my final year studying a bachelor of communications, majoring in public communication, which is now rebranded into strategic comp as well as the secondary major is digital social media. And I think that one of the reasons I chose to study communications or UTS is because you'll find that the subjects and assessment tasks you undertake are all very practical and hands-on tasks that eventually build up a portfolio [00:23:30] for you to demonstrate to future employees, the professional standard of work that you're capable of. And it's very hard to pick a favorite subject as a student. Um, I had the opportunity to work with real life briefs and real life clients. And that kind of just allows you to understand the communications industry and the very, very broad range of opportunities that are available to you, um, and to start creating and fostering those networks that may open up employment opportunities [00:24:00] for you, um, in life after university.

Speaker 1:        So for example, in my studies, I've created apps for clients. Um, I've designed websites, made communication strategies, credit advertising campaigns for many different real life brands, for example, Optus, um, Caribbean cruises modem, just to name a few. And so I feel like communication at UTS really gives you the opportunity to put into practice the things you learn in subjects into real [00:24:30] life projects. And I have to say, um, our bachelor of communications really opens the door to many different industries. For example, you could use this to go into a fashion industry, a health industry, technology film, um, and so many more. So personally I've done internships for fashion agencies, as well as health organizations and the applicability of skills and tools that you're taught in this communications course really makes you [00:25:00] a suitable candidate to go into any industry really, um, that you're passionate about, and it will really help you thrive. Thanks, Tanya, Annie.

Speaker 2:        Hi everybody. So my name is Annie. I am also our final year students studying a bachelor of communications, majoring in journalism with a second major in social political sciences. And I also do a bachelor of international studies, um, majoring in France. So, um, at the moment I am currently interning, [00:25:30] um, for the, for the parliament of new south Wales under the, um, politician. Uh Milkovich so right now I am, um, doing a lot of policy analysis for him, um, to look into regenerative agriculture. So, um, a lot of, um, as Tanya said, a lot of the work that you do, um, in, um, within your classes, you can apply it to, um, into, um, your professional career, like straight away. Um, a lot of their, the, um, research skills that I have [00:26:00] learnt in my past five years of studying at UTS, um, I've been using at night and day for, um, this new south Wales internship.

Speaker 2:        So, um, it, it really is on a hands on degree and, um, you are really well prepared, um, for the, um, professional, um, workforce in that sense. Um, so why did I choose, um, to study a bachelor of comms? So I chose to pursue this degree because giving others a voice has always come easy to me. Um, I knew that it was a degree for [00:26:30] me from the very first class back in 2017. Um, and also go, I notice these during my studies is something that I've always dreamed of doing, and I was actually fortunate enough to do that last year. Um, so I've gained a wide range of expertise and knowledge as a result this program. And in addition to everything I've learned in this course, I'm excited to use my, um, strong interpersonal skills and communication abilities, um, in terms of perfect subject.

Speaker 2:        Um, it's I did a subject called intervening for change, uh, but it's going to be called policy policy and advocacy next year. [00:27:00] And basically that subject is, um, the process of developing critical and analytical skills, learning how to join relevant theory and applying this and advocacy policy development for government and communications and campaign practices. Um, and I guess the best part about my time at UTS so far is the possibilities and the opportunities to work for UTS. Um, so I've worked in various paid and volunteer roles for the university, and, um, I've been able to expand both my professional network and meet new people. [00:27:30] A lot of my closest friends have come from these extracurricular programs. Um, so it's not just about the classes at university. It's also an opportunity for you to meet new people, try new things, develop your hobbies and interests, build leadership skills, and most definitely have fun.

Speaker 1:        Probably most definitely have fun. I'm just answering a few questions in the, um, in the Q and a section. So tenure in any, if you can add to any of them, that would be great. Um, are there any questions where people [00:28:00] want to put on their mikes and ask me questions set possible in the webinar shallot, or will I just respond to the ones that are in there? I might respond to the questions that are in there at the moment. Um, Hannah asks, if you want to pursue the master of teaching and secondary education with, in, with a bachelor of communication, am I still able to choose two majors writing and publishing and media arts and production? So, no, you can't really, first of all, you can't choose me and arts and production [00:28:30] as a second major. If you remember. I mentioned that before, but, um, with writing and publishing in that stackable degree, there are 96 credit points as that are part of the bachelor of communication.

Speaker 1:        And so you're limited in how many, um, if you think you do three eight could have point subjects for communication core, and we have to get into our maths for this. And then we have eight, six credit points subjects for your first major. So that's 48 plus eight. So that's 56. [00:29:00] Uh, so you've got quite a few credit points left over for a second major, but not an entire second major. So you'll be able to do a number of subjects, but may not the entire second major. So I hope that answers that. Um, are you able to do two majors and perhaps minor in another area, for example, media arts and production? Yes, exactly. That's exactly what I was explaining. So if you start, um, if [00:29:30] you start with a media arts and production that, that your degree, and you're doing a second major in digital and social media, if you don't do all eight of the old eight of the digital and social media, you can go in and you can do three subjects in strategic communication. So you and a mix of those except remember me rights in production is only a first major. So if you really want to do media arts and production, you should apply for that particular course, cause you won't be able to do it as [00:30:00] a second major. Um, Lotus high there when studying a bachelor of languages, do you need to already know a language or can you learn it afresh now? Um, any, are you able to answer that question? Yeah. Um,

Speaker 2:        So you can start at a fresh, um, that's what I did when I studied, um, French. So there are, um, I think for across all the languages, there are classes like levels one [00:30:30] through to eight. And if, and you can just start from the base level and it won't, you won't be at a detriment compared to somebody that does, um, have experience. So I definitely can start a fresh when learning a new language.

Speaker 1:        Okay, good. Thank you. Um, Claudia asks about public communication, moving to strategic communication. Um, look, the, the ATAR is really about, um, supply and demand. I mean, Charlotte, [00:31:00] if you want to talk about that, that's fine, but, um, it's not really, um, we can't really tell you ahead of time. What I can tell you is that early offers are open at the moment, and I strongly recommend you if you're interested in doing one of these, um, uh, bachelor courses in communication, you should think about taking up one of the UTS early offers based on your year 11 results. And of course it's a conditional offer. [00:31:30] Um, and so that once your HSC results come through and, um, and you successfully get your HSC, uh, then it's, uh, you know, the, the, it can turn into a, an unconditional offer. Can you do digital social media and media business?

Speaker 1:        Yes. You can do media business as a second major. Um, similarly you can do strategic communication and media business, or you can do media business and you know, something else. [00:32:00] So, uh, let's see, how does the six month exchange opportunity work? What are the requirements? So we have partner universities, um, that, uh, in, um, a relationship with us, uh, for our exchange students. So you need to apply to, um, to go on exchange and you don't do that in your first two year, obviously. And at this point, you know, it's probably, um, more, uh, it's [00:32:30] probably more reliable to wait a little bit and for your second year, and then you apply to, um, our exchange people and say, look at the list of universities that are, have this exchange program with GTS, um, and look to see how the subjects they are offering lineup with what you would need to do say the core subjects in your majors and, um, and communication course subjects, uh, there.

Speaker 1:        So, you know, you see how [00:33:00] it works for there to, um, learning out is better communication and journalism, bachelor of international studies recommended and what language countries are included. So the languages, I'm not sure if any knows the answer to this question, but you might need to go to the bachelor of international studies information session to get all of this information. Cause not my area of expertise. Um, I can answer that. So there's six different [00:33:30] languages. I believe we have available at the moment, which is Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. Thank you. Um, so which two majors do you suggest pair paired together? Look, most of them work really well together. Um, you can imagine that the strategic communications about, um, strategic [00:34:00] communications, so promotion advertising and the bigger picture, you know, ethical practice. And you can see that for any creative practice, like, uh, writing and publishing like, um, media arts and production, uh, digital and social media.

Speaker 1:        You can see that that would go well together. Digital social media is of course relevant to most of the other majors as well. You know, it's going to be [00:34:30] useful. First people looking for publishing opportunities for their writing. It's going to be useful for, um, strategic communication students who want to specialize and learn more about, um, uh, data and code and so on. So it's, uh, it's the main thing is that you choose the thing you're passionate about as your first major, you put that in as your first preference and, uh, and then you, you know, you'll have a bit of time to think, to look, to, to read the different subject, [00:35:00] um, descriptions so you can determine, well, which of these second majors would really interest me, uh, if there's no second major music production, how many such subjects can have student access? So we don't have electives in a music and sound design course in the bachelor of communication. What we do have is collaboration in across the media arts and production, um, music and sound design and animation. So [00:35:30] a number of animated films recently won awards. Uh, they were, our students were involved in those or our graduates were involved in those. And, um, and that included, um, uh, soundtracks that are music and sound design students had done. So at, at th there are in the music and sound design, you can do some subjects from, um, from the communication cause, but the reverses, uh, is not, [00:36:00] um, as available.

Speaker 1:        Uh, look, I don't know what year 11 results will be needed to gain entry to the course for early entry, but I'm sure on the website, you will find more information, more detailed information about that. That's again, I can tell you a lot about our courses, but I don't have that information, but Charlotte, do you know where they should go for that? I think Tanya might have an answer to that one. Did you want to answer that on 10 now? Yeah, I can. Whoever asked that question, I [00:36:30] can add the link to the UTS early entry program in the chat. So if you go and click on that, it should take you to the page with your answer. Okay, perfect. Thank you. Am I lucky to have the two of them here? Excellent. Um, is it possible to enter into an early offer if I completed year 11 this year?

Speaker 1:        Thank you. I don't think that's the case. Um, I think you should look at the link that 10 years going to put up for you. Uh, but I don't think that's the [00:37:00] case. I think this is about year 12 students and it's based on your year 11 results for that early offer and as a conditional offer. Uh, but, uh, I think you need to have finished year 11 and be well on your way to finishing year 12. And I wish you all the best luck in the world really. You've had a pretty rough year, um, as have many people. And, um, and I hope you, um, you're able to have a smooth, [00:37:30] uh, exam period, cause I know you're working hard towards it. Um, what have we got here? If we don't get into the bachelor of communication DSM, what course would you recommend in order to transfer to DSM later?

Speaker 1:        So there are two ways you can do this. You can, um, you can do the digital and social media as a second major in one of the other courses. So you choose something that you're really interested in. Obviously you don't want to just choose anything. So you choose [00:38:00] one of the other bachelors of communication, um, and do digital and social media. She's your second major. And really in many ways, you know that what matters to the employers is not just the name of your course, but they look to see what you've learned and you'll be able to tell them you've done a second major in digital and social media, but you can apply for a transfer. Um, you can do an internal course transfer, um, and, uh, you know, you have a chance of getting in there, but of course it depends [00:38:30] how many places are available.

Speaker 1:        Um, if you choose to do electives as Emily, instead of a second major, what were your qualifications qualifications be named as instead of having a bachelor of major one or two? Okay. So your qualification will be the first major. So if you've chosen a bachelor of communication journalism, then that's what will be on your test, same year on the, the, [00:39:00] the statement that you get at the end. Uh, but it's in your academic transcript where you have all of the subjects that you've done and the results you get for those subjects, where you'll be able to show that you have the two majors. And now the thing to keep in mind is that you've got a portfolio. So you'll have developed a portfolio across at least two majors if you work that way. And so you'll be able to go to potential [00:39:30] employers with a range of things that demonstrate your abilities, um, in each of them.

Speaker 1:        Okay. I think we're well over time. So I don't want to hold you up if you want to go to the music and sound design workshops. And I know some people have left now, so I just want to thank you for coming and thank Tonya and Annie, and thank you for answering some of the questions I wasn't sure on. And if you have further questions, you know, have a look at the website, [00:40:00] see what you've learned from that. And I think, um, Tanya, did you put up that link? I can't see it. It's in the, it's in the chat, um, sent to everybody. Yeah, I can see the chat. Excellent. Um, okay. All right. Thanks very much. And good luck with your studies and we hope to see you at UTS. Bye-bye.

 

Speaker 1:        Uh, welcome. Um, my name is Matt Gidney and, uh, I'm the course director at the moment for the animation program here at UTS. I hope that you enjoyed that little, um, short show reel and featuring some snippets from animation work made by our students over the past years. Um, I'd like to begin by paying my respects to the traditional owners of the lands that, uh, um, that, uh, under [00:00:30] which the UTS main campus sits upon, but these folks are the Gadigal people and they're of the Eora nation. So we pay our respects to those traditional owners. Um, at this moment, I'd like to introduce our panelists that are with us today. We have, um, Dave Shapiro and pat grant, um, Deborah Cameron, um, Isabel Corey and bill Cobra, and, um, Sarah Hannah and [00:01:00] Rosemarie Vasquez brown will be helping us with the short presentation today.

Speaker 1:        Let me start with a little bit of history. We undergraduate degree animation degree that you may be familiar with and know about is currently that. And the one that is currently running it has about 400 students and is currently situated in the design school. The degree program began in 2012, and that's about 10 [00:01:30] years ago and will, and it will be the last time that this course will be offered in the faculty of design building and architecture because in 2022, the complete program is moving to the school of communication in the faculty arts and social sciences, or fast as we call it. The bachelor of design and animation will in 2022 become the bachelor of animation production. It's an incredibly successful program and [00:02:00] I believe remains the best place in the country to come and study animation in so many ways. Moving from the faculty of the design, building, an architecture to arts and social sciences is common sense in fast, we animate this will be right alongside our kind of people, film students, music, students, sound designers, cinematographers, screenwriters, and other excellent communication students. It's really [00:02:30] where animation belongs.

Speaker 1:        So in 2020, in 2022, the whole animation program, including the staff and the teaching format and all of the subjects, we will live in fast with a new name, the bachelor of animation production, nearly 90 degrees. [00:03:00] We'll bring everything that is excellent from the past 10 years. Whoa. Um, since its beginning, our staff, our students, um, the, our industry input and our close connections with, um, um, all of our partners locally and abroad, exclusive facilities in studios, then a second to night and offer the [00:03:30] latest technologies that you will find, um, in production. What sort of subjects were you studying? Animation? We can group our subjects into four groups in each of the six semesters in the degree, which is over three years, you will take one animation studio and one animation context class. [00:04:00] The most important are the animation studios.

Speaker 1:        We study animation in a studio. Led approach is creates a high intensity environment where you will learn how to work with your peers in a professional and collaborative atmosphere. You will learn how to observe the world around you during directly from life to gain inspiration for characters in stories and projects. You'll discover how to think creatively and develop [00:04:30] ideas through multiple stages. Focusing upon character development, narrative and performance studio has benefit from an outstanding industry. Connections across the degree, you'll have the opportunity to work with live projects, such as vivid or collaborations within the past with the Australian piano quarter, ABC flying back and animal logic on co-productions that we work on in class. Then we have the context [00:05:00] subjects, which are fundamental fundamentally out lab based classes. In these classes, you will learn the fundamentals of 2d and 3d animation skills that help to bring your stories and your work to life. You will learn about software tools, techniques, and the craft and production of animation. You will also take subjects from the mini core. Some of the many core literacy communication literacy subjects offered in the faculty you'll take to [00:05:30] communicating difference and understanding digital audiences.

Speaker 1:        On top of this, we also offer specialist animation electives, and the subjects are ones that will demand a more advanced level of craft and learning. In the whole degree, it will look like this there'll be 12 core animation subjects. There'll be two core communication [00:06:00] literacy subjects. And then you have four elective choice subjects. Of course, it's simple and fairly straightforward at this stage. I'd like to hand over to Deb Cameron, one of our tutors who shoot, and she will talk about some of the campus facilities and the course assessments.

Speaker 2:        Thanks, Matt, welcome everybody. Um, the type of assessments that we run [00:06:30] in the animation degree, uh, based on a project based their creative practice to creative practice, uh, subjects in studio, we, our assessments are project-based as is the, the essence of creative practice. We don't have exams. Uh, we work, as Matt said, intensely in the studio context, working either a combination of individual or group projects, the group projects are essential part [00:07:00] of learning to work in a team, which is a apart from understanding your creative limitations, understanding how to communicate with others, learning from your peers. It sets our students up well for moving forward.

Speaker 2:        Okay. We have exercises and tasks, and of course, industry engagements the facilities essentially that we're using animation labs and hubs digital [00:07:30] stop motion, animation suites, audio voiceover, and recording booths, color correction suites. And we have access to leading, uh, industry software that the students then are familiar with as they move forward in their careers. We have a world-class render farm for computer intensive, 3d rendering, and compositing. The students engage with each other in the labs. It's a great place for, uh, creative discussions and for peer feedback. So it's a very [00:08:00] conducive environment for learning and growing as a group, the students work very well together and it's really noted as they move forward and start their careers after leaving UTS, that how engaged they are and how much they understand the essence of working as a team with these skillsets. So with, oh, sorry. I'd like to pass you on to Debbie [00:08:30] Shapiro and she's going to discuss the combined degrees. You're on mute

Speaker 3:        Along with your bachelor of animation production degree, your there's the ability to do a combined degree. You can do a bachelor of animation production with bachelor of studies or a bachelor of animation production with a bachelor of creative intelligence in internet vacation. [00:09:00] Um, the bachelor of international studies, uh, both of them are four year degrees. So the bachelor of animation production is a three-year with an honors degree, bachelor of international studies and a bachelor of creative intelligence and innovation makes it four years. So you, uh, study these alongside your animation degree. So if you're doing bachelor of international studies, you would, um, do some of your cultural and your language studies whilst you were studying for your animation degree. [00:09:30] And then you would either do a two, two, um, two to six week placement, a six month placement or an honors one year overseas for your bachelor of international studies, with the bachelor of creative intelligence and innovation.

Speaker 3:        It is alongside your degree with, um, block teaching in the winter and summer periods. And then a one year after you finish your animation degree, you would spend full time in the bachelor of creative intelligence and innovation. Both are [00:10:00] amazing because animation is, um, a program that actually really benefits from students looking elsewhere as well. It's not just about animation, it's about content. And I think both of these degrees really add to your experience, uh, what you can bring to for our own course, and also what you can bring to, um, the degree in general.

Speaker 4:        Okay. Next

Speaker 3:        Careers. Okay. Um, a lot of people say, what kind of job [00:10:30] can I get when I leave? Um, I'd like you to create your own job, but there are lots and lots of jobs around. So you can be a filmmaker director, editor, producer, um, screenwriter concept, data's production designer, um, composite, uh, we can 2d work in 3d, but I think one of the really fantastic things about animation is that it runs parallel to all of the technology that's being developed. So animation sits in that digital space with 360 degrees [00:11:00] with architectural projection on working with robots at the moment. So animation and robots is really big. Um, it's a space that just keeps expanding. And along with that, a lot about students are also carving out their own path by, um, setting up their own studios by becoming, um, graphic novelists by becoming animation directors, um, creative studios. Um, it's kind of endless with the possibilities [00:11:30] now, um, and not from us because I think what you really want to hear from is some of the students. So let's have a little look at, um, I'm going to hand over to Rosemary and Sarah, it will hand over to Izzy and bell. Okay. So Rosemary and Sarah and Izzy and bell are all graduates outta degree. Sorry.

Speaker 2:        Hi everyone. Um, yes. So I graduated, [00:12:00] I think in 2019, and I did the whole, uh, bachelor's degree and then the honors degree with a Sarah Hannah, who I met at university. I contacted my video on when I can just be the Facebook, both of us. Um, um, yeah, so I think one of the most valuable things that we learned was to work in a team and it's actually something we very much rely on the camera's working now very much rely on, um, to create [00:12:30] everything now. Like I can't imagine I'm not going to other people for critique or advice, but also I work better now in a partnership and more than anything. And that's really amazing because you become into the course is like individuals with your own, very, like not really knowing anything about your own style and stuff, and you learn from each other within the course.

Speaker 2:        So I think that's one of the most, um, yeah, more important things that we took from the course straightaway. Um, [00:13:00] Sarah, do you want to go on the next point? Um, yeah. Um, oh, we also, I think really benefited from, um, having the opportunity to do honest. We had a lot of time to make what we really wanted to make and work together. Um, but also a lot of structure, which I think helped us immensely. Um, and we also met each other through the course and we we've had a pretty good working relationship, um, even after, so yeah, like [00:13:30] outside of animation, we didn't really know just how many jobs within the pipeline. There are into creating a whole animation when it comes to like storyboarding from positing character design. And what's really amazing about this course is that you touch on every single one of them and you get enough skill to feel at least a little bit confident, um, like more confident to like Mazda I've, uh, one of those kinds of things in the pipeline, all of them.

Speaker 2:        And it really well equips you for like a future of working in animation [00:14:00] and that you can, yeah. You're able to do like an array of different skills and thus continually getting like a ridiculous amount of, um, new opportunities and new projects to work on it. It's kind of, it doesn't limit you in any way to the type of work you do outside of university. Yeah, that's true. It's quite helpful to be able to touch on everything, um, in the safety of the degree. And I think we were really surprised by how diverse the animation pipeline was and how, um, [00:14:30] working together, how we could learn that having such different skills, uh, can compliment each other. You don't necessarily have to be good and like everything in the degree, but you'll buy by trying out a whole lot of different things. You'll definitely find your spot in the animation pipeline. Um, yeah, that was really helpful. And is he in bell? Like they're also a dynamic jeweler like us and I don't know, you can maybe speak to like what it's less dynamic.

Speaker 3:        [00:15:00] I think that Rosemary and Sarah being a bit modest about what they, their, um, degree led to. What about your honors film? Um, yeah.

Speaker 2:        Yeah. So after Auto's degree, we entered out film into a whole lot of film festivals and we ended up winning the animation prize at the Sydney film festival. And we ended up getting into Sundance film festival overseas. [00:15:30] So it was pretty exciting and definitely helped out without career as well. Just doing that one year of making a film and getting a lot of feedback from our teachers really, really helped, um, in terms of our whole Korea sofa. So yeah, a whole Korea sofa. That's tiny Korea sofa. Cool. Thanks Rosemary and Sarah. Um, I'm Isabelle. Um, I [00:16:00] started the course back in 2017. I was fresh out of high school, so I was very young 18. Um, I just came into the course with a passion for art and animation. Didn't really know where I wanted to go with it. It's such an amazing course to figure out and own your own creativity.

Speaker 2:        It's a lot of tedious work and a lot of hours, but the people you meet make it worth it. You do meet like-minded people because everybody kind of shares the same passion as you, and [00:16:30] it makes it all worth it. You get to work together to create things you end up loving a lot of the long hours and times you spend in the labs. It's so worth it. When you have people around you and the tutors as well, they're industry professionals, they're there to help you and uplift you in there to improve your work. And yeah, I don't know if bell wants to elaborate on like the friends you made a kind of the people you'll be working with in the future as well. Yeah, I think definitely, um, [00:17:00] um, this course really gives you the opportunity to shine and really find people who actually make new shine too.

Speaker 2:        I think that was one of my favorite things about coming into the degree, like Izzy in 2017 was I had a passion that wasn't always shared in high school. Like I was like the only one that was really ADI in my friendship group to come into a realm where everybody had the same love and like would lift me up every day, like sharing these sort of passions. [00:17:30] And I think to this day, like it's been four years since I started my friendships with all these people in the course, and I can still draw on them and draw on their creativity and their experiences to really inform my own artistic practice. Um, and I think as well, like again, it's all about building up that network because that close friendship that you have with people because you're working with them such long hours and every single semester is one massive group.

Speaker 2:        Project is just feeling so rewarding, [00:18:00] being a part of a team. And I think as you, like, you know, go on in the industry, every single project is, uh, a team like, um, a group job. And so it's really like fantastic to be able to like study that and hone in on that and become really good at working as a part of a diverse team. Um, he did you want to talk about as well, um, how this course like really helps with the skillset that you sort of develop? Yeah, definitely. I think for me, what personally, when I started, [00:18:30] I had some, you know, artistic skills, not so much drawing skills. And I think the coolest really helps you understand like reality, you know, you get taught to draw from real life. Don't just draw what you've seen in the media. So you, the harder you work, the better you'll become.

Speaker 2:        You know, I started kind of with a sketchbook, try to draw every day, went to life drawing classes and you do improve. Like you're not there to be in this course and kind of stay with the skill set [00:19:00] you have. You're going to leave with a much more difficult and advanced skill set if you put in the work. And w you know, like I was saying before with working people around you, you kind of all start at the same point, so you can work together to kind of improve together as well as well, like being around so many different people, your taste develops massively. I think that's coming into the course. One of the biggest things that I I realized was how pull like poli refined my taste was I was only interested in cartoons and Disney movies, and this [00:19:30] degree really helped me like every single, I think every single week in second year, we were shown a completely new form of media. And that was super rewarding as well, just to see what the possibilities were with animation. Um, and as well, I think at the end of the day, you studying your passion and it becomes your profession, if you really keep at it. And I don't think there's something, anything more rewarding than starting your higher education following a dream. So that was how it worked for me. Sorry.

Speaker 3:        [00:20:00] And again, I think you're being modest in that, um, is bill and Bill's film that they made in their honors degree is up for a Denny awards very soon at the Sydney international film festival. And it's been traveling the festival circuit. This is, this is your first year out from the degree, isn't it? Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. And you're already a success

Speaker 1:        Going to be two years in a row winning

Speaker 2:        His cross. [00:20:30] Fantastic.

Speaker 3:        And it's a great award, but you also get $5,000.

Speaker 2:        And just on top of like, the people you work with on in uni is just that, like, if you can build up a good work ethic at uni than like your co, like your peers will see that. And then when it gets to industry, they'll remember that as well. And a lot of the time the friends you make in uni are the ones that are helping you get jobs within industry. So that's such a good part of it.

Speaker 1:        All right. Well, [00:21:00] thanks so much everyone for your contributions. Um, let's, I'm like out of time because see, we only had a short slot. So, um, what, um, I guess what I'd like to leave you with is that, you know, all those folks out there, we, uh, really looking forward to seeing all the new faces in 2022 and discovering, uh, together all the wonderful creative projects that you will, um, bring to life over your time with us studying animation. So, um, [00:21:30] if you're thinking about it, Nancy tight, it truly is a fantastic place to come and fish you that passion that you have, I think we'll, and over to questions now. And, um, and, uh, again, just saying thanks to everyone, um, for contributing, um, it was, uh, our really good, tight and informative session. So

Speaker 3:        There was one question in the question in the chat a little bit earlier from Sienna. Um, [00:22:00] is there another way of getting into the course of eight hour requirement is not met, um, in terms of that the main way is a non-resident school leader. Um, you can, there's a couple of ways of doing that. You can go to, um, UTS college. Um, they have a number of degrees there, but, uh, if you go to particular one, then you can get entry to the degree. Um, you can also try [00:22:30] for a degree at UTS that has a lower APR and then do a transfer over to the bachelor of animation production, or you can have a year off get your seems a bit weird at the moment with COVID, uh, and applies a non recent school labor with the portfolio and interview.

Speaker 1:        Well, actually that's changed in the future debt, the portfolio requirement for non recent school leavers won't be applicable anymore, as we, sorry. So there are some, a lot of the w we [00:23:00] have had a, um, a practice of entry into the degree. That's been pretty much the same for the last 10 years, but there'll be some slight adjustments as we move into Fest. And in many ways that'll mean it's easier to get into the degree. Um, uh, so there were more pathways to come into the degree. Um, James is kind of the expert on that and all of the details are, um, I think pretty clear in the, uh, through the, uh, applications, uh, information that's been made [00:23:30] available, but, um, does have a, just a fish for any more. I've answered a few questions that were in the question and answers section about whether our, what our focus is around, um, drawing and storytelling and, and things like that.

Speaker 1:        And quizzing about what is their emphasis and very much the emphasis over our program over the 10 years you've been teaching has been all about, um, drawing, being fundamental as a communication language. Um, and [00:24:00] we, uh, develop narrative through, um, strong research, um, into characters and performance and, um, understanding clarity around the types of, uh, visual information that we're trying to convey through our projects very often that becomes a short film, but sometimes that is not. And we use aspects of that narrative and character driven approach to, um, develop other interesting projects that won't be quite hybrid or experimental.

Speaker 3:        [00:24:30] You was saying you developed your drawing practice through the degree. So in first year you do a lot of drawings. So, um, I think he was, he was saying that her where you, um, that your drawing improved immensely.

Speaker 4:        Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:        Drawing and seeing kind of go hand in glove and they are absolutely vital for us. And what we want to see is excellence in our students.

Speaker 2:        Sorry, Deb. I think [00:25:00] that's a really good point. Some people freak out when they hear drawing and think, oh, but I'm not, I'm not good at drawing. It's an essential form of communication is a visual communication. And it's a way for you to record your vision of what you see in the world and how you can transfer that into your voice and your subjective voice. We don't want Michelangelo drawings. It's not about that. So, um, if you have any hesitation, um, as Matt and Deb have both said, there's [00:25:30] so much support with active drawing practice all the way through the degree. And it's really best to think of it as, uh, as being a visual communicator of narrative, whether it's experimental, 2d, 3d, linear, it doesn't matter. It's an initial part of you actually being able to communicate with other people. That's why it's in a really essential part.

Speaker 3:        And I think it's a good point. You make about the 3d, because students do at a certain point in the degree choose whether they're going to [00:26:00] do it in third year chairs, whether they're going to do the 3d or the 2d and a number of them do choose to, they choose equally between 2d and 3d. Um,

Speaker 2:        What, what are the class sizes in the first year, pat? Did you want to talk about this? Answer this, yeah. Hi.

Speaker 5:        Um, my name's pat, I am, uh, I'm the person who puts the class list together for first year. [00:26:30] Um, I like do see the class sizes, uh, around, um, the 20 for the, for the, for the class groups that we're learning in the classroom on campus. And quite a bit smaller than that for the, for the groups who are, who were just learning online. We've had a bit of a, um, over the last two years, as you would expect, we've had a kind of, a bit of a push and pull between in-class learning and online learning. Um, but I, I generally [00:27:00] think that particularly in, in first year, we've got a, I try and foreground the social and collaborative, um, and material sides of, uh, of developing animation skills. So, um, so I'm trying to get people in the room together, um, socializing, um, and, and having fun together as a way as a way of facilitating the learning. Great.

Speaker 6:        So there was a question by Lauren in regards to industry connections, [00:27:30] will there be opportunities for first-time employment at animation studios while studying? And bill said she would like to answer that question. So I would just refer it to bill.

Speaker 2:        Um, I found that while studying at UTS, there weren't heaps of internship opportunities. I think in second year we actually had an internship subject. So I got to study, um, I got to actually work for one of the main studios on vivid one year, and that was just so eye-opening [00:28:00] to see how the actual studio works. Um, and I think there are some have been some other opportunities since, but that was the subject that I managed to undergo. And I think as if you can like apply for a studio while you're studying, um, as long as you have the skills up-to-date and you seem competent, like you can take on the workload, I can't see why a studio wouldn't, you know, have you on board. So it's always worth, you know, reaching out throughout your study, as well as, you know, focusing on, you know, your skills. [00:28:30] So that's definitely, you know,

Speaker 1:        I can probably add something to that. I mean, um, all of the tutors, um, including myself, uh, throughout, throughout the semester and throughout the year are constantly getting emails from our friends who are still working in studios, um, and our industry connections, and that will often be fishing for whether there are students available. They might be able to help them with this project. Um, short-term contract short short-term gigs, and they're often looking for students for two purposes. One [00:29:00] is legitimately that there's a good project that might, um, be of interest for a student to get involved with so that they can, um, um, see what it's like to work in. Um, in industry they're also looking for, they know that the quality of our students are very high and very capable, and our recommendations carry a lot of way. So that be getting people who are skilled and capable and good to have in the studio, but also it's an opportunity for our local studios studios to see the quality of graduates [00:29:30] coming through earlier than others. So they kind of compete a little bit with each other to cherry pick the best graduates when they do come through

Speaker 3:        An internship subjects. But, um, we've run to date that I know that SAS has an internship subject that, um, we use our connections to, um, sort of match, make students with the right company, with the kind of company that they want to work with in the area that they want to work in. And that's been the internship subject [00:30:00] that we've run to date has been quite successful because most of the students have actually been employed after the they'd done their internship and received some sort of freelance work afterwards. And, um, I would say that we've always gone for world domination, which is that most animation studios now in Sydney. And, and also, you know, our students are working in London and other places as well. Most animation studios in Sydney are now employing UTS graduates. You know, there's some animation [00:30:30] studios, um, and even like SBS and places like that, that, um, all of their team are UTS grants. And

Speaker 6:        I'll just add that. Um, there's also a media arts and production Facebook group where it's a closed group and lots of students there. Uh, and alumni also sometimes ask if any students, um, you know, who are skilled in animation may be able to help out in those areas. So there are lots of organic opportunities. Now that animation is moving into the school of communication on the media arts and production. [00:31:00] Um, there was a question here from an anonymous attendee that says, do you tend to get burnt out while working, if so, how do you work around it? Thanks in advance. And Rosemary mentioned that you would like to answer that question or any one of you.

Speaker 2:        Um, yeah, sure. Um, animation is like extremely time consuming, so it is easy to burn yourself out, but I think as long as you manage your time properly and like use the support that's around you and not take on too much, like, it shouldn't work out the way. So like over [00:31:30] the degree, I would leave things too last minute or something. And that would mean like a lot of all nighters and it like is not a sustainable way of working. So I guess short answer just don't take on too much and try to manage your time as best you can and utilize the support that's around you. Yeah. I would like to add to that. I mean, that's a great point. Um, it has always been very full time, our course in that, uh, within the structure of the hours that, that the classes are run, the expectation is that you would do at least [00:32:00] that outside of class.

Speaker 2:        And as you're working, um, on often on a group project, you're, you're meeting up with other people and animation is a slow long laborious process. You know, we're talking milliseconds, uh, of time here. It's five seconds of animation can take you so long to do so. I think, uh, some students need to work and that's, that's absolutely possible, but it's, it really is about balancing [00:32:30] your life, uh, a bit of self care, no all-nighters. And, um, you will be encouraged by the staff from very beginning, uh, to have a schedule, a weekly thing and plan your life. And of course we don't do it. We don't do it. If you don't, you can really get yourself up in a bit of trouble. Um, but if you, if you pace yourself, it's absolutely fine to jump in as well. Oh, sorry, dad. I

Speaker 3:        Was just going to say, it's the time of working in the [00:33:00] labs all together when you've got a deadline that makes you such good friends.

Speaker 2:        Yeah. And also, I think it's definitely, I worked the whole way through the degree and it's definitely possible, um, to still do it. Sometimes your standard of work definitely does full, uh, because of it. But I think it shouldn't be a deterrent at all. If you need to work, if you need to have a job during the degree, it's definitely, definitely doable. Um, what of,

Speaker 1:        Uh, what sort of work would you have done if you were just not working? That [00:33:30] would have been okay. What's that I could be really amazing that,

Speaker 6:        Uh, there were a couple of questions around eight ATAR, prerequisites, um, and, um, portfolio. And I think, um, Matt is going to help, but we wanted the question, some portfolio, which you meant, we mentioned earlier that, um, this, for this particular course itself, that wouldn't be a portfolio requirement is just purely based on selection [00:34:00] rank. So if you're not aware, selection rank is your ATAR plus any adjustment factors that be any schools, any recommendations, schemes that you apply to entry schemes, um, or a year 12 subject, uh, uh, adjustment factor. So particular subjects that you do and you score well in particular subjects that you will automatically get, um, points added on. It's a maximum of five. Um, the, we were [00:34:30] not know what the age or the selection rank is going to be for this year until after the main round officer being sent up, because there's always based on demand. So we never know what's going to be for this coming year. However, we strongly encourage you to take last. Year's a, um, selection rank from the bachelor of design in animation, which was sitting at 88.85. That is a good guide to adopt from. So, um, I think Matt, have you got anything to add on [00:35:00] to the,

Speaker 1:        No, I think you covered it pretty well. Um, uh, all of that. So the main, one of the main changes was for the non school leave pathway into the degree that, um, we wouldn't be doing that with portfolio this year. We'll be doing it again on, um, previous mocks that you have achieved in your right top, but there's, there'll be, uh, there'll be looked at and accommodated, um, reasonably. So I would say that the pathway coming into the course is actually going to be more open for non-racist school [00:35:30] leavers rather than the portfolio way. Although we didn't use to love getting a stickybeak at everyone's work when they came in with a non school leaders. That was great. I will

Speaker 6:        Add that for recent school leavers. So if you're taking your HSC this year and you have a very strong portfolio, we strongly encourage you to apply for the school recommendation scheme. That scheme ends on the 13th of September on the U S websites. So do not miss that deadline itself with regards to where you can find the subject adjustment points, [00:36:00] the easiest ways to Google UTS adjustment factors. So I'll type in the, the link into that, but Google UTS adjustment factors, you will find a subject there.

Speaker 2:        Hmm. Um, one of the questions is how many students we take next year. Do we have an idea about,

Speaker 1:        I think I typed in answering to that, but I'm happy to speak to it as well. I don't know that I, in the past number of years, uh, uh, when the dust has settled, our intake in first year [00:36:30] has been somewhere between 120 930, something like that. Um, we are, and it occasionally peaks up a little bit higher than that. So we, we really don't know exactly how many students we'll be taking, but we can accommodate students up to 135 before we start to have panic attacks.

Speaker 2:        Oh, there's a question that Sarah was going to answer about concept arts. Oh, um, oh yeah. There's heaps [00:37:00] of concept, um, portions in the degree. And I actually found that one of the hardest parts of the whole degree, but a lot of people really excelled in it. Um, people who loved sort of combining background and character design, uh, I think that's one of the most rewarding parts of the degree and also one of the pots that you'll use forever after the degree. Um, there's so much concept that in the actual animation industry, and there's so many times that you'll be using those skills for [00:37:30] other parts of the animation pipeline. Um, so yeah, if concept, that's your thing, there's heaps of it and you'll be very lucky, but like

Speaker 3:        It's not an illustration as a medium to work in as well. Can I speak to that a little

Speaker 5:        Bit? Just, uh, um, we, uh, I, uh, organize the concept, uh, assignments for first year and, um, I'm coming to animation through illustration and [00:38:00] comics and graphic novels. And, um, and we've got a really strong, um, team of artists who are, who have come from the illustration world who, uh, who are, who are leading the concept, art and character design, um, projects. So I, I, I'm really proud of it. I think it's, uh, I think it's like it's tackling the, um, the, the, um, the task of concept, um, from, from an illustration perspective. And I think that's really, that's really good [00:38:30] for as far as, um, um, employability to opening up, opening up the, the things you can do as a freelancer in those first years out of uni.

Speaker 2:        Absolutely. And what I wanted to add is that outside of, um, pets specific, um, task assessment in any one with that concept of when you're making, um, working in a group project or your own project, and you're making a film, uh, there's multiple levels, there's all the pre-production they say [00:39:00] production, there's the post-production. So concept art is part of every project. So you may not say, oh, I'm just doing a specialized elective in concept art, but you will be doing design character, environment, production, concept, art animation, and so on and so forth. So there's pretty much every project will involve those aspects, just like a studio, pretty much

Speaker 3:        Somebody else, the elephant in the room, which has covered, [00:39:30] how are we going to teach with COVID? And like, I would say that having, having gone through the last, um, we will have gone through two years of this kind of environment whilst it's not one that we necessarily want. I think that, um, one of the things that characterizes the animation degree is the culture and the care that we bring to the degree. And I feel that we've worked out systems within that, that my students at the moment are doing [00:40:00] beautiful work, like really beautiful work. And we do support them within that. Do we prefer face to face, but we had actually worked out very good systems within that online space as well. And hopefully everybody will get faxed and we'll be back on track. Yeah. Anybody else

Speaker 2:        Can I just add, man, is he, we did out on his film last year together, and the first six months of that was throughout COVID and that's the most creative time of your honors film. And we, we managed [00:40:30] and it has, it turned out great and we're really happy with it. Um, so it is possible to make really, I guess, creative stuff in a time when you actually can't be face-to-face with somebody constantly, but it still worked out and like COVID does go in and out of waves. So there were opportunities where we could go back into UTS and actually see each other face to face. So you just sort of hold out for those moments, because when those small, tiny, like time, you know, times actually arise, you get so much work done because [00:41:00] you don't know when, um, you might not be able to see each other for a couple of weeks or a couple of months, or I think like it's definitely possible. And it definitely, I think just changes the style in which you work. So it's not something that's totally, you know, catastrophic to the degree. I think it's still, you can still make it work.

Speaker 3:        So it's professional practice. Um, it does give you, it does give you skills about working remotely. So if you're, you know, when you leave, if you're, maybe [00:41:30] you might go overseas for a little while and work, you know, and come here and still work with that company overseas, or you might get a job that's happening in Brisbane, but you're in Sydney. And I do know people at the moment that have got jobs in Adelaide and Melbourne, but can't travel, but they're in Sydney. And I think that, um, whilst we prefer not to be online with the COVID situation, that situation of having been online has really enabled them to know how to work in a team and work remotely. Okay.

Speaker 1:        I think that's, [00:42:00] that's a very important point in the modern, the modern way that animation is produced. Um, many students, many studios are working in partnership with remote other studios and the teams that all pitch in together and contribute for those pixels. And that that final product can be scattered all over the world. So learning how to work creatively with other people is a skill. Um, and we, uh, just learning at first here on the campus

Speaker 2:        Side. Yeah. Adding, adding to that, Matt, um, [00:42:30] I'm running 30 studio project at the moment and it's a group project and it's a really important industry engagement project. Uh, we're working with five of the leading animation studios in Sydney. The students are pitching to them, they're coming into the classroom via zoom. Um, and all of these things are still actively working. So we haven't adjusted our, um, all the good things, the, these things that make our course stand out. Uh, we [00:43:00] haven't changed those because of COVID. And, um, as bill said, and the others have noted that you just find another way of working around it and all these studios that we are working with actively at the moment, all of this stuff and working from home. So people have become very, um, adaptable.

Speaker 1:        Yeah. We haven't really had to compromise what we teach, um, very much at all. Um, and the quality of the work remains [00:43:30] extremely high and the outcomes are incredibly satisfying given, given how much hardship there actually is that we're trying to work through. Um, so yeah, it's, um, it's, it's good. I think

Speaker 6:        There's a question there about what specific courses to UTS college give to help in transferring to this course later on. And, um, that Shapiro would you like to address that question about

Speaker 3:        Is two courses in UTS college [00:44:00] that I think would be, um, of benefit. And that is, um, either the communication or the design, um, courses at UTS college. I think that both of them have things to offer. I think sometimes people get very, um, focused that they should just do animation. Um, but I think the communication cause has, um, journalism and a number of things that would help you with animation equally, the design degree, [00:44:30] the design diploma at UTS college has, um, facial communication and things like that that would help you with the degree. So I think that actually helped you with the degree.

Speaker 6:        So I think what we'll do is we'll take, uh, one last question on it and software requirements. Uh, we don't have any plans at this moment for workshop for high school students. And I'll answer the question the, when consideration I'm, I guess you are coming from in not a university, you might have completed one full year, and that's [00:45:00] where you're talking about when, and if that's the case, um, yes, first year results are something that we take into consideration stronger than how you perform your eighth house. So we'll be looking at both your ADA plus your first year results with heavier emphasis on your first year results. So we move on to what kind of software requirements and stuff before we end this session, because it's gone way over time. Um,

Speaker 1:        Okay. Um, uh, and I'll just talk really briefly [00:45:30] to this. Look it, um, in many ways it doesn't matter, but in many ways it's kind of important. So that's, I don't know how to answer that between Mac and windows. That's an irrelevant question because the software platforms that we use, um, uh, exist on both and run happily on both. So your own personal preference is fine. The capacity, the power of the machine, the capability of the machine depends on the ambitiousness of the projects that you want to do. So if you want to do something, that's going to [00:46:00] haul a lot of, um, I N 3d texturing and rendering and all that sort of thing. You probably gonna need a more highest spec machine. The Mac or windows makes no difference. The curly one, there is the iPad, and I know pat and Deb have, and myself, and we've all have iPads and we use them. And by certainly have a ceiling that you hit fairly quickly with in terms of what you can do on one. Um, they, they produce [00:46:30] a lot of fun, um, for quick concept for concept work and things like that up to a point, but for doing animation production, work beyond concept and idea development and document work like that, I would say that they not going to see you through a degree in animation. You would need to have a reasonably good laptop, reasonably good laptop and, or a workstation of some sort.

Speaker 5:        Can I chime in there, Matt, because, uh, this is a very common [00:47:00] question I get, um, in, in the, in the first few weeks of school, when people are sort of tooling up for, for, for first year, um, in a, in a, in a post COVID world, um, which, which like what we're hoping, we're sort of, we're sort of approaching at the beginning of next year. Um, there are, there are resources on campus that, uh, you know, uh, as powerful community computers as, as, as you could want integrated the render farm [00:47:30] with all the software that, that, that you could, you could want, um, like on the computer. So, um, so you don't have to, you don't have to plan your life around having this sort of like legendary workstation at home. Actually, it might be better for your education if you, if you, if you're spending more time, um, working in the labs web where possible, because it encourages interaction with other students and stuff, and it, and it better embed [00:48:00] you in the culture of the degree, which is really where you're going to get your w where you get the most out of the, yeah, I agree with that completely

Speaker 2:        One thing very quickly with in regards to first year, because I run the first year context subjects, um, given the situation that, that we haven't been in the labs, and it should always be your first priority. There will be some requirements. Um, for example, we use harmony, uh, you would need to look at the requirements to run that program because you will be working [00:48:30] from home in that situation. And it definitely wouldn't work on a, um, iPad, uh, and you would need a certain amount of, um, power in your,

Speaker 1:        But the same with the 3d, like Maya won't run on an iPad and [inaudible], and at the moment

Speaker 2:        While we're online, um, that's what people are using in, in first

Speaker 1:        Year. So look, I'll, I'll add one last thought to that. And then if that's, if that question was indirectly talking about costs, which is obviously going to be on people's mind, I don't have a [00:49:00] new computer in my home, but I have many computers. And, um, there's a lot of second hand, um, really strong, solid workstations that you can buy that used to be used in the studio. It's like flying back in animal logic and they reached their end of lease and they're sold on eBay and for a thousand dollars or less, you can get a really, really good workstation. Um, so it, it's not really, you don't have to pay that premium price that apple charging or Microsoft to charging [00:49:30] for their latest products, you know, older ones work just fine,

Speaker 3:        But also in terms of software, I'm not, I can't remember if anybody said this, but, um, pat did say that we have everything at the university. So in terms of equity, if you're working in at the university, everything is there for you, but also, um, we are a timber, we're considered a term berm center of excellence and therefore, um, turn burn licenses are free [00:50:00] to our students. They don't have to pay for them equally. Autodesk makes Maya fridge for all students. Um, and there is an Adobe creative suite deal if you need it outside. Yeah.

Speaker 1:        And I think Adobe used to be free and they've increased. They've introduced a modest annual fee, and I don't know it's up to them. It's not going to break the bank, but it is an annual fee that didn't exist a couple of years ago, but it's there now. And, and when we consider what sort of software [00:50:30] we want to use in the program, um, very much on my, the front of mine decision-making tree anyway, is that, um, we're trying to find something that has zero cost, um, or it's close to zero cost to the students, um, that is still has the professional lakes that would be used in a studio. And ideally it would be something that is given away free anyway, that, um, is also freely used by professionals. And there are some software suites, um, like that. Um, and we make sure that students [00:51:00] are aware of those so that they can go on and keep those skills, um, relevant as they start to become professional makers.

Speaker 2:        And I need a drawing tablet as well. Anyone who went through without it can be little, it doesn't have to be a Syntech. Mine's just the normal lack of one, but I don't know anyone who went through the degree with that one.

Speaker 1:        Yes. That's an essential piece of equipment. And actually, I think the lower incentives these days are becoming so, um, affordable. I think the, uh, white [00:51:30] comb one is only like 500 bucks and this, the knockoff ones, the other companies make cheaper versions as well, but drawing is key. So a drawing tablet is essential. Yeah. I'm sure you could see all your faces. I hope we see all your faces. All right. I think James, we must be close to the end. Yes. And

Speaker 6:        Do you want to wrap up, or does anyone want to wrap up? Um,

Speaker 1:        Thanks. Thanks everyone for coming. Um, [00:52:00] um, hope to see you in the degree, I'm looking forward to it, the exciting things we might do together. Um, I don't know all that sort of stuff. I mean, I think if you're thinking about coming to join the degree and you, uh, um, uh, wanting to do animation, you will not be making a wrong decision. It will be an excellent decision.

 

Speaker 1:        Okay, welcome everyone. Welcome to UTS open day, um, and to the presentation board, digital and social media and the bachelor of communication. My name is Dr.  Heather Ford I am the head of discipline for digital and social media here in the school of communication. Before I begin, I'd just like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation on whose land UTS now stands. I'd like to acknowledge elders past present [00:00:30] future, and emerging recognizing them as the traditional custodians of knowledge in our land. Thank you so much for coming today. We're really excited to tell you a little bit about digital and social media. Um, and I have a few, um, other folks in the room with us here today who are going to share some of their experience, uh, Dr. Tisha Dasia Mani, who is a lecturer in digital and social media and, uh, Tonya Saban, [00:01:00] who is, um, a student in the program.

Speaker 1:        So just three points to start off about why you should study with us. Um, the first is, uh, that digital and social media in school communication is really practical and we have really a fake, authentic assessments. So we, you will learn how to develop innovative solutions to problems, [00:01:30] um, that real clients are experiencing through hands-on assessments and an optional internship. So there's really a focus on, uh, a practical and authentic experience. The second is that you will graduate with a portfolio. So we really build demonstrable skills in the program, uh, through our hands on approach to learning your work on projects throughout your degree, that will help you build a portfolio. So many of your assessments in the degree contribute [00:02:00] to that portfolio. And the third, um, is that all our teaching is research informed. We have some of the best researchers in digital and social media around the world working in our program. And so through this, you will develop a really critical understanding of the role of technology in contemporary organizations and society, and to learn how to adapt the challenges of continuous transformation in the digital sphere. So [00:02:30] we have a number of researches. Um, he'll also lectures in our, uh, division, uh, discipline, and, uh, they work on things like misinformation, enabling digital literacies and understanding politics, and then in an increasingly data find society. So it's a really exciting place to be.

Speaker 1:        So the question, what will you learn? Um, we have a number of different skills, but he has just the highlights. [00:03:00] One of the key things that we're going to be introducing in our renewed program that starts next year is on data analysis and visualization. So really starting you all from wherever you are, that's really a beginner level. Um, we're going to be enabling you to do visualizations and to really understand, uh, data coming from lots of different sources in media technologies. Um, another thing is that you'll learn is user interface and user experience design working [00:03:30] with real world scenarios, social media analytics. Um, you'll also learn practical coding and data scraping. So this is one of the only programs in the country in, in media and communications, where you actually really get to grips with, um, how to do coding and data scraping from a very basic level in a median ASP program, which is super exciting and really makes our students very competitive when they leave UTS.

Speaker 1:        You'll also [00:04:00] learn prototyping and app developments and really exciting projects that come out of that class creative problem solving and an analytical skills throughout. And then finally understanding how is this technology impact society and how to design for social good. So you will learn from, um, nine, uh, some of nine of the folks here, but also some amazing, um, casual chooses. But, [00:04:30] um, as I said before, many of these folks are really leading the way in terms of doing research for organizations like Facebook, um, and others on how society, how technology influence society and how can we, um, change, make changes to technologies to improve the way that that technology, um, benefits society. So the cost structure is like this. So you'll do three [00:05:00] core communication subjects, everyone in, uh, communication undergraduate does those subjects, then you'll do eight digital and social media, um, subjects in your major. Then you'll choose a second major. Um, and you'll do some electives, or if you don't choose a second major, um, you can do a number of streams, subjects and electives.

Speaker 1:        If you choose digital and social media as your first major, you'll [00:05:30] also have the opportunity to choose a second major in journalism or strategic communication in media business, rising interesting in publishing or social and political sciences. So when you come out of this program, you really have in depth knowledge in two key areas, just a little bit about the types of student assessments that we have. Um, so in general, we don't really use exams, um, for assessment. [00:06:00] We rather focus on, um, some really what we call Fantic assessments, which is testing you on building and making things that, um, that will demonstrate skills that you can then use when you leave UTS. So for example, uh, you'll build app prototypes, uh, you'll develop audience personas. Um, you'll also have to explain critical concepts to people who don't understand them. Um, you'll have to design [00:06:30] a project that involves coding or a data analysis you'll have to solve business or organizational problems. And you'll also do things like pitches and presentations. So really what we're trying to do is to equip you with these really important skills, um, that will benefit you when you, when you leave UTS, but also doing them in a very, um, critical way. So to really understand, uh, technology from this critical perspective. So I'm going to turn over to [00:07:00] Dr. Tisha Dasha Mani. Who's one of our wonderful lectures in digital and social media. She coordinates, um, two subjects that you'll do as part of your undergraduate program. Thanks Tisha.

Speaker 2:        Thanks Heather. Um, and thanks to everyone for joining us today. I'm really excited to tell you a little bit more about two of these subjects that we do at digital social media, to give you a sense of the kinds of activities that you might be involved in over the course of this degree. So making digital impact is our capstone [00:07:30] subject. That means it's a third year subject, the final subject that you would do as part of this major. And, um, what our goal is in this subject is to consolidate all of the skills and information that you've learnt in the previous subjects in this discipline, and to really use this subject, to launch yourselves into working life after you graduate from this program. So in this course, um, students pitch an innovation to solve a real world problem lately. Most of the problems that our students [00:08:00] have focused on have really been, um, around the situations arising from lockdown and coronavirus.

Speaker 2:        For instance, some of the problems that our students have chosen to focus on recently are things like how can we design online learning portals to suit the needs of primary school children with learning difficulties, or how can we design apps to increase the access to telehealth and medical care for non English speaking communities? And you can say from these problems that we're really invested in having our students use their technical and creative [00:08:30] skills in digital media and applying them to projects that will have real impacts on the world. So some of the outputs that students develop during the semester, uh, things like a complexity diagram, you can see an example of this and the top right of the screen. This is used to map a problem space and look at how relevant stakeholders are going to be interrelated. Um, with, within this problem space. We also use this subject to have students work in groups to create websites [00:09:00] and videos, to pitch their innovations.

Speaker 2:        So you can see in this subject, we support hands-on practical creative skills as a way of learning about innovation and digital media. And one of our key goals is to provide a learning environment that is really muddled on the timelines, project cycles, outputs, and teamwork that you're likely to encounter in different working environments. Um, another subject that we teach is digital activism. Um, [00:09:30] so in digital activism, we look at a lot of topical contemporary issues in the digital space. Things like hashtag activism, maims participatory culture, influencer activism, and this course is really born out of some of the specializations and interests of the faculty. So it really passionate about sharing our research with you and using this subject to focus on some of the most pressing and current social issues to do with digital media and politics. And an example of what you would do in this [00:10:00] subject is we asked you to us to use quantitative and qualitative analysis to evaluate some of the digital activism campaigns.

Speaker 2:        Um, some of the many activism campaigns that have emerged over the past few years. So you'll draw on the skills and platform analysis and data analysis that you will have learnt in the first year subjects. And you produce a professional report that outlines some of the strengths and weaknesses of these communication campaigns. And then you'll build on this by interviewing professionals to design [00:10:30] your own social media strategy. And you'll be asked to visualize and present this strategy by creating an infographic that you'll publish on the subject blog. So as you can see, um, some of the things that have the talked about, we want to give you a variety of skills in producing and communicating your ideas, using different digital media platforms and formats. So you really consolidate your learning by doing it through creative production, data visualizations and industry races. And that's something that we're really [00:11:00] invested in bringing into, um, all of, all of our subjects.

Speaker 1:        Thank you so much, Tisha. Thank you. So another option when you do the batch of communications is to do a combined degree. So you can do a combined degree in communications and also, um, in, uh, international studies, um, bachelor of laws or a bachelor of creative [00:11:30] intelligence and innovation. Um, and students may also add a diploma in languages or diplomat in innovation, which is quite a new degree program. So some of the many careers that our students go on to work in include things like, um, being a digital and social media manager, um, doing UX or UI design, I'm looking at digital content production being an online community [00:12:00] manager. We have folks, um, also looking into digital media policy, um, being an act developer communication officer, or a social media coordinator, and many of the communication, um, programs or the communication, um, um, careers out there often required it on social media. So it's a, it's a really great add on to any of the communications majors. [00:12:30] Uh, we have industry connections with these and many more, um, folks from these, uh, companies and organizations who are, uh, who come to us and ask for interns, um, which are, uh, give you really great experience working on the job. Um, and we also get some of these folks to come in and give guest lectures in some of our programs.

Speaker 1:        Um, the next step we're going to hear from Tanya Tanya, would [00:13:00] you like to tell us a little bit more about your experience, um, being a student in the program? Yep. Um, absolutely brief your introduction. My name is Sonia. I'm currently studying bachelor of communications, double majoring in both digital social media, as well as public communication. Um, I think that uni is a very unique experience for each student and I personally chose to study digital social media at UTS. Um, because you find that the subjects and assessments you undertake are as um, said, [00:13:30] are very practical hands-on tasks that eventually build up a portfolio for you to demonstrate to future employers and the subjects you study in digital social media are very versatile and you'll find that there are many different industries you can go in, um, into. So for example, DSM for health, the simple fashion DSM for technology, I've personally done internships in digital social media for fashion agencies, as well as health organizations [00:14:00] and many more different ones.

Speaker 1:        And the subjects you study at UTS really prepared you to take on these challenges. It's also very hard to pick a favorite subject. I've completed four different DSM subjects so far. And as a student, we have the opportunity to work on solving real work issues and work with real life clients, um, which really allows you to understand the industry you're looking to go into and start creating and fostering those networks that might open up opportunities [00:14:30] for you in the future. In terms of, um, things like employment. I make an example of some of the DSM work I did in subjects include very applicable things, um, like UX design, UI, user interface, um, design. And it just really helps you in, um, understanding this digital social media kind of, um, platform society that we live in today and, um, how to apply these digital social media space [00:15:00] into kind of solving social issues.

Speaker 1:        A very interesting project that I'm undertaking this semester, um, is looking at how coronavirus technology can exclude certain minorities, um, such as non English speaking backgrounds and kind of what kind of digital social solutions we can do to kind of address this. Um, it's also really great that our academic staff also very highly regarded and many have been in the communications and DSM industry for many years and [00:15:30] some still working in the industry today. And so I feel that they were really able to kind of give me a very updated, um, information tools and skills to really support my learning throughout the unique experience.

Speaker 1:        Thanks so much, Tanya. Thank you. Um, now it's time for questions. So please feel free to ask any questions, [00:16:00] um, in the chat, we are very happy to answer them. Um, so I'm going to start with, um, Sophia, I think Sophia, um, you say, how can we build our social media platform now? I think maybe if you can restate that question, cause I'm not sure I understand, um, what, what, what you're asking there, but just we restate it and that'd be great. Um, someone asked, I really enjoy math, [00:16:30] so would this course be good for me? Absolutely. Um, I loved maths as well, um, as a high school students and, um, I didn't think I was big, good at it, but I really enjoyed it. And I think that kind of logical thinking is going to be, is going to be really, really helpful in DSM and you know, a lot of the, um, more technical subjects that we have in digital and social media, what we do is we enable lots of flexibilities.

Speaker 1:        So some people are not as interested in, [00:17:00] um, you know, well, people have different interests. So if you really get into coding, for example, then you can take that project, um, and really expand on the coding element of it. Whereas if you're more kind of autistic and creative, um, you can focus more on the visualization aspect. So we really enable people to, um, explore a Voss that they've lost interest in, in the subjects that do, um, other businesses. Do you think that social media [00:17:30] is a job that can be sustained? Um, you know, I think that's a lot of the positions that people are going into after UTS. Um, our communications position, so are positions where, um, uh, usually a company, but also a nonprofit or government governments actually employers, many of our students as well, what they're trying to do is a never ending problem.

Speaker 1:        And that's how to communicate with clients, stakeholders, citizens, [00:18:00] et cetera. And so that's never going to go away. Um, uh, social media is an intrinsic part of communication right now. And, you know, as you know, the technologies are changing all the time, so we often adapting to new platforms. Um, but yes, I think that all the skills that you learn are incredibly sustainable. Um, Emily asks, are you able to do a double degree while doing two majors in one degree or is this not possible? [00:18:30] Um, are you able to do a double degree while doing two majors in one degree? Yes. So, um, that is entirely possible. So if you're taking, um, two majors that you're taking digital and social media and journalism, for example, then yes, you can do a double degree. Um, that's completely possible. Emily asks, do we also have to have an experience in coding?

Speaker 1:        Absolutely not. I'm really glad that you asked that question. Absolutely [00:19:00] not. Um, very rarely do we have anyone who has any experience in coding, so it really takes you from, from the bottom, um, and teaches you some really basic skills. So, so all good there, uh, Sophia asks, um, as high school students, how can we get involved in social media right now so we can experiment with it? Ah, um, well, um, I'm curious [00:19:30] what, uh, if you're not involved in social media in some, some, um, contexts, but I think, um, many of us are using social media in our daily lives. And so, um, some of the things that I think you can probably think about are, um, some questions like, um, uh, what kinds of behaviors does social media, um, promote and what types of behaviors, doesn't it from word and just start reading, um, readings [00:20:00] and the academics that are talking about this stuff in the conversation, for example, um, where many of our, um, uh, academics are discussing very current topics around social media.

Speaker 1:        Um, okay. Uh, I've done coding before and not aware with, uh, what's involved in that is an issue. Yeah. As I said before, absolutely not. Um, the coding that we do is very, very basic [00:20:30] and, um, it's more focused on data analysis. So we do a little bit of coding just to teach you some amazingly important skills that will send you a really good state once you use it and leave UTS. But really it's nothing to worry about. Um, not silly. Ask the question, Hey, what prerequisites would you recommend for the schools? Um, I'm actually unsure of how to answer that question because I'm presuming it has to do with your, um, [00:21:00] subjects at high school, but James, perhaps thank you, James Lewis Hayes were very,

Speaker 3:        Um, so there are no particular prerequisites that you require for this particular course. However, there are some adjustment factors. So previously known you might be more commonly known them as bonus points that you get for completing certain subjects within high school. Easiest way to find out is to Google UTS adjustment factors. And you will see, so you will be assigned. [00:21:30] For example, if you do English extension one or two, you get in, you attain a band six, you will get four, three points, and then it goes down, uh, Ben five, two points spend for one point, uh, the maximum number of points you can get out of a subject scheme is five points, but those would be the ones that we would say, um, of things that you may want to take. Note of that will help you increase your selection rank, which is your a task score, plus any adjustment factors that you received.

Speaker 1:        [00:22:00] Thank you so much, James. Thank you. Um, someone asks, how can this course relate to fashion? Um, I think that's, um, what happens is that you will, you'll get lots of scope to choose the kind of area that you want to focus in, um, in your assessment tasks and your projects. So for example, um, some folks might, uh, in the app design, um, [00:22:30] subject, you might choose to design an app for a fashion brand, for example. Um, so, you know, technology really drives any industry. So, um, I think that there's lots of scope for you to, to attend to that. And obviously social media is really important to fashion too, but it's a particular angle on fashion. You didn't, you're not going to learn how to design dresses. I really wish that we did actually, cause that is one of my, um, my desires. [00:23:00] Um, but yes.

Speaker 1:        So the next question is, do you feel that it's national studies as a good addition to the, to be absolutely, uh, the international study is an excellent, um, uh, degree program. And, um, so if you did a double degree in international studies and um, in communication, I think that would be really excellent. Um, the next one and I'm afraid, I don't know too much. Um, [00:23:30] I know the people who teach international studies are really great lecturers and very outstanding researchers. Um, but I don't know a lot about the program, so you'd have to look online to see that, but yes, I think it would be really good, um, in principle. So next question is once you get into a communications degree, can you change majors? Um, now I'm not sure of exactly how the process works, but yes, James, thank you. Yes.

Speaker 3:        So I'll answer the first question and the second question at the same time, because he really wants [00:24:00] to doing a second major. Do you do subjects for that in your first year? So when you commence your communication degree, we strongly recommend that you start off with two majors itself, um, because it does build help. You become more rounded, um, communication, professional, so you can choose the children, social media and any of the other communication majors with the exception of media arts and production. So you can do, um, journalism, social and political sciences, media, brisk business, [00:24:30] which is a new one or writing and publishing, um, or strategic communication. So you can choose something that is complimentary or you can choose something that is opposing a bit different from what digital and social media is. Um, and you can, you can change your major. However, so say for example, if your question is around, if you apply for the children's social media this year, and you want to go up into media arts and production next year, you would have to apply back through your whack for something like that.

Speaker 3:        So we need [00:25:00] to changing majors within the communication degree itself. You, your first major, I mean your second major, you can change it probably after six months. If you want to change it after a year itself, you may run the risk of some of your subjects not counting to what's the degree. So you may prolong your degree as a result of that, but, um, you can still do that. So I'll leave for tenure to tenure, seems to want to add, um, to the two questions as well. Tanya, [00:25:30] did you want to add anything to this answers? Okay. All right. Thank you.

Speaker 1:        Thank you so much. Thanks teams. Um, how technical is this degree? How much coding and app development is involved? Um, so yes, now, um, I can understand that some people might feel afraid when they see that, you know, you develop apps and you do coding subjects. I was never a technical person at [00:26:00] high school in high school. Um, I, I, I loved maths, but I wasn't a good at it. And I took drama and, um, a bunch of other subjects in South Africa, not in Australia. Um, but I was, I was very artistic and creative. Um, and when I got to university, I did a meeting communications degree and that was in the early stage of the internet. So, um, I graduated in 1999 sometime time ago. Um, and that was when the first, uh, kind of internet subjects [00:26:30] were, were starting. And, and I did design, which is very technical in a way, but it was incredibly creative.

Speaker 1:        Um, so I think that's all of our subjects are really for creative and analytical people. So people have both the creative and the analytical sides. And as I said before, you can really, um, push, um, a particular angle. So, um, in, in our code and, and data subjects, [00:27:00] if you really love to, um, if you really are mathematical and analytical, then you can definitely push that side of things and do a project that's really, really technical. Um, if you not so technical, you know, it can be more focused on design and visualization. So I wouldn't worry, um, about that. And I think that answers those three questions really. So, um, it's, this is not a mathematical degree. It's not an engineering degree. We know that [00:27:30] our students, um, are interested in solving real world problems that practical they're creative, they're also analytical. Um, but it's really kind of well-rounded um, I would say many of you are unsure.

Speaker 1:        Um, I really like visual arts. Um, will we be looking at any design subjects in this course design? So I, I majored in design as an undergraduate and design is awesome because it is a major [00:28:00] part of, um, all of the subjects in a way, right. It's acceptable, the ones where you're trying to, um, develop a report or an argument. Um, but design is really a big feature of the course. Um, although you won't really learn it as you know, in, in, um, the heavy design sense, but you are designing things like websites, you designing presentations, you're designing, um, lots of visual [00:28:30] materials. So design is always in the background of these subjects.

Speaker 3:        So, um, if you're referring to design subjects from the design architecture and building the faculty itself, um, students may be allowed to do one elective outside of the faculty, but you have to put in a request, special requests, and then we will assess it if we, if the requests, um, is aligned to what you want [00:29:00] to do in future. And we can see a reason for that, that we, then we will definitely permit that. So you have to put in a special request for those subjects outside the faculty or the discipline.

Speaker 1:        Thank you, James. Yeah, that's part of the more like what they were asking me. I appreciate it. Um, throughout the course, will we be able to work with real life companies? Yes. There are definitely some subjects, um, in which, um, you're working with problems from, from real life companies and organizations. [00:29:30] Uh, so that's yeah, definitely. Um, what international opportunities are there for social media? Um, I'm guessing, uh, is the question is, you know, are there, it's not, uh, opportunities to work in the same fields outside of Australia, social media, perhaps. Um, and yeah, the answer there is definitely, um, uh, you know, the, the digital revolution [00:30:00] has influenced, uh, every society in the world. So we definitely see the same kinds of roles, um, outside of Australia, um, is this course, including graphic design and web designs, um, to some extent it includes web design. Um, yeah, I've definitely could web design to some extent, although we don't do, uh, we don't explicitly teach design in the way that you would, if you went to the design faculty. [00:30:30] Um, the next question is, uh, what major do you recommend in this course if I wanted a career in fashion design? Um, that's a really great question, um, in fashion or design second major.

Speaker 3:        So I guess it all depends on whether or not, um, so [00:31:00] if you, if you're thinking about starting your own business, so you've got the, um, digital and social media skills, uh, you know, because they teach you about web web, web user experience, user interface and all that. And, but you think, Hey, I might want to learn a little bit more about advertising because I feel that that would help me increase my business. So you may want to pick strategic communication because that covers advertising and, um, P uh, NPR. Um, so that could be something, but if you want [00:31:30] to, um, do something totally different and you think, Hey, um, you know, I want something else to fall back on. And maybe, you know, when I go into fashion and design, I want to, uh, right. I want to expand on my content writing skills because that teaches that's what being taught in digital and social media. But I like to perhaps think about eventually becoming a fashion blogger or a journalist. So I might want to take journalism instead, because that will give me some skills in, um, in expanding on that. So it all depends on, [00:32:00] um, probably what you think is, is something that you may want to fall back on or something that will help you in your future career. Hope. That helps.

Speaker 1:        Awesome. Thanks, James. Thank you. Any other questions in the Q and a,

Speaker 3:        Uh, there was one question, um, sent by Jessica Hawa who said, I'm not sure whether or not we might've answered that, but, um, throughout the course, will we be able to work with real life companies?

Speaker 1:        Uh, yes. Yeah, I did answer that question. Um, yeah. [00:32:30] Great. Well, thank you so much for coming today. I really appreciate it. We appreciate it. And we hope to see many of you joining us at UCS next year. Hopefully it's a much brighter year. We all looking forward to it. Oh, well, everyone have a lovely day. Bye bye.

 

Speaker 1:        Okay. I think we better begin. Uh, welcome everybody. My name is professor Saba Bebawi. I'm head of journalism and writing discipline. And, uh, we're here to talk to you about the bachelor of communication in journalism. Before we start, I would just like to acknowledge the Gadigal and gringa people of the Eora Nation upon whose ancestral lands our university UTS now stands. [00:00:30] We would also like to pay respect to the elders both past and present acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these places. And of course, I also acknowledge the lands from which you are zooming in today. So hello everyone. Um, usually we have this as a face-to-face event, but, um, I think we're used to talking through screens today. I have with me, my colleagues, I've got Martin Newman, who's editor of central news here [00:01:00] at UTS generalism. I'm also accompanied by Martin Walters, who's manager of two SDR community radio station.

Speaker 1:        And we have Trinity with us who is a year or two journalism. Students are all going to tell you about this degree that we are running at UTS. So why should you study with us? Well, you are going to be joining a team of very passionate people in journalism. You get to, uh, join [00:01:30] also one of the top journalism schools in the country, which is what always makes me excited about working here. But more importantly, you get to publish and broadcast your own, um, work. The idea for us is that you are going to be a journalist who has a portfolio that's ready to go. Once you finish your studies and during your studies, we make sure that you publish and broadcast on many different platforms, including central news, where to go and you mag to SCR. [00:02:00] As I said, we've got members of those platforms here to talk to you today.

Speaker 1:        We're also very keen on internships. So the idea is that we're launching this new degree with, so I'm very excited to tell you about in a minute, but those during those courses, you learn the skills. And from those skills working that everybody just, we encourage absolutely everybody to at least have done one internship before they finish their degree. And we have fantastic weekly updates [00:02:30] on available internships in addition to very specific and, um, uh, relationships with industry such as the ABC nine years and SBS, we also get to work with the latest technology. And so we're always making sure that we have that available for students, um, specifically, uh, all the, um, with the new degree that I'm about to tell you we've taken that into account. [00:03:00] So how does it work well with food focused on photography? We're interested in doing data visualizations. You'll notice right now during COVID times that a lot of, um, reporting is number crunching and based on visualizations, we have a very practical approach to classes.

Speaker 1:        Uh, we make sure that you interview from day one. You get to actually, uh, try out and, um, [00:03:30] test and Excel in latest tools with Google and Adobe. We also collaborate with international journalism schools, and that's one thing that I'm very keen on. All our students to be doing is to have international collaborations, international experiences. We've got international study tours also that are funded by DEFAT. We want you to look into local stories, but we want you to look also an international stories. You get to do augmented reality, and you hone on all your [00:04:00] writing skills for platforms. So the cost structure is as follows. You do three core communications subjects. You then do eight journalism major subjects, which I'll talk you through in a minute. And then you either do a second major with elective choices or six to eight stream subjects and electives.

Speaker 1:        Um, there's a huge bouquet of, uh, and variety of subjects to choose from with the electives. [00:04:30] So let me talk to you through those eight journalism subjects. And I, as I said, I'm really excited because he's a new, uh, subject altogether we have in the first year a subject, which is news. Now in this subject, you get to, uh, have a taster of just the basics. We covered the basics of writing sound, video, editing, interviewing we're just covering the basics. And we really in this subject, [00:05:00] make sure that you start writing from day one. The idea of this degree is that we encourage you to have an online portfolio and this portfolio you can take with you to any future employer or developed through your internship. So we make sure that you're constantly writing, producing stories, recording, editing during all your subjects. We also have media law and ethics, and this is very important that you understand not just the Australian, uh, uh, frame [00:05:30] for media and law and ethics, but also at an international level, uh, media and news is now digital and global.

Speaker 1:        So you need to understand it at a global level. Multimedia features is incredibly important because it brings together the skills that you've learned in news now and transforms them onto a multimedia packages. So making sure that when you tell a story, you can tell it in different ways, if part of it leads itself [00:06:00] to some, do you do it through a podcast? If some of it needs itself to imagery, you do it through maybe a photo gallery. So you get to experiment with different ways of telling a story based on what your sources and the story lends itself to second year. So the first year is like, think about it as if it's basics. And then the second year is we're solidifying those skills. So we've got sound journalism where we're focusing on podcasts, [00:06:30] um, designing sound, designing, silence, and sound. And we are also including an internship at two C SCR, which Martin will talk to you about in a minute, visual generalism, same as sound.

Speaker 1:        You dove deeper into understanding how to, uh, produce, uh, visuals, um, shorts, social media, video packages. It's really important that you get the skills [00:07:00] for also editing video. A lot of my students have traveled with me, have actually studied with me, have actually ended up as video journalists where there's a huge demand at the moment. Then we go onto a new subject called digital journalism research. And this is not just about research. So with our students, we want them to talk the talk and not just walk the walk. So we want you to understand the discourse is surrounding your industry. [00:07:30] You sit with an amazing journalist, um, and they know the issues that are concerning the profession. They know the challenges and they know the scholarly debates and views and positions, and we want you to be very versed in those. So digital journalism research will make you be taking, taking on a kind of critical view of your industry, but also, uh, re uh, develop two types of research, scholarly research [00:08:00] as part of a university graduate that you would need, um, and also, uh, researching the stories and in-depth stories, which you get to do in in third year.

Speaker 1:        Um, so a lot of jobs that include journalism and not just journalists, but you can actually be a consultant or a researcher at a media organization. So I think research, those are incredibly important to be taken as a separate subject. Third year is when you get to, [00:08:30] we get to prepare you for the industry. So we've got investigations, data and collaborations, where we take you to a, kind of a deeper, higher level of journalism, which includes collaborating, um, think Panama papers here, but collaborating with other students around the world, uh, understanding how to produce stories from data and big data sets, but also investigating, uh, stories at an in-depth level with a longer format. So this is a more professional [00:09:00] level in third year, which leads us to the final subject, which is professional project. This is an exciting one. We're really excited about this because you get to think about your own startup.

Speaker 1:        Uh, it might be a project that you actually I've had students who had their own radio station then have their own people coming in to intern for them. So it's a more entrepreneurial approach and you will be working with this startup. It could be anything at all. And you're working with mentors from industry and also mentors from [00:09:30] UTS. So you can see by the time you've finished, you've taken your year by year, step by step, but we're preparing you with skills like photojournalism and social media skills, um, uh, writing video, editing, sound editing, and also having announcement news and understanding how news works with your second major. You can choose to do this degree with another major, so marry them together. And I think that's always something I'd really [00:10:00] have all the years encouraged students coming into journalism is Johnson is one of those degrees that you actually can do with another degree.

Speaker 1:        Um, so one of our suggestions here is digital and social media, strategic communication writing, and publishing social and political science and media business, which means that as a generalist, you can specialize. If you've got a second major with another degree for you to work on, there's also combined degrees. [00:10:30] Um, so we, you can do a bachelor of laws, which is quite common for junkies and students actually. Uh, so I've had plenty of students do that, uh, bachelor of international studies. And there you get to learn to speak another language you get to travel, um, and also bachelor of creative intelligence and innovate in innovation. And so it is a really good idea to think about widening your scope and also being more competitive, [00:11:00] but also think about what kind of job you'd like. And a combined degree might help you be more specialized. We've got, as I said, real industry connections, not fake ones. So we've got the New York times, guardian Google news, channel 10, ABC amongst others. Um, uh, of course, but these are just, uh, some of the selections that we have.

Speaker 1:        So what are the opportunities beyond the classroom? It's [00:11:30] very important for us, uh, to, uh, make sure that you are developing your skills outside those eight courses that I, and building on them, we, uh, run the foreign correspondence study to this is, uh, funded by Deepak. We've taken students, destination such as Philippines, Tunisia, Jordan, and India. Uh, you can actually, and, and find that, and you can see some of the stories that students have published with SBS directly working [00:12:00] with students on a bus. And then, um, they, they're sending stories in the middle of drawing and then, um, sending the stories up and then also getting published while they're on tour, which is a very authentic, real life experience, volunteering it to STR Martin will tell you a little bit about that in a minute. Um, joining a club or society, we've got the UTS journalism society, which is incredibly active and you get to work with other students.

Speaker 1:        We've got a lot of forums going on [00:12:30] too. Uh, you get to launch on business or join one at UTS startups. And think about that last subject I told you about. So there's opportunities beyond journalism at UTS for you to develop your skills. And you can also do a six month exchange or go on short-term overseas language or cultural program. And this is something that a lot of my students have done and, and others students, uh, at UTS have done, but more importantly, [00:13:00] I've made a career out of it. So I'm going to hand over now to Martin Newman, who's editor of central news, uh, to I'll stop sharing Martin, and I'll let you share your slides. And then after that, we'll hear from Martin Walters, who's a manager of two SCR. Okay, great.

Speaker 2:        Thanks Saba. Um, hi everyone. My name is Martin Newman. I'm, um, I'm a lecturer at UTS and I run the central news website, which is the student website for publishing [00:13:30] stories. Uh, I've been a journalist for 30 years working, uh, largely in London where I was managing, um, you know, a news news desk on the daily mirror for about bad ideas and also, um, launching tech products like Addison podcasts, which I did here in Australia as well for news Corp. And I'm currently working for nine. Um, so what I do primarily, uh, aside from the lecturing in various subjects is I sort of shepherd people through the writing process [00:14:00] through, uh, students through the writing process. So I'm just going to share my screen with you to, um, just show you, uh, what I'm talking about, the website that I'm talking about, which is central news.

Speaker 2:        Okay. Can you guys see that? Is that up on your screen? Thumbs up. Yeah. Cool. Okay. So this is central news. Um, you know, we publish several stories a week here and we're working with students all the time on their stories. Um, and some of them can take, you know, a dice. Some of them can take weeks depending [00:14:30] on what they are. And, you know, we look at a range of different stories. So, you know, this one that went up today is about, um, a heritage order on an indigenous site. Um, something about Sally dialing, the first, um, director of public prosecutions in new south Wales. Uh, this is from an interview that was done with Jonathan Shapiro at IFR about off the pie. So we have a range of subjects from sports and finance to social justice, um, [00:15:00] you know, which are, uh, spread throughout, you know, what is a fairly comprehensive site now, you know, within that site.

Speaker 2:        Um, you know, we have a range of stories. We have a lot of international stories. We have students working overseas, like, um, some of them have debates stuck there because of the, uh, the lockdown. So this is, um, an example of a, and on the same story from the floods in Germany, that was, we put up a few weeks ago, um, by one of our students Tanner. [00:15:30] Um, we have, um, you know, examples of odd stories. This is not story done by one of our students, Danny, a couple of weeks ago, which was also run, uh, in the Australian financial review about a week ago. So we're also looking out for, you know, getting your stories into other publications. And so a lot of the students being published elsewhere, whether it's from large organizations like the Sydney morning Herald to, um, [00:16:00] you know, smaller digital operations like city hub, um, part of this has to do with, you know, people who are interning and part of it is to doing with pitching.

Speaker 2:        So we sort of advise students about how to pitch their stories to different places and because of our industry connections, you know, we have those contacts within organizations to get people published elsewhere. Um, we use things like, um, you know, as I saw it from using, uh, you know, programs like Photoshop, we use things like canvas [00:16:30] as well to teach students how to easily create graphics. And the types of products on canvas are incredibly simple, even by the standards of, you know, Photoshop, which most people are used to, um, just to create graphic images for things like videos and for montage pitchers, you know, we're also constantly revising how we do these things. So we have plans in place to, you know, change the design features around [00:17:00] products, um, and look at news or new ways of doing things. And this is in line with, with our, you know, our commitment to keeping up with technology as well.

Speaker 2:        Uh, in terms of social media, we have various social media sites. So this is our, you know, this is our Twitter page. You know, we have Instagram and Facebook. Um, we've recently started a Tik TOK, um, as well. So students are creating these things, you know, that fall a better place to create them then than I am that's for sure. [00:17:30] Uh, and, and, you know, we tap into the skills of, you know, the students come, come to university with as well as, as teaching them new things and hopefully combine them in a, in the best possible way. We have a YouTube site, which we, uh, we put up, uh, our videos on. Um, and these are a range of things from, you know, quite straightforward, um, uh, you know, reports on, say the lockdown protests there's this one is here to, you know, quite complicated, [00:18:00] uh, features.

Speaker 2:        One of our students recently won student of the year at the mid-year Walkleys for a 17 minute, uh, video that was done, uh, in, in one of his assessments. So, you know, we have a real range of things. We're doing podcasts. This is our current, um, Olympics and Paralympics podcasts. There's been running since the start of Tokyo 2020. Uh, and this is going up a couple of times a week with a couple of students, um, running it and others producing [00:18:30] it and editing it. We have another one called the dish where we put up, uh, put up audio, um, pieces packages from students. And, you know, we've got another one planned about foreign correspondence. So we're always doing, we've always got projects on the go. This is, um, this is, uh, you know, uh, a rule, a video of one of our students, uh, Pamela, Ron Kovitz, uh, uh, interviewing Phil Cogan.

Speaker 2:        Who's a photographer in London who was [00:19:00] in Afghanistan. So she's recently completed, um, that, uh, that interview and that'll form part of a new podcast series. So those are the types of things that we're doing at just the central news. Um, and some of it combines, uh, work from within the faculty. And some of it is, is entirely separate from that. But the key thing about it is we were working with students. Um, you know, when we're on campus, face-to-face when we're off campus [00:19:30] working remotely, it's, it's wide zoom, and it's a very quick way of learning. It's, it's, it's a way of hothousing you as a, as a writer. So in terms of writing stories, we can go through everything line by line and explain everything from punctuation and grammar to, uh, how you structure a story, how you write a headline, um, and, and how you, how you do, you know, things that are required in digital today. Like, you know, search engine optimization. So SEO headlines, all of that is really important [00:20:00] when you're looking for a job these days. And some of it is important just to say up front that you you're, you know, about it. So all of that, uh, things that we cover in our, um, course material, but also, you know, in a live Y working through central news. Yep.

Speaker 1:        Thanks Martin. That's fabulous. It's very hard to give you an idea of everything we do in five minutes, but I think Martin did it well, and please go check out the central news website. It'll give you a better idea of what we do, Martin [00:20:30] Walters over to you.

Speaker 3:        You're just on mute. Sorry. All right. Thanks. Very much Saba. Um, and, uh, good morning everybody or good afternoon. Um, so my name is Madeline and I'm the station manager at, to SCR, which is I, I ran the I station co owned by UTS and with Bari university with 42 years old, 42 years. Yeah. [00:21:00] I prepared a site. And you would find that the main site to us yeah. Is based right here on the campus of UTS, where we have a full building from the street front and four more main studios and specific podcasting studio. And, um, I have a lot of activities, which I think some of you would be very interested in. Should you give me two degrades with ETFs? So, uh, similar to central youth [00:21:30] news, when you're studying journalism at UTS to ECRs and excellent place to compliment what you are being taught.

Speaker 3:        Um, if you're interested in radio podcast, audio multimedia, that's one of the best ways to build up your portfolio, um, meet people and own your skills, sharpen your skills, and you're actually doing it. And, and in the industry itself. So tell you a little bit about to SEI, um, is that we broadcast [00:22:00] on 1 million, 7.3 [inaudible] and forecast right down to the Illawarra Illawarra region and across to the blue mountains. So there is a decent audience listen to, to a CR uh, hundreds of thousands of people tuning in each month. Um, as well as the reach that we have online internationally. So we're a community station, and that means we are people powered. We're not for profit volunteer powered station. So, so yeah, is [00:22:30] partly a very interesting place because there is a mix of students studying and non-students also volunteering for the station. So it's a great place to intersect, to meet people, to find new paths.

Speaker 3:        And, um, a lot of people have come into too. It's yeah. Thinking they want it to be one thing and have ended up doing something completely differently and then loving it and embraced it. And, um, I'll give you a couple of examples in a minute. Um, a little bit about [00:23:00] the station as I just start to share my screen, see if I can go do this. Okay. Um, so I look on this guy to very briefly, um, showing you a little bit about too. Yeah. Because I just want to encourage you, um, in the near future to have a little look through, because much like central news, I think it's a good way for you to start getting a sense of the station. So check out our website, too, it's yahoo.com and have a look at the [00:23:30] range of programming. Some of the stories we run a lot of music programming on air, our audience.

Speaker 3:        We have a very diverse grid and our audience is interested in music as well as our independent news and current affairs content. And, um, and as you can see here, some current [inaudible], which I will come back to in a moment, I just encourage you to take a look. Um, cause some of you won't have radios. Uh, you can also find us on out, [00:24:00] make sure you check that out sometime. Um, no one can get across to my next tab, which I will sick. I hope you can still see this. Um, yeah. In terms of specifically news and current affairs streams, we have a lot of opportunities for students to get involved thing we have volunteering and internships available. And so you hear more about that. Um, [00:24:30] when you come to too it's yeah. You would just be doing things straight away. There's no, there's no sitting around.

Speaker 3:        There's no watching what we're after it's people who are interested and have ideas and can get involved. A lot of people start off with, at two, a CFI becoming a producer on a live magazine shirt, breakfast show, the morning show drive, where they might be sourcing stories, finding talent, writing up interviews, and with publishing. [00:25:00] And then from there, they might move generally along a pathway where sometimes into our newsroom provides an hourly bulletin service. It might move into kind of fears. They might move into presenting and there's people skip along the pathway. They get into podcasting as well and out features and documentary production. So a couple of examples of this. Um, look, if you're interested in hearing some of the [inaudible], you can look them up on the website again, you can see there's a whole range of content, uh, [00:25:30] from, uh, climate science to education here, we've got reporting on conflict.

Speaker 3:        We've got, um, all sorts and I will just leave you to check that out. And we also have a national current fit program that we are, one of the producing radio stations think is syndicated, uh, nationally to the community radio network. And that is called the wire. So the why has it, the stories for [00:26:00] the wire are on our website, but you can also find them on the Y's own website. And that is a project that's been around for 15 years now. And it's a dine and current affairs show. It's out. It's our version at the moment of something like the world today on ABC, the half hour program at the moment being made in lockdown. So the voices, the reporters, uh, all over the place and filing your stories remotely, and we have minimal staff on site, but, um, we have [00:26:30] similar report to getting everybody back then. Um, another, another program we had with sexually about journalism is for the state. And some of you just might find this interesting to listen to one of the reasons I'm sharing this now, where, um, we have discussions each week with journalists about journalism and there's some really great content on there and you can look that up and you can find it on your podcast feeds. Um,

Speaker 1:        So thanks very much.

Speaker 3:        No, no, that's all right. Um, and [00:27:00] if you would like, if you'd like to find out more about the station, find my name magnet too, it's the other form. And we will send you a copy of our magazine that I can't hold up because my background, um, but we will get one.

Speaker 1:        Thank you so much. Thank you for that. Um, uh, so many opportunities for students to have, we, uh, don't have much time, so I will go through this now and I'm going [00:27:30] to hand over to Trinity, Laurie. Thank you. So yes, I'm a student studying journalism and I'm double majoring in digital and social media. And my teacher is actually modern Newman, the runner of central news. So, um, I chose journalism at UTS because it's been a childhood dream dream of mine to be a presenter and a reporter. And I loved your chest because it had a very good reputation in the industry. Like your teachers are literally industry professionals [00:28:00] and journalists themselves. They have connections. Like I mentioned, a fortunate SPS channel 10, um, heaps of news outlets. And it's actually through the teachers here that I was able to get my first job at, um, channel 10.

Speaker 1:        So I actually have two roles that they're now doing, like being a social video producer and also a production assistant on the morning show. So it's really good because the teachers always send out opportunities and it's what you make of it. At the end of the day, the course is really practical. So all the assessments, you can basically [00:28:30] go to your future employer and show them, and you can use that as your portfolio. So unlike as, um, folks Martin's showed through, um, to SCR and through central news, you can get involved and you can get heaps of experience. If you guys have any additional questions, you can head to the open page and there are students waiting to answer your questions. So thank you, short and sweet for me.

Speaker 1:        Beautiful. Thank you so much, Trinity. So I'm going to ask [00:29:00] if anyone's got questions we've been responding to the questions as they come in. They're all questions that have to do with, um, um, enrollments in course design, but, uh, uh, I can see, are there any other questions? There's a question there. Um, it says what teaching styles are used in this degree is a more independent, collaborative lecture style. Do you want to answer that since [00:29:30] you experienced it? Okay. Why not? Um, I think it is quite independent. Like I did investigative journalism, um, last semester. And was it, or did was digging deeper last semester, investigative now, and they're very independent. So you, they leave you up to a device and that you go find a story, but if you do need assistance, you can always ask them for help with the ideas and things like that. If they try to, um, raise you like a true journalist [00:30:00] in the field. So for example, one of our classes we had before an assessment we had was a pitching session it's like you would do in industry where you pitch to producers, to the execs and things like that. So I would say it's quite an independent.

Speaker 2:        Great, thanks Trinity. Okay. So there's a question there about the kind of networking students receive. Um, [00:30:30] yeah, look, I, I think, I mean, we do, we do use our industry connections and all of the lecturers that, that work here are attached to, uh, or have, have contacts within different parts of the industry. And some of them are more focused on broadcast. Some of them are more focused on print. Uh, you know, my industry contacts tend to be more print contexts, uh, newspaper contacts, um, when some of the others are more audio and, um, uh, and, and visual, um, broadcast. [00:31:00] But look, I mean, we, we provide a sort of a range of, of, of, of advice about, um, how you, you further your, your network contacts. I mean, some of them are to do with actual, you know, people that you talk to you for stories and others are to do with industry people.

Speaker 2:        They may be around guest speakers. I mean, a lot of, lot of students have actually, you know, continue to have contacts with guest speakers in the industry. Who've given them a foothold also in, um, in, in the business. So, I mean, these are all sort of valuable [00:31:30] contacts and a lot of the guest speakers that we have who are in the media and, you know, and this is true for two SCR and the people they get on, on the, you know, their fourth state podcast as well. Um, I mean, they're all pretty keen to help. I mean, a lot of people in the industry and we're all from the industry, you know, are keen for the next generation of journalists to come through and be properly, you know, shepherd at an, at advised. And we were kind of, you know, we're all very optimistic about, you know, how you get on and we want to help you as much as possible to do that. Not just in [00:32:00] what we're teaching you about the business, but, you know, how are we helping you to actually further your careers? So all of that is part of the networking that, that has kind of provided here.

Speaker 1:        That's great. Thanks, Martin. Um, we have two more questions. Do you have volunteer opportunities? Uh, uh, thanks, Nate. Uh, do you have volunteer opportunities as part of this degree? Um, yes. Mark has alluded to some of those already, [00:32:30] uh, going for central news and also any internships that you do as part of this degree also come to, uh, um, is part of that, including to see, uh, where you can have some volunteer opportunities to, um, the final question I think was the hardest one. How many classes will a Jones that you didn't have an average a week Trinity? You think you can help me with that one? Well, currently I only have one cost per journalism a week, [00:33:00] so it's, you can maintain it. I'm also doing a double major with digital and social media. So I have about one to two classes per week. It can be one to three and I'm studying full time. So you should be fine on that aspect. But I think for first semester, um, it could be two because you're also selling media law and ethics, but yet, so I would say one to three would be max, but it's, it's manageable. Great. Okay. I'm sorry.

Speaker 2:        Look, if I can just, just [00:33:30] very quickly, I just want to share my screen again, just to give people an idea of the types of opportunities that we're constantly alerting students to. Um, this is, this is, uh, this is an internal notice board that we use for students, and it has a combination of things on it, but among them are various sort of opportunities that are around cadetships internships, um, seminars. Um, and this is, you know, this is just from the last [00:34:00] week. So, you know, you can see there's, there's, you know, there's about 20 things on there just from, or more than that, just from the, just from the last seven days. So we're, we're constantly advising students about how they can find, um, volunteer, work internships in the business and how they can, uh, they, they've got a better chance of getting them as well. So all of that information is included in, in the daily sort of communications we have with journalists, journalism students

Speaker 1:        [00:34:30] Anyway. Okay, wonderful. We're going to wrap up, but we have one more question. If I want to pursue a career in sport, what second major should I do? Uh, you don't have to do a second major. You can just pick the elective. So we have some electives for sports gyms and that you can pick. Um, so, uh, it's, uh, an also the way that you do it is, um, you build your assignments more around sports journalism. So you build this portfolio. That's [00:35:00] ready to go. So I hope that answers your question. We've run out of time. So I have to wrap up for recording purposes, but thank you everyone, Martin, Martin, Trinity, and those remaining and listening take care and contact us. If you have any more questions, happy to answer them. Thank you. Bye.

 

Speaker 1:        Uh, so I think that I might get started there. Um, as I said, welcome everybody to UTS today. Okay. Why study meteorites and production at UTS? Um, first of all, um, in thing our one map is about a 30 year program at UTS. It's got a really good kind of tradition and part of the thing which helped our program are two things really around, um, our relationship to industry. And that includes basically our staff who are practitioners within the industry [00:00:30] and also our students that go on to have industry success. And when we think about that, it's really the way that, uh, that it UTS media rights put, put into place, the, um, practice orientated learning at UTS. Um, you could be build your skills within niche areas, such as editing cinematography, um, sound a new media, and also you can use, uh, UTS has excellent facilities. Um, and that includes post-production facilities and our bond bond, my studio, which is a 10 by 10 productive space.

Speaker 1:        [00:01:00] What subjects will I study? Uh, this is an exciting thing because in, um, this is a revamp of our program. So UTS has just had, uh, a new curriculum, uh, which revises basically what we've done really well in the past, and also what we want to do in the future. That's all we're saying. So this program, uh, you know, really builds upon our 30 year program at UTS. And, um, in terms of some of those subjects screen story, we can think about the screens everywhere. We can look, think about Netflix. We can [00:01:30] think about the screen scape story sold on mobile phones. So really what we've tried to emphasize with this new program is really thinking about who's telling these stories, why we're telling these stories and also thinking about that of UTS with the globe, with the, with a global and social impact. And that really puts our prospective students ahead of the rest.

Speaker 1:        When you move into the second year, we can see basically they sub exclude, build upon what we've done. Well already, documentary non-fictional media, experimental media. So it's not all Netflix and commercial television. There's a really long history [00:02:00] in media arts of UTS. And in the end, in the way that we tell stories, which are more experimental stories about places, stories about, uh, stories about people, uh, stories about thinking about the, you know, the texture of stories, the colors of stories, the sounds of stories, and all this is encapsulated in this sort of wider history, um, of, of media arts. When you can look there, you can see basically in that those last couple subjects had developed a brand, and I know Katie can speak to this as a kind of simulation of what [00:02:30] happens in the industry and what I'm talking about there is for example, project development.

Speaker 1:        So when you're in the screen industry, you develop a project for production. And at UTS map, we simulate that. So creative project development leads into media arts project and media arts projects, where you get to create your short film. Um, it used to be, or it still is kind of called a calling card in a sense, and it shows a future employee what you can do, where you create, where your creativity lies and how that can help you, um, really secure your, your space and what is competitive [00:03:00] and a challenging, but ultimately, uh, really, uh, rewarding creative industry in media arts. And I think when I was talking about convergence, the other immediate convergence, there's a real sense that at the moment, I think it's a really exciting time to be around screen media and creative media. We could think about, um, you know, thinking about, uh, television, we're thinking about, uh, digital film and so on, but this is really one of those bumps in the, in, in kind of like the creative industries where we can see there's so many different stories, so many different voices.

Speaker 1:        And [00:03:30] I think, you know, if I was a student coming in now, it's a really interesting and creative time. Okay, I'm trying to move to that next slide. And here it is. Okay. In terms of the program, um, you're also a part of the school of communication. So you still do your core subjects. Um, but with us, as I said, you do those eight media arts production subjects. Now students, um, media arts students. It's important thing to remember here that you've got to choose meteorites as your first major other, uh, [00:04:00] other, uh, disciplines within the communications. Can't choose media arts as their second. So make sure you've kind of got that down in terms of, um, the other great thing about, about being a part of communication and media arts, even to the second major. And I'll talk about some of the different disciplines that we've got there, but a second major increases your chance for kind of employment within that diversity.

Speaker 1:        And it can really strengthen and bolster your chances. You start your second media a second major automatically. So you start doing it in [00:04:30] your first year, and then it's dependent on how you're going in those subjects. It's a re it's related to grade point average, um, and that will allow you to keep going. Otherwise you can take, you can basically teach, uh, get a stream of electives, okay. Type of student assessments, no exams. That's always, uh, after the stress of HSC, um, is a popular thing that our students like to hear. Um, we don't have, um, we even within the school of communication, there are very few exams or the media arts. And as I said, it relates to our, [00:05:00] uh, our, uh, UTS model of learning and our practice orientated approach to learning. Um, we do small exercises often with production, right from the get-go. Um, and that's the kind of assessments you do. Is there group work? Yes, there is group work, but how does great screen work happen? How did that, how do the Netflix shows? We love the films we love happen. They come through a collab through a collaboration of minds and people working together in creative groups. And again, we simulate, we simulate the industry experience within our program and that [00:05:30] makes our graduates set ready, ready to collaborate, and ready to share great ideas and realize them and make them happen.

Speaker 1:        Okay. I talked a little bit about our on campus features earlier. Um, and that was basically a little bit around post-production. We've got, uh, we've got video edit suites, we've got a brand new color correction suite, um, which really is an exciting one of those exciting developments, digital technology. Now what you shoot in camera doesn't [00:06:00] necessarily translate to the final utter, the final image that you see, it's manipulated it's colored and it's optimized for an audience. The bond marsh studio is like the spiritual home. If you like of, of media arts and production, it's a black box 10 by 10 meters, we've got studio lighting and so on. And that's the place that you get your, your tutors and lecturers teaching within. But it's also the space where you do those group exercises in class as well. When I think, you know, but even [00:06:30] I think at the pinnacle and what UTS really has above our competitors is the film equipment.

Speaker 1:        We have state-of-the-art cameras, which the industry use. We have, uh, black magic cinema cameras, um, area Alexa cameras. And we have more lighting that you can imagine we've had enough lights to basically can fill a truck for productions. And when you see the quality of quality of our student field productions, um, in that media rights, uh, project subject, which I mentioned earlier, um, you can really, um, the amount of gear that, that our students use again, [00:07:00] simulates that kind of, uh, industry, um, industry, um, practices as well. And, uh, you know, the work we produce in that final year, uh, is really top-notch. There was, um, ABC did a series on IVU, which was called, um, grad grad school grad film school. And UTS had, I think the most entries in there that was back in 20, um, I think 2017 or something, there was also as part of vivid, of course have it was, um, was canceled, unfortunately [00:07:30] like many events through COVID, but in vivid we have, uh, a, um, we had a showcase plan with UTS, with our animation students as well.

Speaker 1:        And that looked at the best of, uh, media arts production and animation, which was going to get it, you know, alive and wide wide audience, you, but we do hope and think that vent vent will be back in some form, but it really is a celebration of, I guess, that, that diversity of talent, that wealth and talent, which UTS media arts and production has produced. Okay. When I talked about [00:08:00] doing a second major, and again, it's, um, you need to be an immediate ask your best date first for your first major, and you commence your second major with the view to continuing it. If you like it, if the grade point averages are there. So if you look at, um, what that might be, uh, at the moment, and you can think about some of these go very well with media production, we've got digital and social media, which is a relatively new discipline within school of communication.

Speaker 1:        We've got journalism, which is the pre established discipline, strategic communication [00:08:30] writing, and publishing social political sciences. And again, media business, which is a new offering. So you can bolster your media arts and production studies with one of the second majors. And again, that can give you competitiveness, um, in the job market. And it can also, um, also can really, um, can consolidate your, you know, your creative media skills and make you think differently again, about stories, um, about characters and about, uh, about some of the, uh, the issues either in, um, in fiction [00:09:00] or non-fiction, um, kind of storytelling at UTS. You can do a combined degree. And some of these examples here we have on screen, but the bachelor of international studies, the bachelor of laws, the bachelor of creative intelligence and innovation, um, and there's also a diploma in languages or innovation. Uh, traditionally our match students do often do often as a proportion about a map. Students do take, um, that combined degree, um, with law, [00:09:30] uh, and, uh, the BCI, which is a very UTS UTS centric kind of offering in the way that it looks at creativity, uh, innovation and design thinking and so on.

Speaker 1:        Okay. In terms of, um, some of the, some of the careers you might think about doing media arts and production, um, filmmaker, director, editor, producer, cinematographer, sound designer, or a cordless screenwriter, a radio producer, [00:10:00] multimedia designer, documentary maker, arts and cultural administrator and programming, commissioning editor, or a freelance media artists opportunities. That's just the range of careers. And I said, it's a really exciting time to be in credit media at the moment with digital content and with the expansion of the screen scrape, particularly into streaming media and so on. We had to look, um, recently at where some of our alumni end up, and it was really interesting to see the quite a few of, uh, alumni, uh, end up in that really [00:10:30] high positions in arts administration at screen Australia and so on. And so it's really, uh, interesting that yes, it's, we have creative graduates.

Speaker 1:        We also have graduates that end up in the cultural industries and playing very pivotal roles in, for example, determining the types of, uh, of stories, um, that Australian audiences can, um, can see, uh, and so on. Okay. In terms of our alumni, uh, here's a few examples of, of our alumni. And I said, UTS matches a highly regarded in the industry, [00:11:00] um, to be job ready and, and, and work ready. Um, Handmaid's tale came down as the director, um, is, uh, obviously a hugely popular series globally on Netflix. And this crosses, uh, across basically short films, uh, uh, feature films and TV series. One about one of our more recent grads, uh, Maya Newell, um, her film gave me get they baby received widespread at the expo and television distribution. Um, Kim Dante, the rocket with the rocket recently, um, are in Griffin, [00:11:30] Mandy Chang.

Speaker 1:        And again, Mandy changes to be head of arts at the ABC. You can see the interaction there between the industry, the screen storytelling and content industries and the creative, creative onset, um, industries and so on. Um, Bonnie Ella, well, Bonnie Elliot there. And again, um, one thing that we pride ourselves on, uh, has been in the past is, um, is really creating a strong pathway and an equitable pathway for, uh, for women and female cinematographers, um, in a domain, which has traditionally [00:12:00] been a little bit more skewed towards men. And we've got a really good history of again, um, of that kind of, um, social, social impact, um, with what we do at UTS as well. Okay. Uh, we have two students, uh, at the moment I would get, um, uh, Keana and Nate to just turn on your cameras. I think you both said, they said her alone already. Um, we'd had a bit of a downturn them. Um, so welcome back again. So our keynote is in our final third [00:12:30] year student and Nate,

Speaker 2:        I'm the state actually, I've got my final capstone next semester over the summer. So almost there.

Speaker 1:        Brilliant. Okay. So keen, I thought, I'd start with you first. I was going to ask you, is that why you, why you chose media arts and production? Um, going back a couple of

Speaker 3:        Nephew. Yeah, just a few years. Um, I mainly was excited to do media arts and production at UTS because as opposed to going for a film school specific course, I was thinking that [00:13:00] the comms degree here would have a broader range of knowledge and interaction with different students from different areas of the uni that might set me up better in terms of not being so focused on particularly one thing, especially not to begin with. I also picked UTS for the global exchange opportunity. That was like my one really exciting thing as well. Okay.

Speaker 1:        Um, do you wanna speak a little bit more about that? So we'll do a global exchange. Well,

Speaker 3:        It was canceled. We didn't actually get to go, but [00:13:30] it's all been really good and the opportunity to do two majors in the comms course, as opposed to, if you go to a film school, it's mainly like, this is your one degree. Yeah. I think it does offer a broader spectrum of knowledge.

Speaker 1:        Yeah. Basically. And I think, you know, the probably there's going to be a few questions in the chat around COVID and so on. Um, but you know, media arts and production, you know, we are in the initial COVID period. We did keep teaching, you know, we kept talking, we kept teaching with the same protocols, which the industry is in COVID safe protocols. So as a discipline, [00:14:00] we were one of those few disciplines that, that need to provide that, that practice. Um, and we managed to do that as well. Um, Nate, so, um, can I just, um, get you to, um, have a little, having to think about what was, maybe give us a sense of, um, your, your first year in and starting, it probably would have been exploring media arts and how you kind of what you, what you really liked about that, or, or what's your observations about that? Yeah,

Speaker 2:        I'll just say quickly as well, based off what Kenya was just saying that I actually came, I went to film school [00:14:30] prior to coming to UTS as well. Um, and I found that broadly speaking, it was a lot of that same sort of film school environment, but within a comms degree. So you get to crossover with students doing other majors and other disciplines, which is really helpful. And I think a lot more conducive to creating a good content and, you know, learning how to become a better media practitioner in the real world, rather than just being in sort of a very, um, straightforward, uh, way. Um, but yeah, as, as I mentioned, so I started with exploring media arts and then going into composing the real, [00:15:00] I think a lot of what we covered, uh, that year, um, was great in the sense that, um, you really learn, you know, very, very, very classic, very simple storytelling filming theories, um, and then how to apply those first in a, in a fictional setting. And then second then in a documentary setting and everything that, you know, you might not notice this when you're first doing the subjects, but as, as I've went through second year, and now my third year, you are following the same, [00:15:30] same structures every time, same production, uh, protocols, just learning a little bit more. So it's, um, that first year is really great in the sense that it underpins sort of the rest of your course there. So, yeah. It's

Speaker 1:        Awesome. Yeah. Okay. And I think that's great. Thanks, Nate. And I think that sort of speaks to the fact that your, your skills are really scaffolded. So when you start, um, you know, you're immediately working with the equipment, um, whether that's in production or post production and the scale of the, um, uh, scale of the assessments and the learning gets, um, gets a little bit [00:16:00] larger, it gets a little complicated. And as you move towards capstone where you get to develop, um, get your own project, um, which ends up in, for example, your 10 minute documentary or, um, or a drama film, um, kina. So what, what's the other thing I was, I was interested to let perspective students know, is that in the media arts program, you can also, you get to kind of guide your career with the decisions you make, um, through your program and the kind of the, the interest which you shape. So what, what path that you want in terms of, [00:16:30] um, thinking around drama or documentary or, uh, industry, uh, screen, what are you, what sort of pathway do you

Speaker 3:        Want? Yeah, so I'm on the path to be a hot shot director. That's where I want to go. So in your third year, and maybe it's different now for the new subjects, but the media arts specialist modules is where you take all the knowledge that you've built across all the range of the disciplines and the roles of about film and content making. And you pick what you really like could be screenwriting, could be directing, [00:17:00] could be camera work. Um, so I picked the directing one, so I've more streamlined my final year into that aspect and going into the final project with my own script of my own idea to bring something to life. So I'm on the road to be in the story department, working with actors, that kind of thing.

Speaker 1:        Yeah. Terrific. And yeah, listen, we do still, um, if you flash back to that slide we had earlier, we thought that subject specialist modules, um, and that's still a core part of our program. And that's part of us that scaffolding of skills, where [00:17:30] in the first, um, in the first way, as you make your way through the degree you learn, basically what, what, you're good at, what you like, what you respond to. And in that subject, for example, when I was talking about, um, our cameras and our cinematographers and our track record in that, um, you get to do, you know, 10 weeks of cinematography, you really get a good picture of how to light a film set, or you get to work with the professional camera rig and a professional camera crew structure as well. So that's the kind of skills which we, which we kind [00:18:00] of developed and again, making our son graduates industry ready. Okay. All right. Thank you. Uh, thank you, kina and, and thank you, Nate. Um, now we have reached the, the, the part of our questions, and as I said, we're happy to, to keep this going session a little bit longer. Um, did some technical stuff at the start.

Speaker 3:        [00:18:30] Do we just pick, pick an answer in the Q and a question in the Q and a and go for it? Yep. Should we start with, go down the list

Speaker 4:        If we don't mind? So Alex, would you like to read out the questions and then if you'd like to throw it to someone to

Speaker 1:        Answer, that would be great. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Uh, I, I can't really see, sorry, let me, okay.

Speaker 4:        So the first question is, are you expect to serve some experience with film prior or [00:19:00] portfolio of some kind and which you would not having experienced put you at a disadvantage. So

Speaker 1:        I'm happy to answer that one. Um, so yeah, that's a good question. And, and it's, it's one we often often get us. You don't need to have a habit of having experience coming in. We teach you from a foundation and, um, we do that across, uh, image and sound, uh, and, um, it is, uh, the learning curve, uh, can be steep, but you're supported [00:19:30] by both. You're both academic staff and you're also supported by our media lab. So, um, in media arts, we have two kind of levels of instruction if you like. And we have a really, um, a really skilled and talented media lab and, um, they particularly can earn assistance around the equipment and around some of those facilities. So we work in tandem in that kind of arrangement, but no, you don't need to have a cognitive knowledge.

Speaker 4:        So we have a couple of questions from Mabel, which is around screenwriting. So, [00:20:00] um, she's asking if there are any resources for screenwriting and you'd like to learn about story structure and writing. Is this something that is covered within the course itself? Yep, yep, yep.

Speaker 3:        Um, yes, absolutely. Um, in the list of the subjects, I think it's now called drama production, but for us, it was called fictions. The first assessment we did in that subject was creating a script. So we did learn about how to structure a story, how to build characters and how to write a script, not just in the [00:20:30] formatting, but in the storytelling way. And then in the modules, you can pick the screenwriting module, which the streamlined course, uh, a subject that teaches you more specifically the ins and outs of screenwriting and all of those resources, for example, like readings in the library, well, academic sources, they're all available to everybody, no matter what module you're doing. So there are academic resources available, no matter what streamline you pick. Yep.

Speaker 1:        And I'll just probably add, I just sort [00:21:00] of both that answer there that, um, we have very deliberately put, um, put more sway learning in the rejuvenation. So now that breast core screen story, that's the fit in your first semester at EDS. Now you'll get to write a sweet play by the end of it. And then we seek to consolidate that later. So that's why I said this emphasis on story is really big for us.

Speaker 4:        Yep. Can I also add that, um, one of the advantages of this bachelor communication and the MBA is that you can do a double major. So your second major, if you really [00:21:30] want to go into writing, you could select writing and publishing as your second major because they do go a lot deeper into adaptations and all that. And there's a major writing project. So you may end up writing a screenplay, um, for, for that as your major writing project. And that would combine well with your map as well.

Speaker 3:        I had a friend who does that is doing that right now. And she's in third year math and doing the writing major. So she wrote a major script for one of our subjects, for the writing [00:22:00] course, and then brought it to map, to create for the final project. So really good crossover there, Thanksgiving,

Speaker 4:        The next question was around exams. So do we have any exams in this particular course itself? No exam. So that would be very welcome after HSC. Um, so there was a question from Mabel, if you do low, does that replace [00:22:30] your second major? I'll answer that particular question. Yes. If you do combine degrees, double degrees, most of the time you can only do one major within the, um, the course itself, because there just isn't enough time and space where you do do a double major within that. So, um, so you

Speaker 3:        Can do a double major if you choose the bachelor of creative intelligence and innovation, because that's run on a separate schedule. Cause I did.

Speaker 4:        So yeah. Just explain the BCI model. You do that in [00:23:00] summer and winter sessions, and then you do an extra additional fourth year solely in that particular degree. And that's why you can do the double major, but not in law. Yeah. Um, so Emily's got a question around, does this degree allow us to create eight visual designs? So what was that question, James, does this degree allow us to create visual designs?

Speaker 1:        Okay. Yeah. Listen, I'd say that. I'd probably say no to that. And I think that, um, [00:23:30] really you'd be looking in terms of the UTS offering that would more likely to be, um, uh, digital communication, um, in our department of, uh, design architecture and building, uh, we, the closest that we would get to, I guess, a sense of a sense designers, for example, and production design. So in that media specialist modules we offer, uh, we have, we offer, um, a pretty extensive one on production design and that's um, if we think about a creative screen work, um, that's all of the elements that combined to form, um, to form [00:24:00] the meaning through the sets and the costumes and so on. So that would be the equivalent of the design. Um, but graphic design, it would be another offering.

Speaker 4:        Okay. So next question was around. Is it easy to do exchange of this degree? Unfortunately, kina didn't get to go on exchange. Um, so the typical advice we give people with regards to exchange is that, um, you have to do similar subjects within the degree itself at another university. Hence we always encourage [00:24:30] you to keep as many electives as possible because if it's within the major itself and their core subjects, that you have to find another subject in the other university, the matches probably 80% of what you're going to study here. You're going to find it much more difficult to do so as opposed to electives where there isn't as strict a requirement for you to find a particular subject that fits exactly that. So there are three electives within the bachelor communication within a new structure itself. So if you want [00:25:00] to do exchange, then I would recommend, we recommend you keep your electives to when you can do your exchange.

Speaker 4:        Um, people tend to apply for exchange in the second year itself. It takes about nine months to, um, from when you start in the applications, when you might find out whether or not you will go. So a lot of students tend to go in the first semester, the third year, or keep it to the very final semester of their three-year degree itself to go on exchange. So the next question is about collaboration. And we talked about collaboration a lot within [00:25:30] this particular degree because you cannot, you cannot produce film, direct everything by yourself. So, um, can, would you like to keynote, would you like to talk elaborating people?

Speaker 3:        Yeah, I would say this is nothing but a collaborative degree because there's no exams. And apart from one subject, we, where you focus on your own kind of exploration of media arts, generally all you're doing in their subjects and collaborating with teammates, building work as a group, it's more fun in my opinion, for the later years, when [00:26:00] you get to work in crew roles and build a project. But even from the very beginning, there's a lot of collaboration within your class with other students in other courses, like collaborating with the writing kids to get scripts or grappling with the music and sound design people. If you want to do some, get some composing for your film or something. So it is very collaborative. Yeah. Yeah. I'd also

Speaker 1:        Add to that, that, um, those collaborations, which you have sometimes when you're an undergraduate student, you may not think that much of them, but they actually [00:26:30] have an impact later on. And if you, again, if we track our alumni, we can see that somebody that's created on a short film together in their third year might be working together or 10 or 15 years later. So those collaborations, um, don't just pay off in the present. They also pay off in the future as well. And if we say that again and again. Okay.

Speaker 4:        Um, thank you. Um, the next one is how many classes are they in a week or two weeks if you do a second major, uh, maybe keynote can actually [00:27:00] answer that, but I'll just start off by saying, um, regardless of whether or not you do one major or you do two majors, you finish the same number of subjects. It doesn't mean that you do more subjects. If you do two majors, you still have to complete the same number of subjects to graduate from the degree. It just means that. So if you choose to do any one major, then the other, the other subjects that you do are probably a collection of all the electives. So you could be doing something from journalism, from writing, from media business, Ramada, um, from the [00:27:30] other disciplines. But if you do two majors, then you concentrate in two particular areas itself, which helps you enter into a job, um, in that particular industry itself. And that's why Alex said earlier, it's great if you, uh, we definitely encourage you to do two majors because it's, it would definitely open up job opportunities in that particular area itself, uh, with regards to class times, uh, Keenan, would you like to talk about that?

Speaker 3:        Um, so from pre COVID, we had like each subject [00:28:00] and you do three or four a semester would have one tutorial, which is the class and one lecture, and then maybe would have a workshop if you're learning how to use a camera or some other kind of gear or a seminar. So generally post subject you'd look at one actual 30 person class per week. Um, but the UTS timetable are quite kind. And if you guys get to have lectures in person again, which I sincerely hope you do, they grade online, but better in person. Um, [00:28:30] yeah, you can easily do like the lecture in the morning and then short break and have the tutorial. So it is designed to be able to get as much efficiency on one day or a few days as possible. Yeah.

Speaker 1:        Yeah. And listen, I mean, I would be optimistic around 2022. I mean, all the signs of vaccination and the federal governments will allow, you know, we expect to be back on campus and we expect to be teaching in a full capacity in autumn 2022. Yes.

Speaker 4:        Um, so we've got a couple of questions on internships. What are the opportunities for internships [00:29:00] in this particular degree itself?

Speaker 1:        Yeah. Um, do you want me to answer that one or, yeah, so I guess there's, yeah, I guess there's two levels of, uh, of an internship and one is a bit more informal. So, um, if there are subjects within the school of communication where you can complete a formal internship for credit points, uh, and that's a more formal relationship with an employer. The other thing that that media arts have is a, um, we generally use as a, as a communication is the, um, [00:29:30] is the map Facebook page. So it's a closed network, uh, and that's really where, where opportunities, um, uh, uh, basically advertised. And there is, there is some of those opportunities, for example, there is some, uh, there is a relationship with, uh, employers to make sure that, you know, that they're a numerated, that they're safe working spaces and so on. So there are opportunities if you like within that more informal network, um, which you can do whilst you're in your course, not necessarily, for example, [00:30:00] contributing to, to two credit points as well. There are some other, there are actually small, so some high level internships, which media rights have from time to time with film companies and with the industry as well. Um, and whilst they may be a little bit more limited in number, they're certainly something which was about reputation we attract. Um, and, um, and we make open through, um, expressions of interest and so on to our students.

Speaker 4:        Sorry,

Speaker 3:        Just wanted to jump on there and say that my tutor [00:30:30] for one subject was actually directing a feature films on the apocalypse movie. So just by doing that class and like few of us in the class got really chummy and really enjoyed, um, his teaching. He said, come, come and get on my set in summer. So we were there building sets, giving water and umbrella. So the cost, like, so not even like really informal just for the connections you make with the tutors who are all industry practitioners, uh, was really cool.

Speaker 4:        Alex, do you, um, Matt also [00:31:00] has a Facebook group where students are invited to where lots of opportunities are also posted there. Would you like to talk a little bit about that?

Speaker 1:        I just mentioned that James. Yeah. That's what I was sort of talking about where those informal opportunities, um, but being a closed group, you know, it's a, um, it's a good space. So what, how that actually works is that we, um, uh, we would get opportunities from the industry organizations. We would be to them, have a look at them, see that they're authentic and then we would, um, we would disseminate to it, to our [00:31:30] students. Um, and that's, uh, that's been a really good system for us.

Speaker 4:        Okay. So next one was around jobs. So what are some of the common jobs available after finishing this particular degree itself?

Speaker 1:        Okay. Yeah.

Speaker 4:        Sorry. I'll just combine it with, how does this course prepare you for entering the industry?

Speaker 1:        Yeah, I guess, yeah. So in terms of jobs, we did have a look at that list in the, in the slide show, um, there, and I guess you could, I th I guess [00:32:00] I see, you know, media arts is, is creative media. Um, but we can divide that into basically developing. And I think he had talked about, I'll just use screen story. There's an example. It's probably one of our, uh, our most prominent parts of our reputation. That's not to delimit their sound and multimedia and other options as well, but we think about screen stories as one example, where we have the people producing the content. We have people developing as the projects and the screenplays are written. And so, and then we have production. So [00:32:30] we have the crews, the cinematographers, the directors, the production designers, and so on. Um, and then we have post-production and post-production has been a huge, um, a huge, um, landscape for him employment and that sort of accompany that digital revolution.

Speaker 1:        If you think of what you can do, um, uh, on, on with relatively few compute resources these days, I mean, we look at our students who often, um, can, you can edit for example, laptops and do incredible work. So post-production is, is, is a really strong [00:33:00] pathway. Um, but the other pathways in, uh, uh, production, screenwriting development, and then in screen production itself being on sets and so on and equally strong as well. And I mentioned also when I speak to the slides earlier, there's also dogs around the administration as well. So screen Australia, working for government, um, working to, um, enable the cultural voice and the kind of Australian stories that we choose to tell would have funded in the breech audience. That's been another aspect of our program, which is not, [00:33:30] you know, celebrity, um, you know, names in lights, but a really significant part of, um, of, of who we are. Um, and that's at the higher echelons, for example, of screen Australia and those kinds of bodies that we see, we have UTS graduates that, um, that have taken those positions. Um, the second part of that question, James was, uh,

Speaker 4:        How does this course prepare you for the industry?

Speaker 1:        Yeah, yeah. I think we've touched on that quite a bit, but again, I would say that a job ready, you could look at some of, um, some [00:34:00] of our other, um, uh, uh, sort of benchmark against some other institutions. And we are that, that practice based and practice orientated university and with that's the context within we sit. So we, uh, our graduates, um, are, are highly, highly equipped vocationally, um, from, from the moment they, um, uh, from the moment they kind of graduate as a graduate, as opposed to taking that extra year or two to skill up, they, um, are map graduates have that, um, when they, when they leave us.

Speaker 4:        [00:34:30] Uh, so there's a question about prerequisites for high school. So I'll just pick that up very quickly since Alex has mentioned that there's no requirement for you to actually learn any, um, have any background in filming or anything like that. There aren't any prerequisites for high school, but there are some subjects that will give you additional adjustment factor. So you may know adjustment factors better as bonus points. So a way to find out which subjects will give you additional points to what's your, a tar [00:35:00] to form your selection rank is to Google, um, UTS adjustment factors. You will find a list of subjects, for example, um, they would be English, um, history, visual arts, and, you know, when you, when you score them in design and tech, and when you score them at a particular, um, band level, you will get additional points for those subjects. Those are automatically apply, and you can only get a maximum of five points towards your, a task score itself. [00:35:30] Okay. Next question is, how competitive would you say this comms degree is Alex?

Speaker 1:        Uh, huh. Sorry. It's how competitive was this? Yes,

Speaker 4:        That's right. How competitive and how does it compare to similar degrees at other universities?

Speaker 1:        Yeah, well, I think, I think, I mean, I think you're looking at, you know, the strength of the university as a whole. So you remembering that you are a UTS student and the strength of, again, the wider framework of being UTS, you're looking at where you are in the city. [00:36:00] You're looking at our location, you're looking at our connections to industry and you're looking at our reputation, but I think in the strength of the communication program, um, is that, uh, I would say it is that relationship between a major, and again, we're talking about the media it's major, but also how that relates to other offerings. So whether you're doing the formal double major, for example, in, uh, in D in digital media, um, or, or journalism, um, they're really strong programs as well. So I think that it is that you're kind of getting [00:36:30] the best of both worlds.

Speaker 1:        Okay. So I'd say that basically, your you've got a core base and that you've got core practices and core skills for specific industries, and then you're drawing on the best of the wider community, a school of communication program. We're a big school. I mean, we've got lots and lots of students, so mapper a big major within it, but we've got those, you know, six disciplines and so on, and that's a real critical mass of students. Um, it's a critical mass, um, socially collegially, and it's also a critical [00:37:00] mass about knowledge and creativity. Um, and I think drawing on the strengths of those different programs, um, as you make your way through is, is, is a really important thing. And then drawing on the university, whether that's through the double degree programs and so on.

Speaker 4:        Yep. So the next question is, do we have a chance to be in front of the camera interviewing acting, et cetera, or do we strictly work behind the screens?

Speaker 1:        Yes, that's a good example. And again, they've been around long enough to get a few of these questions, um, that come across. [00:37:30] Um, and some, for example, um, you know, it's not a, this isn't the course is going to be a newsreader, for example, um, you know, that kind of thing. So it's not that, uh, in front of the camera, um, and it's not, uh, acting and performance either in the diary now, directing subjects, you'll learn, I'm a director. Uh, we'll learn about how to, um, how to work with actors for screen directing practices. So you will read, learn, understand about [00:38:00] acting performance, um, but it doesn't, um, that gives you the, um, the abilities to direct, which is different than the ability sacked. And again, um, I would, if that's your core passion, you know, there's neither, um, there's, um, uh, there's some about, uh, some of our elements do do theater, for example, as well, but, um, that's not this course kina might want to add something a little bit about that.

Speaker 3:        Yeah. I would just say the same. Maybe you can do a doco about yourself, which I think most of us did [00:38:30] in the Dubbo subject, but this is mainly a behind the camera industry. Course. I also need to head off now I'm joining the map webinar. So if anyone wants to know more about the student experience of the course, that's where I'll be. Thanks. You guys I'll see you later. Yeah,

Speaker 4:        Well, we may have a few more, uh, people leaving to join that very exciting session. Um, so I'll just very quickly cover some of these other areas, um, around people wanting, you can only take map as a first major [00:39:00] itself, um, and whatever you study in the same second major, you study the same number of subjects. So it doesn't reduce the same. The number of subjects, um, is exchanged part of the international studies degree, or is it, um, built into the media arts and production degree itself? The exchange, every single student at UTS is entitled to do six months of exchange. Um, there must be some there, I think there is an academic requirement for it. So you cannot fail more than two subjects, I believe for you to do [00:39:30] exchange, but you'd be able to find out on the exchange website, uh, any chance of a second major in music and sound design, unfortunately, no, because it's a separate degree altogether. Um, however, within the electives itself, if you like to do a music and sound design subject, you can definitely request put in the request and they will consider it.

Speaker 1:        We also, we have been focusing a bit on emit as well, but we do, we do sound design within our programs. Okay. So we do sound is that is, um, an equal [00:40:00] part of, of kind of what we do. We probably have talked about it a little bit less. Yep.

Speaker 4:        Uh, how much theory is there in this degree, Alex? I can't answer that question.

Speaker 1:        Yeah. Uh, like I said, we that's probably does differentiate us from our, from our, um, from other institutions we're more geared towards the practice space. Um, and you know, I, it's probably difficult to put a number on, on these things, but I, our, as I would say, you know, you know, we're two thirds did media arts, you know, uh, on our practice and the other third, um, [00:40:30] looking at the, sort of the, um, the theory of context around, around those things.

Speaker 4:        The last question is what video arts and production be useful, digital marketing. Um, I think I can answer that particular question itself. So if you, if you're coming into media arts and production, and it's great that you can do a short film, um, and, but if that's not a path that you want to go down on, we have had a lot of students, there is a demand for multimedia production in digital marketing. So I am, [00:41:00] um, I was the marketing manager. So we did hire a lot of media arts and production students because we need them to create video content for social media, but a website and all that. So, and the great thing about the communication degree is that it offers you another area and another, and not a major. That's why we emphasize the second major is so important. And so in such great opportunity for you to learn something outside just filmmaking, because we've found that, um, students will combine map with digital and social [00:41:30] media or map with strategic communication known as com, um, are able to think more strategically and, and think more about marketing and strategies and stuff like that, and not just purely about filmmaking.

Speaker 4:        So, um, you can definitely, it is definitely a very, very, um, valuable skill for anyone who knows how to create videos in digital marketing. So I think we've finished all the questions. There were a lot of questions [00:42:00] here, so, um, you should all join the map, um, workshop session when Nate and kina will be running that sessions and Alex you've got any other words that you'd like to add

Speaker 1:        Before? No, I just say, yeah, thanks everybody for coming today. And I hope that you've been able to learn about, you know, who we are and what we do. Uh, I thought it was a really good questions and really, um, interesting questions. And I hope we were able to answer that there are other opportunities, um, around the, uh, the affidavit website for further [00:42:30] questions you might have. And also, um, we can, we can follow up on questions as well that weren't able to be answered today, but, um, yeah, thanks for coming along. And I really, um, I can't see you, but I hope I really hope to see you in 2022. And, um, I look forward to joining you as you joining map, if that's something, uh, which you've liked what you hear today. And, um, and, and you reached in that, so thank you very much.

 

Speaker 1:        It's a really obvious industry presence, whether that's through guest lectures, whether it's through how we've designed our assessments to mirror real world problem solving required off professionals. Um, but also the kinds of case studies that we get to look at, which are very contemporary and topical and now, and really what this major really tries to instill in students is a really strong sense of creative entrepreneurship. So creativity is something [00:00:30] that runs through all our disciplines in the school of communication in the media business major, we couple that sense of creativity and that desire to be a professional communicator with business insights and business skills so that you can apply these skill sets in those more business oriented or entrepreneurial contexts and workplace scenarios. So what does it mean to study any major in the school [00:01:00] of communication? So without list of which made you choose now, remember a major or your first major is kind of a concentrated program of study, where you studied quite intensively, a particular aspect of communication.

Speaker 1:        And we have a variety of majors that you can choose from the media business major is just one. So in this particular program, you have the option of doing one major, but we also [00:01:30] allow you, in fact, encourage you to do a second major. And I'll talk a little bit about that shortly, regardless of which major you choose, all communication students will successfully complete three core communication subjects. These, if you like a foundational subjects that all comms students take, and then we'll take you across the main concepts skills are theorists and writers, um, within communication [00:02:00] study. And they really give you a very well-rounded insight and deep dive into university level communication study. What you will do in your major is successfully complete eight subjects. So a major comprises of eight subjects, pretty much that cohere around quite that specific area or famous study. So immediate business, all those subjects will combined produce a well-rounded [00:02:30] in-depth and nuanced understanding of media business.

Speaker 1:        You will also most likely do a second major. This is something we're really proud of and excited about because when you do a second major and we'll, we can go through some of those options shortly, but effectively, what you end up doing is extending your skillset and the knowledge that we graduate in a really impressive way so that when you go out into the workforce, no matter where you end up on the job planet, whether it's [00:03:00] in the corporate sector, whether it's in government communication, whether you're working in advocacy on not for profit, you will have this really wide skillset. So for example, you might have your first major in media business, which as I said, would equip you with those business insights and that kind of entrepreneurial decision-making skills, but maybe your second major is in journalism or digital and social media or writing and publishing.

Speaker 1:        So effectively. What you've done is double [00:03:30] the, the, the kind of colors, you know, that you can put on your CV and in your portfolio. And it's your way of saying to the world, I've got these really wide and dynamic skillset. So it really just makes your time with us go further once you graduate. So in addition to your first major and your second major, you can also choose, um, electives from what we call banks of electives. And this is a list of, um, you know, elective subjects [00:04:00] that will, you know, I always encourage students to choose the electives that you find most interesting. Cause this is the way that you can add a bit of color and nuance to your study program and step outside of your majors and kind of dabble in something, um, a little bit outside the majors. So we really, um, encourage students to have a look at those options and really spend time thinking about the kinds of skills and knowledge, um, and you know, the kind of, um, array [00:04:30] of skills and insights that you want to graduate with.

Speaker 1:        So the media business major, as I said earlier, comprises of these eight subjects. And as I go through these, you, I hope get a better sense of, of what's entailed. So anybody that works in anything business related, and especially if you graduate from UTS, we would expect all our graduates to have a really strong sense of ethics and, and, you know, [00:05:00] conducting all your professional work and professional life with, uh, with a strong sense of, um, not just legal obligations, but also ethical obligations. In this major, you will do a subject called media law and ethics, which takes that priority and those principles and applies that to media contexts and media industries. So this is a lovely subject that takes you across some of them, you know, the curlier, um, considerations and issues that you're most likely encounter in industry, [00:05:30] or, you know, post-graduation and equips you with the insight and the knowledge to resolve those considerations in ethical, informed way.

Speaker 1:        You will also do a subject called people and organizations. Now, this is actually one of the two subjects drawn from the UTS business school, the other one being in fundamentals of business finance. And we love having these subjects in this particular major because it effectively takes our constitutes outside of our major. In fact, in fact, outside [00:06:00] of our faculty and, and gives you enough insight into some of the key principles and practices and priorities, um, that business students are taking. And what you can do is then embed that knowledge into this particular study program. And it will just enhance your understanding of media business because you have that direct experience of these subjects exactly from the business school. So people in organizations and fundamentals of business finance will equip you with [00:06:30] those basic foundational business insights and concepts that will, you know, are really what differentiate this major from the others in the school of communication.

Speaker 1:        You'll also do a subject called digital media industries. Um, and you might be thinking, well, all media industries digital now. Yes and no, but specifically you have a look at how digital in particular has both problematized, but also created opportunities for media production and media [00:07:00] industries. And that's a really important insight to have, especially now you'll be doing the subject called creative entrepreneurship. And this is really important because if you're studying media businesses, there's a strong chance that you will end up in one of the creative industries. Um, and so you need to know what that means in terms of, um, policies, laws, um, the business side of making creative content profitable [00:07:30] or marketable, or just even logistically possible. So that's subject takes you across, um, the, find the details of being a creative entrepreneur. Okay. You'll also do a fabulous subject called media influence, and this is your, the 4, 4 8 into the mini and very varied ways that influence in contemporary media now manifests.

Speaker 1:        Um, and, you know, from, from things like social media influences to, [00:08:00] to lobbyists, to Facebook, um, the many and varied ways that, you know, people can have a voice, be heard, make some noise, get attention, um, in contemporary media. And if you are hoping to be successful in maybe a business as, as, uh, as a life career, not as a student, you need to have this understanding of how influence percolates and manifests now, and this subject takes your costs that, and [00:08:30] of course, fundamentals of business finance, where you'll get that, that, um, really necessary foundational basis in basic business concepts and, and, um, and principles. So you'll see in this major, we cover a lot of ground thematically about combined. These subjects will give you that wonderful, deep dive into the world of media business and the various [00:09:00] aspects of navigating media industries.

Speaker 1:        So as with all our majors, um, we know that our majors equip our students to go into a wide range of, of, you know, career pathways. It's not, you know, and this isn't to cast doubt on other other degrees, but it's not like carpentry or dentistry or accounting where you pretty much know what your job is going to be. [00:09:30] Um, we create wonderful professional communicators and, and we're confident that the skill set that you cultivate actually will take you confidently and, and, you know, successfully through various career pathways. And it's, that's no less, um, relevant for this particular major. Um, but like I said, we created this major because we sense that there was a side to media that we, you know, that students kind of wanted to be [00:10:00] able to access and, and master, and it wasn't necessarily covered in the existing suite of, of majors.

Speaker 1:        So if you aspire to have a career within, you know, maybe you want to be a key decision maker in, in, in music companies, in, in the music business or in TV and or film production or in advertising, or in gaming, you know, video games, um, online, you know, on various platforms, if you want to be a key decision, [00:10:30] a key influential influencer, um, and make those, those ambitious symbol business decisions and business and strategize business opportunities plan, uh, you know, based strategic planner, get involved in policy, promotion consultancy. This is the major for you. So it's for those students that don't necessarily want to create the content necessarily, but be a key decision maker behind the scenes, um, and, and, you know, have [00:11:00] that kind of influence and that kind of presence. So that's the major of media business. Um, and I mentioned earlier that one of the things that we strongly encourage students to do is to choose a second major.

Speaker 1:        And what this will do is give you also familiarity and kind of robust engagement with another often very different major that we often escalate communication. So that could be digital social media, a really popular second major, um, because I think there's two places [00:11:30] left in the media universe that haven't been challenged or changed, or even invented by digital and social. So if you want to couple your media business study with that strong familiarity, with all things, digital and social, that's the second major for you, or perhaps there's an inkling in you for journalism, which remains our really compelling and popular three choice. Um, a lot of journalists are also freelance, so it's not [00:12:00] necessarily something that you have to do full time if you want to have those skill sets. Um, or if you can see yourself, you know, applying your media business degree or major predominantly in the world of journalism, then maybe that is the extra knowledge you want to automate your media business program, or perhaps you want to do a second major in, they've put public communication.

Speaker 1:        It's now called strategic communication, strategic communication covers things like advertising [00:12:30] and PR. I'm actually the head of discipline for strategic communication. So of course, I'm going to talk about how wonderful that is. Um, but strategic communication. Um, like I said, it looks at PR it looks at advertising. Um, and yeah, needless to say, it's not too far removed from the world of media business. Um, only because a lot of PR and advertising takes place, um, in commercial spaces in corporate spaces that said a lot also happens in the [00:13:00] NFP and charity sector as well. Um, but if you're interested in PR in advertising, you do STRATCOM, um, another really popular, second major is social and political sciences. This is really important for those students who would like to learn more about how you can be a successful communicator and an effective communicator. Um, especially if you're interested in things like advocacy or lobbying, or you wanted to go into say policy advising [00:13:30] or, um, you know, political consultancy, um, social and political science is a fantastic sort of journey through complex hot topics that, you know, are important, uh, engaging and which, um, I always think, you know, that's why I'm from the deep thinkers.

Speaker 1:        So social and political science is a fantastic second major. Um, another option for a second major is writing and publishing. So, [00:14:00] um, I mean, I like to think that law majors involve good writing, but perhaps you're especially interested in, um, in the writing industry, um, in the publishing industry, Hey, if you want to take your media business skills and, and, you know, kind of that kind of sense of entrepreneurship into publishing or writing, I will strongly recommend writing and publishing as your second major. So think carefully about the kind of skill set you want to graduate with. Think about the kind of options [00:14:30] that you want in front of you professionally and design your major and second major, um, around that. So you don't have to rush it, have a, um, a look through say the, the subject descriptions, um, that sit within the various majors and whatever peaks, your interest, whatever sounds like you, whatever sounds like the combination of skills and knowledge that you want to have in your pocket in a few years time.

Speaker 1:        Um, that's, that's [00:15:00] what you go with. Um, and when it comes time to choose your electives and another fabulous way to add color, and you want to your study journey, um, because we want you to choose subjects that equip you for awesome jobs, but also that satisfying intellectually and that speak to your interests. And that's the thing which you might consider is combined in your bachelor of communication with another degree. So we do offer combined degrees. So you might look at a bachelor of [00:15:30] laws or bachelor of international studies, um, or a bachelor of credit intelligence. Um, you might do a diploma in languages, and I should say today being open day, there are information sessions about all of these. So if, if that's something that you want to do, I've always encouraged students to lean into to what interests them, look at your options. Um, this will necessarily, if you were to do one of these wouldn't necessarily add a little bit of time to the traditional three-year duration [00:16:00] of a degree, but it might just be worth it if, um, if, if that's okay, that's what you're at for.

Speaker 1:        Sorry, the other thing, um, I might just point out, and again, I'm saying this as a, um, I've got another cat that I wear, which is the associate Dean of international. Um, and now there's, I've got a time as any, to, to really stress to you that one of the things that we really encourage students to consider, um, as [00:16:30] they study with us is to leave us for a little bit and actually participate in any of the international study experiences that are available to UTS students and the options, uh, are really quite impressive and varied. So for example, we strongly encourage our students to consider doing an exchange, um, uh, with any number of our, um, uh, international university partners, or you might want to do a study abroad, um, [00:17:00] program or a global short program when you spend, you know, two to six weeks immersed over say summer or winter, um, with one of our partner universities, if that's something you're interested in, there is plenty of information, um, at the UTS, um, website, have a look and be, be impressed by the number of, um, partnerships that we have around the world and, and just, you know, seriously contemplate that.

Speaker 1:        I should also say, I mean, I know when I was at uni student [00:17:30] and anybody would mention international study, my first thought was always sounds way too expensive. We have, um, support and scholarships and, and, um, programs where we can actually help, you know, subsidize significantly, um, students that want to undertake any of these international experiences. So as you, as you shop around, um, open day, keep that in the back of your mind, know that your time with us can actually include [00:18:00] an exciting, you know, um, time spent overseas. The other thing that we really take seriously at UTS and especially in the school of communication is the really strong industry presence that we have throughout all our majors and in all of our subjects. So this is just, this is actually just a sample of some of the external organizations that we've partnered with, um, for various reasons in various ways.

Speaker 1:        And, you know, there are some seriously impressive [00:18:30] names. They elect the New York times and the ABC and Google, and the way that we work with these organizations varies. I mean, for, for some, you know, they couldn't provide guest lectures from some of our subjects. Um, others have helped us design briefs for university assignments, so that when you actually do an assessment for us effectively, what you're doing is real life work. So an organization might have a particular communication problem or strategy that they need designed, [00:19:00] and our students will work on that. And effectively what that does is recreate the scenario and the kind of creative problem solving that will be required of you once you graduate in, in real, in real life context. And we're proud of these connections because it also shows the breadth of organizations that we liaise with, but also the variety of organizational types that you can go into.

Speaker 1:        So we've got organizations drawn, drawn, drawn from the commercial world, from corporate [00:19:30] world, from the not for profit sector, from the charity sector, government organizations, um, and some more fringe Indian boutique organizations. Um, so that spectrum actually speaks to the variety of spaces, media spaces that you can join once, you know, you have your, um, bachelor of communication. So just keep that in mind. Um, for example, I worked with vice, um, for a particular subject where students [00:20:00] actually created content for providers and part of the assessment involved, the students get indirect feedback from the vice editorial team based in Melbourne. Now, given that's one of the most, the biggest and one of the best resource, um, youth oriented media organizations in the world, that kind of feedback from the best in the world is really quite, quite special. Um, and you can expect that across your degree, certainly in the media business major, but in fact, all of our majors, um, [00:20:30] you'll see there, we've, we've got subjects that deal directly with the asylum seeker resource center doing fantastic, um, work.

Speaker 1:        So, you know, a lot of our, um, partnerships speak to the variety of interests of the schools, the variety of work that the staff engaged with. Um, and so we, we like to think that that kind of breadth of experience and exposure enhances the study journey for all of our students. Um, and with [00:21:00] that, um, I think it's time for questions. I'm going to have a look at the chat. Um, um, I think I'm ready. So can I see any questions? Um, if I wanted to do a double degree, this is from Olivia. Hello, Olivia. If I wanted to do a double degree, would you recommend, still do two majors within communication? I'm sure the answer is you can. Um, so it's, it's really up to you. Um, but you can, and it really, I suppose, depends on whether you want that, [00:21:30] I suppose, concentration of, of discipline of strain in that second major.

Speaker 1:        Okay. So you can as well, I would say, um, it wouldn't be, um, I don't think it would be, um, overly challenging. Um, and I usually recommend a second major. Um, so yeah, I would say, go for it. Um, can you talk more about the AFL new south Wales act [00:22:00] and what is the connection there? Oh, you asked me about, you asked me about the football connection. I'm not sure which, um, specifically, which, uh, where that surface, but I suspect that would have come about. We actually teach, um, sports media in the school of communication. And so what that has involved the sports and media is, and I should say that's, that's at post-grad level, um, is actually doing a lot of work with the sag [00:22:30] that, um, AFL, um, different sporting codes and different sports organizations, crafting content for them. Um, but Luke, if you, like, I can follow that up for you.

Speaker 1:        And if there's a way to get that information to you, um, I will, what are the options for the first majors? Uh, and, and then, yeah. Uh, so they're the ones that I went through earlier. So, um, but some nights, maybe a business there is strategic communication covering [00:23:00] all things to do with advertising and PR there is journalism, um, there's writing and publishing. There is, um, digital and social media. There is social and political science, so nice variety there that, so, um, you can do any of them. So all of our majors, you can choose them as first or second. So maybe a business, for example, you can do it as a first or a second. Is it possible to do what placement as part of the degree with some of your business partners? Very often? Yes. So [00:23:30] in terms of, so I suppose Adam, I don't know if I should get you to clarify, um, what you mean by work placement, if you mean internship.

Speaker 1:        Um, I'm speaking here too, to add them. So what we have at UTS is a thing called careers, hub and careers, hub hosts, all the internship opportunities, some like that. So careers hub, if you like is the portal where all our internship and job opportunities [00:24:00] live, and you would place to know that anything, any kind of internship or, or even job that is extended to our students, we vet at UTS to make sure that there is a strong alignment between what you're being asked to do an internship or the job and, and your particular discipline. And so the internships that you do, they, I mean, there are literally thousands of organizations. So that list I showed you is barely, you know, it's, [00:24:30] that's just the tip of the iceberg. Um, so with the internship, there's a few ways that you can do it. Many students will do an internship as, as you know, to supplement their degree.

Speaker 1:        So it sits outside of their degree outside of the self study program, but lots of students will also do, um, an internship subject for which means that you get academic credit for the particular internship that you do. Um, and that's a really popular options because it basically allows you to kind of double dip here. You've got the internship experience, [00:25:00] but you're also getting academic credit. In other words, it goes towards the credit points you need to successfully complete your degree. So, um, that's the other option and I'm hoping that that answers your question. Um, but internship opportunities come up so often. And so there are so many that it's actually controlled, not controlled, but it's managed by Perez hub. Um, and there are so many kinds of organizations, um, and also lots of really flexible arrangements too, with internships. [00:25:30] Okay. Shallow. I'm not sure. I don't think there's any other,

Speaker 2:        Uh, all

Speaker 1:        Right guys. I think that's it. So, um, with that, I will say thank you. If there is any other questions that you can think of, um, get them my way and I'll be sure to address them. Okay. Thanks guys. And best of luck, whatever you.

 

Speaker 1:        Hi, welcome to the music and sound design webinar for open day 2021. My name's Felicity Wilcox. I'm a senior lecturer in music and sound design at UTS here. And I'd like to welcome you all. And firstly, to start by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora nation on whose traditional lands our campus sits. And I'd also like to acknowledge the Derrick people who are the traditional owners [00:00:30] of the land that I'm presenting from today and to pay my respects to elders past, present, and emerging, and to all Aboriginal people here with us today, I'd like to introduce my colleague in Stevenson and you introduce yourself please.

Speaker 2:        Uh, yes, I'm Ian and I teach in the music and sound and design program as well alongside Felicity

Speaker 1:        And also our sprout our students, uh, [00:01:00] Julia Losada.

Speaker 3:        Hello, I'm Julia I'm in my fourth year doing music and sound design and a bachelor of language and culture.

Speaker 1:        Great. So we're going to hear from Julia A. Little bit later about the student experience and Anne, and I will talk you through these slides today. So why should you study music and sound design at UTS? Well, it's full of wonderful people. [00:01:30] Um, we have great collegial bunch of lecturers, and we also have really one diverse uterus. Um, you will be developing real-world skills for the digital sound industry with us, and we're very focused on creating graduates who are industry ready by the time that degree finishes that said, we also drawing our theoretical knowledge because we are a university. So we give you skills in communication [00:02:00] in essay writing in presentation and in research alongside really, um, current industry standard skills as music, producers, sound designers, um, and working professionals in sound and music. The way our subjects work is that most of them have, um, a requirement for you to create a practical component [00:02:30] alongside traditional research that you're engaged in. And what that means is you come out the end of the course with a really strong portfolio of works. That can be your calling card, feet interviews, um, job opportunities and other career opportunities when you're entering the industry.

Speaker 1:        So we'll just talk you, um, the subjects [00:03:00] that you'll be studying, uh, throughout the degree and we'll go year by year. Um, so first of all, your study in your first year, so across autumn semester and spring semester, the three subjects called audio cultures, audio and music production, and songwriting and composition for context. And I'm going to hand over to Ian now, who is the subject coordinator for audio cultures?

Speaker 2:        [00:03:30] Thanks, Melissa. Yeah, so we start, we start the course, uh, w we start the course with the two, uh, subjects in music and sound design. We, uh, cultures and audio music production in audio cultures. We kind of zoom out and look at the really broad context in which music and sound designers find themselves working. So looking at all the places that music and sound design that you encounter music and sound design, and, uh, uh, we combine that with a practical project. So we do some sort of cutting edge production. There [00:04:00] would do a locative media project, which is, uh, a kind of emerging technique in the delivery of music and sound. And at the same time, you will be starting off developing your skills in the studio, in audio and music production. So, uh, in audio music production, you'll be learning all about setting up Mike's recording instruments, uh, doing multi-track recording, editing, mixing, doing all that kind of music production work. So we do these two things, uh, side by side, that kind of broad [00:04:30] view and the deep dive into, into studio production. So that's, that's in the first semester.

Speaker 1:        Great. Thanks, Dan. And did you want to talk about audio and music production as well? Yeah, yeah,

Speaker 2:        I think I just sort of picked up on that, that you can see the image there, uh, on the right, uh, that's, uh, students in the main, uh, teaching studio. Uh, we'll come back and talk a little bit about that as we go along.

Speaker 1:        Okay. And then in spring [00:05:00] semester you'll be taking a songwriting and composition for context with me. Um, and Brent Keogh is another one of our wonderful lectures. Um, in songwriting you're really studying what goes into a song, what makes a successful song. And we pull apart things like melody and harmony and rhythm, all those traditional musical elements. So we get you analyzing sound, analyzing music and composing music in this subject. [00:05:30] Um, so we look a little bit about what's gone before from songs from the 1960s through to now, um, as well as other kinds of composition, um, that apply to things like games and, um, installation and TV and film. So importantly, you get to make, um, a song, make a piece of music with this, but you also do some analytical work alongside of it. And then it's second [00:06:00] year, we roll through to podcasting with Dr. Liz to fray. There's a wonderful podcast herself and has a very strong background in music journalism. You will get to record a short podcast and also study the context for this really exciting emerging area of sound practice. Composing. The sound is Ian's subjects. I might hand over to Ian to talk about composing a sound and sound design if that's okay.

Speaker 2:        [00:06:30] Sure. Okay. So in composing with sound where, uh, learning some of the digital skills that you'll need, uh, in the kind of emerging practices of music production at the moment. So we're learning about, uh, we learned in a music programming environment, uh, and, uh, with kind of thinking about the kinds of emerging digital techniques, uh, that you'll find, uh, in the, in your careers as they develop over the next, you know, three to five years, um, in [00:07:00] sound design, uh, you really learning about, uh, the technical aspects of producing the sound for picture. Uh, so you'll be learning all about Foley sound, recording, uh, sound effects. Uh, you'll be creating a soundtrack, uh, for, uh, for an animated, uh, image. And, uh, there's also some really interesting technical components in that subject. So you'll be learning about surround recording and mixing for binaural and 3d audio. So there's [00:07:30] some interesting technical stuff alongside the creative stuff that happens in sound design,

Speaker 1:        Right? And then in third year, you begin in autumn with me doing screen soundtrack production, um, learning all things about film music, film sound, with theory, as well as a practical aspect, we run these fantastic collaborations with animation majors in the media arts degree. [00:08:00] Um, and you get to create a soundtrack for an animated short from the ground up. So all the dialogue, all the sound effects and all the music, and we've had huge success with those productions in previous years, they've, um, every year gone on to feature in a festival called the Microflex festival, which is a public festival run out of green square. And also we've had students win awards at the a E a F awards [00:08:30] for their work on sound flows, animations. Um, then we go on to music, business and professional practice, which is a fantastic subject way, basically get to set up a record label and you yourselves are the represented artists on that label, and you get to do all the marketing and all of the presentation and promotion associated with getting music out there through a label. And it culminates in a wonderful, [00:09:00] uh, concert event, um, like a showcase for all your independent, um, music ventures. And, um, that's always a really fun event and creative entrepreneurship. I'm going to ask Ian to speak about that one.

Speaker 2:        Yeah. So in music, business and professional practice, you're doing a collaborative, uh, sort of like a collaborative business model in creative entrepreneurship. You're developing the skills that you're gonna need, uh, to start [00:09:30] your, um, just start your own business, uh, on graduation. So it would be looking at all of the things around business structures and organizing business structures, managing your invoicing, all of the practical skills that you need to start to earn a living out of music and sound design. Uh, you'll be developing your professional portfolio for presentation. And, uh, it's a, it's a whole bunch of really useful, uh, real world business music and sound design business skills developed in creative entrepreneurship.

Speaker 1:        Yeah. [00:10:00] And I'll just add that those sorts of skills are actually quite rare in a university, um, music program, the skills that will actually keep you from the business and, and giving you understanding of legal aspects and business aspects. As you go out into the real world, it's quite unusual for a university context. Um, now it sound project, that's a subject that both in and I teach, and it's the final capstone subject [00:10:30] for your degree, where really you get to kind of bring all the threads, everything you've been studying in terms of the theory and the context and the creative aspect, and you make a final work. That's really the work that you want to do. It's, it's up to you, whatever you want to do. And we mentor you, we support you to get the project finished, where it all culminates in a wonderful showcase, um, that we have both as a face-to-face event and a live stream, and [00:11:00] you can invite partners, family, friends, um, and the general public.

Speaker 1:        So work colleagues can attend that as well. Um, so, and that's, that's ideally like the final piece for your portfolio. So those are our subjects. I hope you're beginning to get a sense of how it all fits together. And we'll talk now, um, about the other kinds of subjects that you might have to, um, study when you're with us. [00:11:30] So importantly, it's, we're in a school of communications, so yes, we're a music and sound degree, and those will be your nine major subjects. The ones we just talked you through, but because you're in a, a comms degree, you also get to study these communications subjects that are, um, part of the whole of school of communications. So all the students doing communications degree study these subjects together, those [00:12:00] subjects are digital literacies, which you were doing first year with our wonderful there's fray, uh, coordinating, um, really important to understand the digital world, how it all works, how it all fits together together.

Speaker 1:        And also the kind of scholarly knowledge around that area, which is really interesting. Um, communicating difference is subject coordinator by Tim Laurie. Who's again, a wonderful colleague of ours [00:12:30] and again, really important, uh, understandings to learn in that subject. And then we've already spoken about creative entrepreneurship, which is the third core communication subject. Those are mandatory subjects. Um, and then you have six elective communications subjects, which you can choose from. And they're a fascinating array, um, things like global cinema. Um, so things that speak to, uh, the broader field that you might find yourself practicing as [00:13:00] a music and sound practitioner within. And did you want to add anything to the,

Speaker 2:        Is that, um, uh, you know, being in this communication school, uh, we have a very strong media arts production program. You'll be working alongside those people. There's opportunity there for you to develop really interesting networks. Uh, there are journalists, uh, script writers, all of these sort of, uh, coordinate different disciplines are happening. And you're, you're going to be able to develop [00:13:30] networks with those people in those core communications subjects. So I think it's a really great opportunity, you know, for studying music and sound design alongside the types of people that you'll be working with in your industry

Speaker 1:        A hundred percent. And that's the other thing that's actually special about UTS more broadly. We are one faculty within, you know, a dozen or so other faculties, and we're all in this really localized camp, or most of us are all in this really localized [00:14:00] canvas in the city. So you'll find that you're brushing shoulders with students in law, students in engineering, and it students in science, it's, it's just a fascinatingly productive kind of environment to be in. Um, we, ourselves as lectures find that as well. Um, it gives us a close more, more easy access to colleagues in other disciplines. And we, we all learn from each other all the time.

Speaker 1:        So the types of assessments that [00:14:30] you will be expected to undertake, I won't go through them all one by one. Um, I already spoke about the different kinds of practical and theoretical emphasis that we bring in the teaching, those translate through to the assessments. Um, I'll let you read that slide. And while we do, I'll just, um, speak more broadly about how a university works, as opposed to a, maybe a specialized music [00:15:00] college or a specialized audio engineering school, is that we will teach you those musical knowledges and those sound practice knowledges. But at the same time we are doing what a university does, which is we're growing writers, we're growing researchers, we're growing people who can, um, run with an idea, develop it through research and write it up academically. So those are that sort of combinations of skills that [00:15:30] we in every single subject from first year through to the end, uh, are, are getting you to, to develop, um, and the growth we see in our students, um, intellectual capacity capacity to produce, um, um, cogent research alongside of their practical work is always astounding. I'm always incredibly impressed with the journey that our students go on. Some might come in as really good practitioners who understand music [00:16:00] software, who understand how to write a song, but all end up with much stronger written skills than they might begin with.

Speaker 1:        Um, and the next slide is about our facilities that we offer so over to you and to discuss this.

Speaker 2:        Okay. So, um, you're developing real world music and sound design skills, and, uh, we've got the facilities to help you to develop those skills. And the image that you see on the left here is, uh, the main [00:16:30] control room, the main teaching control room, uh, they're really well equipped facilities. So, um, we've got, uh, three control rooms, one surround sound control room, one smaller production control room. And the one that you see through the window is, uh, the recording space. So really well acoustically treated spaces, beautifully designed spaces, um, and yeah, really well equipped. So for those of you who are interested in the technology, this studio is a pro tools, [00:17:00] uh, HDX based system. So it's all a real-time DSP, digital mixing. You can see the solid state logic, uh, control surface there, and the image and the racks of gear there contain a really fantastic collection of analog signal processing as well.

Speaker 2:        So you get the best of both worlds. We've got Neve microphone, preamps, and, uh, um, all the gear that you need to make a contemporary music or contemporary film and television game soundtracks. [00:17:30] Uh, in addition to these spaces, there are a set of small, uh, production rooms down the corridor, uh, and, uh, we've got some teaching labs, computer labs, and so we're running ProTools and logic enabled to live in these studios, uh, and, uh, all of those sorts of plugins and things that you'd find in a contemporary, uh, professional production studio. There's interesting links, uh, in the, in the program through to, [00:18:00] uh, for example, to, to SCR the community radio station. Um, so Liz, uh, Frey has some, uh, you know, runs programs there and your podcasting program will result in work that may be broadcast. Uh, and, uh, and of course the, there's the links into the media arts production part of the school. And we've got a media lab equipment store full of, um, uh, portable equipment that you can, uh, loan and take out to do location [00:18:30] based production work. Uh, it's, we're, we're very well set up for music production

Speaker 1:        We've lost before. Thank you. And I'm having audio issues. So I thought I'd try to mute it. Um, so collaborations, we have some formal collaborations that are really, really valuable. So the animal logic academy collaboration is a industry [00:19:00] level, um, collaboration that we invite students in second and or third year to partake in it is selective. So not everybody who applies gets chosen, although the, um, the rate is pretty good. Um, so the animal logic, um, studios is an industry leading industry animation studio. They produced animation for, you know, big blockbusters, like happy feet, and they [00:19:30] have an educational arm that's embedded with us at UTS. Um, so we have music and sound design students working every year on animations, um, on VRS, on animated documentary, um, children's animation. And again, those productions are winning awards pretty much every year. Um, and then in third years, part of the sound project subject, um, we have formal collaborations with [00:20:00] the game design students over in the faculty of engineering and it, and, uh, you get to make sounds, sound, design, sound effects, Foley dialogue, and music for games from the ground up. I've already spoken about the animation collaborations that we run as mandatory collaborations in screen soundtrack production. And then there are informal collaborations through media arts and production students that you may want to initiate yourselves. [00:20:30] And as Ian mentioned, they are, they will be your colleagues. Um, you will do some core subjects with them. So we tend to find this kind of a natural, uh, exchange that happens between media arts, production students and music and sound design students. So plenty of opportunities for collaboration. We've also had some collaborations with journalism students in recent things, too.

Speaker 1:        Okay. And over to you for the combined degrees.

Speaker 2:        [00:21:00] Yeah. So this is another one of the benefits of studying, uh, music and sound design at UTS. You have the option of doing a double degree, uh, in a better of international studies. You can learn a language and when the borders open, uh, go and do in-country study overseas. Uh, and the other double degree that we've got on offer is a degree with a bachelor of creative intelligence and innovation in the school of, uh, the TD school. Uh, now the words [00:21:30] have just popped out of my mind, um, transdisciplinary innovation school, very fancy title. So these are two double degree options that enable you to do your music and sound design study alongside and graduate with, with a second degree in a, in a, in another area to expand your skills and Julia that's that's you, isn't it

Speaker 3:        That's me. Yeah. [00:22:00] And

Speaker 1:        When you, when you have your chat, Julia, if you can address the double degree aspect as part of what, what you study, but just before we get to you quickly on the screen here, we've got a few, just a few of the kinds of careers that you'll be equipped to undertake when you come out of, um, studying with us. Now, as I said, these are just a few, really one thing I would say is that, um, I get asked a lot [00:22:30] at our face-to-face open days by parents. What career can my child hope to have when they finish? And I would just say that apart from the ones up on the screen, there are many others, and it really is up to each and every one of us working in these fields to take what we get out of the study experience and forge our own way.

Speaker 1:        It's not a job, um, that is confined to one area. We call these kinds of careers portfolio careers. [00:23:00] The reality is that you may be working across different kinds of aspects of the music and sound industries through your career. I know I, myself, just looking at, um, you know, I, I've done sort of four or five of the things on the dot points here, and I'm sure Ian would probably vouch for the same. So it really is what you bring into your profession, but we'll certainly give you loads of really relevant skills and [00:23:30] the kind of mentoring you need in how to forge your creative career, um, through the three years that you're with us. Did you want to add anything to that end? Yeah, look,

Speaker 2:        I think that's right for us that he's a sober in the, in the creative arts, uh, and in media, uh, this, this entrepreneurial approach to making a living has, has been the standard way of making a living, uh, you know, for, for decades. And, and it's really the other areas that are falling [00:24:00] in into this mode of employment. There are salary jobs in music and sound design with broadcasters, for example. Um, and, uh, you know, so the, I guess the other thing about studying at the university is that you're equipping yourself to work as a, as a professional and, uh, you know, increasingly having the kind of skills that are required to supervise projects. So, um, yeah, so there's a range of different options. I think that that's, that's really the message to get across.

Speaker 1:        [00:24:30] Thanks. And now if you've got a, um, one or two minutes here, Julia B, so we can get to some questions we'd love to hear about your experience.

Speaker 3:        Yes, of course. Sorry, I'm just going to get my sound really quickly. Okay. Um, so my experience as a music and sound design student, um, has been very full of opportunities. Um, [00:25:00] very, I would say very full on, but in, uh, the most fun way. So I sort of came into the degree with no experience, um, a lot of experience, uh, with the performance side of music, but not really, um, you know, the behind the scenes, what happens in the studios, um, the technical knowledge and things like that. Um, and you pretty much get taught, um, all of those things step by step. Um, and [00:25:30] then you also, you know, you have the chance to really spec creative energy that you have, um, onto your assessments or in the studios, things like that, you know, the studios and the, um, equipment is available for you to use, um, not only during your assessments, but also throughout your studies.

Speaker 3:        Um, so yeah, you have that creative freedom to of course learn, um, the industry recognized software and also to play around with the hardware, um, [00:26:00] in the studios and such, and then you'd go on in, and you combine that knowledge with your own creative, um, your own creative ideas and your own creative intellect. And then you have the opportunity to work both individually and then with people as well in your cohort. Um, and I would really, really encourage you guys, if you were interested in doing music and sound design to, um, really put everything you have into getting to know your tutors and getting to know your cohort, um, since those are the people that [00:26:30] you'll be working with, um, for the next couple of weeks throughout your degree. Um, and, uh, myself and Chelsea who was another music and sound design student, um, we'll be hosting a workshop in just a couple of minutes now as well. So if you have any other questions, um, if you want to know a little bit more about our personal experience, doing some of the music and sound design subjects and assessments and things like that, um, feel free to come on over to that workshop. That's commencing in a couple of minutes. [00:27:00] Um, yeah, I think that's all for me.

Speaker 1:        Thank you so much, Julia. It's great to hear from you. Um, we're, we've been answering questions in the, um, the chat window that's been coming through. Um, I might just address a few that are coming through now. So Lockland by block lends are asked. He just wants to know how much help we would get from lectures when we need it. [00:27:30] Um, will it be similar to school and, um, or will we be largely on our own? And I would just say to you, Lochlan university is a bit different. Um, you are expected to become increasingly independent and to, to self-direct with your work that said, I know I'm personally very, um, assiduous about responding to students' emails and, um, I'm sure my colleagues are too, uh, you can outdoors always open, so [00:28:00] you can always meet with us privately, um, on zoom or have a meeting time with us on campus to discuss any issues you might be facing. So it's, it's kind of a transitional period, I guess, um, from school and into being an independent adult with your learning. Okay. I'm not sure about the scheme for school leaders getting into music and sound design. [00:28:30] Um, did you have an answer for that one and no,

Speaker 2:        I'm not. I'm not aware of, of that. Uh, there is an early offer program that's running, uh, this year. I can see that. There's another question there about mature entry into the, uh, early offers. And that's, that's a question for the admissions experts. So hook up to the QA session later.

Speaker 1:        Yeah. There will be one-on-one chats and you can probably ask those kinds of questions [00:29:00] in those one-on-one chats. Um, so Chris wants to know, could you please elaborate on the six electives again? Good question. We don't teach education subjects. Um, I would take those ones into the one-on-one chats and you'll probably get a much more complete answer about those. There also, there's also information about that online, [00:29:30] I believe. Um, I'm interested in the double degree with international studies, how does this differ from doing a bachelor of music and sound design on its own? Perhaps Julia, you could answer that. Yeah,

Speaker 3:        No worries. So, um, the bachelor of music and sound design and bachelor of arts international studies. So pretty much you, of course, you'll be doing your full music and sound design degree though. Um, arts and international studies adds an extra two years [00:30:00] onto that degree. So within that, um, you learn a language so you can teach the language Italian, um, and you pick your language, you learn your language, and then in your fourth year, you have the opportunity to, um, go and live in your country of study and study that language overseas, um, and hopefully your discipline overseas as well. So I believe that, um, is a, it's a, like [00:30:30] a different part, like you, um, apply through us and you search, uh, music sound design and international studies. Um, and yeah, it's a lot of fun. I would highly highly recommend doing a bachelor of international studies as well, if you're interested. Um, and then you end up graduating with, you know, pretty much two degrees. Um, and then you have that extra language skill as well, and that opportunity to travel.

Speaker 1:        [00:31:00] Yeah. Um, there's another question you can, what is the daily hours it's, it's considered full time? So you can do, obviously your study part-time over a number of years. If you want to get through it in the three years, you would be really, um, required to be available. Most of the time we do expect attendance. Um, that said, we understand that most students have, you know, a job on the side that they have [00:31:30] to have to do. Um, but that will never be accepted as a, uh, excuse for not attending class. If you enroll in full-time study, we expect you to prioritize that and for your work to fit around your study, which you're paying for. So it's always a good idea to make yourself available for it, to get the maximum out of it. Um, and finally, what equipment and what programs are required, and that went over to

Speaker 2:        You. So you can, [00:32:00] you can definitely get through the course without, uh, expending money on equipment or software. It is all provided for you, but, uh, we really encourage students to develop their own, uh, suite of professional tools and we don't dictate what they are. Uh, but we do suggest that you choose one of the professional production platforms, uh, you know, pro tools, logic, Ableton. These are, these are common ones in use at the moment, but, uh, most of the digital [00:32:30] audio workstation systems, uh, offer similar sorts of, uh, production resources. Uh, so there's no, there's no requirement. Um, but we, we definitely hope that you're, by the end of the degree, you're set up to be delivering professional standard work, um, to the clients that you'll be taking on at the time of graduation.

Speaker 1:        And I will just add to that, that we have, um, really great workshops that run concurrently to the tutorials and the lectures [00:33:00] in Ableton live, which is a music production software and pro tools, which is more for sound design and sound editing. And pro tools is the industry standard software. So by the time you graduate with us, you have a very good working knowledge of that. Um, the workshops enabled to in mind are relatively new, but they will be really essential and you get to do them in first year with songwriting. So you're getting, if you don't have any music technology skills, when you come in, you're [00:33:30] getting into that very, very quickly. And so by second year, you'll have a good working knowledge of how to compose with, with computer programs, which is very much part of what, what you need as a, as a professional.

Speaker 1:        So we're gonna wrap up, I think, uh, the questions have all been answered. I would really encourage you to head over to the, um, workshop that's happening now. That's gonna it's student run. The link is there in the chat. Um, so it's the music and sound [00:34:00] design workshop, and it will be taking place as soon as we end the session here now. And if there are any unanswered questions, please keep the one-on-one chats in mind that they will be running for the rest of the day and also on Tuesday from four to 7:00 PM. Thanks everyone. Thanks for coming along.

 

Speaker 1:        Hi, everyone. I think we might begin, uh, it is four past 10. Um, and I would like to warmly welcome you all to the information session for the bachelor of communication, um, in strategic communication. And I'm delighted to, um, introduce the, uh, strategic communication major. You may have seen it called by another name, public communication, [00:00:30] and I'm delighted that as off next year, the major will be under this name, which is one of the great ways that we have updated and revitalized this major. Um, and we're extremely excited to talk today about some of the wonderful features of, of this particular stream, but the first thing I would actually like to do, um, and it's standard practice to at UTS and I'm honored to do this is an acknowledgement of country. [00:01:00] So UTS would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the various lands from which our attendees join us today and to pay respect to those elders past and present.

Speaker 1:        So what I would like to do today is talk you through some of the key features of this major. Um, obviously highlight what I think are some wonderful strengths and advantages of this particular stream. I'm not sure if I introduced myself, my name is Susie calmness, I'm head of discipline. [00:01:30] Um, and we have a few colleagues from, from the discipline here today. So if you have any questions later on between the three of us, um, we shall endeavor to address all of your questions, any concerns, um, so welcome and let us stop. So I now would like to go to [00:02:00] the next slide, excuse me for a second.

Speaker 1:        They're these JS. So you might be wondering lots of communication courses around Sydney, what makes UTS so special? What makes strategic communication so awesome. Um, [00:02:30] oh goodness. A few things I think so I'm sorry. I seem to be frozen a little bit. So just bear with me a tiny bit. Can someone confirm, um, if you're still hearing me, we can. Excellent. Okay. You know how sometimes they are gremlins in the machine I've got about, I've got about four devices in front of me and the [00:03:00] gremlins were in the one that I'm using. So apologies guys, our tech is usually far more reliable. Um, so one of the, I suppose, signatures on UTS is our really strong industry alignment. And we're proud that we have a reputation of always developing our degrees in release strong and frequent consultation with industry. And that's certainly true for strategic communication.

Speaker 1:        So we liaise with professionals on the ground, [00:03:30] um, in the real world with every offering and make sure that our subjects reflect contemporary best practice and that our assessments prepare you for real world application of relevant skills and knowledge. And we embed that knowledge in all our subjects, in all our assessments, many of which recreate scenarios and challenges that you will encounter, um, once you graduate. And so [00:04:00] we are convinced that you leave the major best prepared for, for entry into the workforce. Um, but on top of that, many of the teachers that you will learn from actually either have recently had, or still have direct industry professional experience, which is to say that we're proud to combine our knowledge of the practical and the applied with the critical and the theoretical and what that produces is a lovely in-depth [00:04:30] comprehensive education across strategic communication.

Speaker 1:        We also use our networks, our professional networks and our contacts in industry to be visible and accessible to our students. So we will have, for example, guest lectures from industry leaders, um, you might find that, you know, many of your assessments are actually real life briefs for real life clients. So we're not just, you know, nodding to [00:05:00] industry practice, but you actually get to apply and be assessed on those very relevant industry, industry skills. So many of your assessments, especially in second and third year will have you working as you would in the real world in collaborative teams based on a real client brief. So these will be creative problem solving exercises, and they're also fun. So the subject, the subjects and the major doesn't just revolve around, [00:05:30] you know, essays, but rather far more dynamic and engaging assessments that really get you to exercise and, and refine the skillsets that industry tells us they value and prioritize.

Speaker 1:        Um, and one of the ways that we guarantee this industry readiness and applicability is through, for example, accreditation from the PR Institute of Australia, we're also currently, um, negotiating from the Australian advertising council, which [00:06:00] we're hoping to renew and which we will be renewing. So what does it really presentation means? It means that the peak industry bodies that cover advertising NPR in Australia recognize the direct industry, relevance of our programs in it and recognize that by accrediting students that complete these programs successfully. So when you graduate, that's just another really sweet addition to your CV and to your portfolio that you can take [00:06:30] to, you know, future employers and show them that you are brilliantly prepared for industry. So we take so much pride in this, um, scaffolding of our major, um, you know, with industry imperatives and, and priorities. So what does it mean to study communicating new teams? Z can I interrupt

Speaker 2:        You? Can you just click the show real real-time feedback because there's something in there that's showing [00:07:00] red tick underneath start rehearsing. If you unclick that, uh, can you press onto the slide itself to see whether or not it disappears because that screen

Speaker 1:        Is okay. He didn't seem to show real time feedback. And then what if I click start rehearsing, James, would that make it go away? No, I don't think so. Um, I don't know where that came from, uh, but I can see how it's a bit [00:07:30] annoying. Uh, well, if anyone can let me know how to get rid of it, I shall try apologies everybody. Um, so what does it mean to study a communication degree with us, um, with a major in strategic communication? So regardless all which major and a major is just another way of saying dedicated study stream. So to have a major strategic communication means [00:08:00] that that is your first major, that's your first priority or study, regardless of which major you do, all communications students will complete three core communication subjects. And these, if you like are foundational, um, bases or, you know, subjects that run through, um, the communication degree and really introduce you to very kind of, um, sort of wide ranging, very [00:08:30] important concepts and skills, which will equip all communication students with deep communication knowledge and critical concepts.

Speaker 1:        So these are subjects that all communications students do, uh, regardless of their major, when you commit to a major, a first major that involves successful completion of eight subjects, those eight subjects, the major. So in strategic communication, we have eight [00:09:00] major subjects. What is awesome about studying comms at, at UTS is the option. Um, and in fact, the strong recommendation to also undertake a second major and we can go through some of those, um, second major options shortly but effectively. What that does is really expand the, the knowledge and the skill set that you will graduate with, which makes you that much more employable, because it means that you will go into the workforce with this [00:09:30] wide skillset that takes you across a variety of platforms, um, of skills and have deep industry knowledge. And in addition to the second major, you can also do, you should also do several electives and we have banks, we call them banks like a list of options banks, and they can choose from which you choose.

Speaker 1:        And I will now just, oh, [00:10:00] sorry guys. Um, I'm just trying to agendas. I don't know why this is more gremlins not liking me. The other thing that we can do at UTS is actually combine your degree, your, your better communication with another degree. And this does add a little bit of extra time to your duration of study, but this is a really attractive option for students that want [00:10:30] to graduate with a really wide skillset. Um, and it's, you know, a fantastic addition again to your CB. So the other options available is to combine your better communication with a bachelor of laws or a bachelor of international studies, um, or a bachelor of creative intelligence in, sorry, I can't is that my, that box is covering creative intelligence and innovation. I believe that's what it says, [00:11:00] correct me if I'm wrong. There are actually information sessions on all of these today. So if that's something that you would like to do, um, have a really full study program for what the next few years and graduate with that, then be sure to check out any of those information sessions. You can also do a diploma in languages. So we do encourage for those students that are really keen and really interested to consider that, that option as well.

Speaker 1:        [00:11:30] Yeah. Sorry guys. I [00:12:00] I'm still here. I'm just getting my, my computer to cooperate. Okay. So you mentioned the option of choosing a second major. We're really proud of the variety of, um, disciplines, um, that we cover in the school of communication and each discipline furnishes us with a different major. So if you were to do a strategic communication, strategic communication, you have the option of [00:12:30] doing a second major in one of these streams, digital and social media. And I must say a strategic communication and digital and social media is an extremely popular, um, option. Uh, I, I don't think I'd have to explain that to you, but I don't think there is a single job in, in communications today that doesn't entail some insight and understanding of digital and social media. Um, it's a relatively new addition to our suite of [00:13:00] disciplines, but extremely popular, also popular.

Speaker 1:        And one of our flagship programs is journalism. Um, and there is, you know, you might be may or may not be surprised to learn quite a bit of traffic between, um, strategic communication professionals and journalism. We actually share, um, a lot of similar skill sets, particularly around communication and language. Um, another major, which is, has also been, um, impressively redesigned [00:13:30] reimagined is writing, editing, and publishing. So if that's an area that you have a particular propensity for, um, think about coupling strategic communication with that second major, another major is social and political sciences. And this is really interesting and important, especially if you sing that you would like to, um, apply your communication skills to things like advocacy or working with not-for-profits or in consultancy [00:14:00] or political communication, and the other major that you can consider. Um, and actually there is an information session on this, uh, shortly is media business.

Speaker 1:        This is brand new being offered for the first time next year. Um, and media business is for those students who I guess have a more entrepreneurial interest in, in media, in communication and who see themselves, not necessarily making things, but being key. [00:14:30] Decision-makers in the production of media content, media distribution. So if you're interested in that the information session is on at 10 30, I think. So when you do a second major effectively, what you do is enhanced and imbue your portfolio and your CV with a wider skillset. And it just gives you a little bit more latitude in terms of the kinds of skills that you can [00:15:00] take to the workforce. So if you are considering strategic communication, what kind of careers are available to you? I think a really big clue to that is what we used to be called, which was public communication.

Speaker 1:        And we used to kind of approach how the communication as two different streams, advertising and PR after a lot of feedback from students and close consultation [00:15:30] with industry, we realized that in actual fact, if you look at the contemporary agency, right, the way strategic communication professionals work now in most agencies, advertising PR these job titles have become blurred and, and in many ways have kind of converged. So what we're doing with strategic communication now is teaching all of our students, the principles and the practices [00:16:00] of contemporary advertising and public relations. So if you see yourself working in any of these areas, this is the major for you. So you might want to go into PR management or public relations consultancy, and really what public relations does is manage the image, the reputation, the profile of what are usually public facing organizations, individuals. There isn't a single organization on the planet [00:16:30] that doesn't benefit from good, strong, favorable public relations.

Speaker 1:        It is of course, public relations that, um, manages the relationship between public organizations and, uh, identities and the media. So you might want to be a media relations officer, or perhaps you have a particular interest in politics. And, you know, you want to be a media advisor in government or political communication. We have subjects that look at that more closely, [00:17:00] you might want to go into advertising. Um, and don't forget advertising. Doesn't just cover things like, you know, kind of color or Knight. Um, the biggest advertiser in Australia is I think this Chinese government, so advertising and PR, uh, uh, considerations and priorities for most organizations and most public individuals in the world. And so there isn't a single organizational public official or identity [00:17:30] that doesn't require these kinds of skills. You might want to be an advertising account executive or a corporate communication manager.

Speaker 1:        Um, we also draw a little bit on marketing and principles from business. You might wanna go into marketing communication, or perhaps you want to look at how organizations talk within themselves, uh, internal communication manager, they're kind of, you know, organizational communication is really important. And so we [00:18:00] have subjects that come with that you might want to be a community relations manager, um, and look at how organizations and individuals liaise with their stakeholders and with various publics. So we're proud that our major equips out students and our graduates to enter such a wide array of employment options. And we actually have, um, a fund where you subject called the agency where we quite literally recreate [00:18:30] the scenarios and the kinds of problems that any of these job titles would, would be involved in. So we make sure you leave us with a really wide skillset. Um, and I mentioned earlier, the industry orientation of our major, we take this really seriously and embed our industry connections and networks across all our majors.

Speaker 1:        And we deal with a wide variety of, [00:19:00] um, external organizations for that, for that industry presence, um, and, and insight and consultation. And what we have here is actually just a snapshot of just some of the organizations that we work with and who, you know, help us, um, not just design assessments or, or put, um, briefs together, but who also offer things like internships for our students, guest lectures for [00:19:30] a lot of our subjects. And as you'll see the kinds of partners that, that we deal with really Spang, corporate and political and not-for-profit and the charity sectors. Um, and that's just another way we show how open-ended our major is in terms of equipping you to take your strategic communication skills across a wide variety of sectors and industries from, you know, um, kind of, sort of big take range, indie [00:20:00] things like, um, you know, the Sydney film festival, um, to more established organizations like the ABC, the New York times, um, and you know, charities, big important charities like career council of new south Wales. All of these organizations have had, or still have some kind of presence in our programs. And we're really proud of that. So what we're going to do now, I think is hear from a student, [00:20:30] said, James, can you point me to the student we're going to hear from

Speaker 2:        This? We have Tanya.

Speaker 1:        Thanks, Tanya. Hi everybody. Um, just a brief introduction. My name's Tanya I'm currently in my final year studying in bachelor of majoring in public communication. Um, switch is going to be rebranded into strategic comms. Um, next year, I see we have a couple questions, um, in the chat right now about internships. [00:21:00] And I think it's really great that we have flexible timetabling options, which means that as a student, you have more time to do the things that you're interested in. So whether those interests include pursuing internships in industries, you're passionate about, or just being involved in the different societies and social clubs we have on, on campus. It's also very awesome at UTS. We have a careers hub, which provides you with very unique internship opportunities, only available to UTS students. [00:21:30] And this website is updated on a weekly basis. Um, I've also been able to undergo three different internships personally, alongside full-time study, which I also feel it gave me the necessary skills and tools to really feel confident going into the professional industry.

Speaker 1:        Um, and we also have a couple questions. Will students be going [00:22:00] back on campus next year because of the situation with coronavirus, we can't accurately give you any dates as to when we will be back on campus in person. So I'm not too sure about that to Jane. I can, I can jump in if you like, and James James can either elaborate or, you know, um, add to, uh, the advice. So I'm not sure the name of the person that [00:22:30] asked that question. Um, we would all love to see you physically on canvas. That's how we're designed as humans, right? To kind of share a physical space and talk to each other, but UTS has consistently taken it's, um, protocols and, um, and mandates around on-campus presence directly from advice from, um, new south Wales health. So for now we, most of greater Sydney is, um, obviously still in lockdown.

Speaker 1:        And so, [00:23:00] um, the camp, the campus is not open for classes. Um, even though we had so desperately hoped at the start of the session to see our students really just about buying now. Um, so as soon as, um, health authorities deem it safe and, and, um, you know, advisable to reopen canvas will be there. So we planned to have, um, our classes on campus this session right now, and [00:23:30] it just did not work out like that. So, James, if you wanted to add anything, I just wanted to reassure everyone listening here today that we designed classes to be on campus. We look forward to seeing our students on campus, and there is so much to university life then, you know, being in the classroom, it's also about saying each other and hanging out on campus. So as soon as we're allowed to, as soon as glamorous as we can, we'll be there. James, is there anything you wanted to add? No, I think you've

Speaker 2:        Covered everything. So as you mentioned, [00:24:00] um, you know, we are operating by the new south Wales health, um, orders itself. So, but very much we'd like to see everyone on campus. Uh, we like students have the, the campus experience and an experience because, you know, communication, communicating students involves a lot of negotiation and, you know, building up those communication skills sets. Um, so as you had mentioned, uh, I think this might be a good time for us to move on to Q and a, and that's welcome, uh, another two academics within the [00:24:30] strategic communication portfolio. As soon as he has to move on to the media business webinar,

Speaker 1:        I've got to go guys, I'm doing maybe a business for that huge thank you to everyone for attending. And I will pass the Baton to professor Maureen Taylor and Dr. Kate Delmar, and they will be thrilled. I'm sure to answer your questions. And I do have to say everyone hopefully on campus next team. Thanks guys. Thanks Suzy. [00:25:00] Okay. Why don't we go in the order then of the questions that we see in the Q and a, uh, Maureen, James. I've got to close this for the next one. So I have to stop share. Does someone want to somebody have the slideshow going to just resume it? No, that's okay. You can

Speaker 2:        Just exit the PowerPoint shot, stop sharing. That'd be fine.

Speaker 1:        Okay. Oh, wow. Now you can see us. Okay. All right, Dr. Delma, why [00:25:30] don't I take the first? Well, we'll just alternate the questions. How does that sound sounds very good. Thank you. What careers could a combined degree of communication and international studies offer me. And the answer is just about anything. The international studies combined degree allows you to grow in your understanding of culture and in business and how the world works. And Australia is truly a global economy. So I would argue that you could do just about anything or you could work in government, of course, possibly public diplomacy for the Australian government. [00:26:00] You could work for businesses that have international offices, or as we know now, almost any Australian organization has global audiences. So it would be for almost any type of job.

Speaker 3:        Yes. Thanks for that. Um, professor Taylor. So I'm going to take, uh, a shot of the second question here. So can you describe exactly what kind of strategic communication internships I would do? Most of the advert firms are PR companies. Now there's no direct answer to this because [00:26:30] when you are in an internship program or working on an internship opportunity, it really will be based on what your host organization would require you to do. But from experience, our students have gone through this kind of experience would say that their involvement would be around. The re would be in that range of researching for actual campaigns, conceptualizing, meaning to say they become a part of meetings in terms of how to perhaps come up with a message that will address [00:27:00] a social issue. Some of them were being asked to monitor, uh, media reports about a particular campaign so that they can perhaps start thinking about how to evaluate the campaign.

Speaker 3:        Others are also being asked to conduct interviews with potential people who will be receiving or will be encountering the campaign that they are coming up with. So the interesting bit is that when you are out there in an internship world, you are very much, um, getting a hands on [00:27:30] experience of what the advertising practitioners and public relations practitioners are also doing on a daily basis. It's just that it's more structured because before you go out for internship, um, UTS has to find ways in terms of how they can have alerting contract that is also agreed by the host organization. So it's an ongoing, um, organic way of learning, but there are specific objectives and there are also specific outcomes that [00:28:00] we want you to achieve when you're there. So it's quite exciting that entire opportunity of being a part of an internship.

Speaker 1:        Excellent. And so I noticed that we've lost some of, several of our participants, so I'll go really fast on the rest of them. How many internships are there in this degree while we encourage you to take at least one, but as Tanya has told us, uh, you can go up to three or more and we really want you to have diverse experiences. I see the next one says, which majors should you take? If you're unsure? Well, I'm going to [00:28:30] tell you, you should take the strategic communication major if you're, because I think it's the best major there is.

Speaker 2:        Can I just add that they might be asking about what other majors they may want to consider.

Speaker 1:        And so any of them, so, uh, as Dr. Kim has said, so you could do journalism, you could do digital and social media. Uh, you could do social and political sciences. I think that you, you think about what it is that you might [00:29:00] want to do when your career, and you find the course, that's the best for you with strategic communication as your first major, you're going to be well-prepared to go into the workplace. So I think you pick your second as something that you love or something that you want to explore.

Speaker 3:        And I think the next question is quite related to what Maureen has. Just kind of the answer, just a combined degree of communications and international studies make us more employable. Yes. Because the more you diversify your learning while [00:29:30] you are in the university, the more that you place yourself in the more marketable position upon graduation. So communications, when you, uh, combined with international studies, as what was explained a while ago, it broadens your chances of getting work and public diplomacy, community engagement, community relations. For example, if you combine it with digital and social media, then you know that there is that kind of expertise that you are also specializing in apart from communication. So double degree majors [00:30:00] are always good things to think about at this stage,

Speaker 1:        Right? Last two internships. We have our own career hub, and we have people who help you to get the internships. Students have a choice of many internships, and then many will bring their own internship with an opportunity that they have found. So you won't have to worry. You're not going to be on your own and alone and trying to find an internship. Yes.

Speaker 3:        Um, do you want to take the last question, James? Or should [00:30:30] I do this? You can take the question. All right. So the question is somewhat Charmaine, thanks for the question. It's somewhat similar to this notion of how you should combine your degrees when you're there. So then your degree batches as a business. And if you want to combine it with advertising, marketing, communication, public relations, strategic communication, um, again, it really is based on how you envision yourself to be major on. [00:31:00] So for example, if I'm one student who will be combining these degrees here, I really am trying to broaden my opportunities, not just in the advertising field alone or PR, but I can also work with specific organizations who would like to enhance or boost their communication programs. So really the idea here is that the more that you try to combine, like what I've mentioned a while ago, the more that you brought it, the kinds of work that you may apply it because you are specializing in various fields, that will be [00:31:30] quite marketable, uh, once you graduate.

Speaker 2:        Can I just add to that? I think, um, the student was asking specifically about the major of advertising and marketing communication within the business degree itself as compared to the bachelor of communication in the strategic communication degree itself. Um, so within a marketing degree itself, in a business degree, you typically learn all aspects of marketing. So you learn about product price placement, and then promotion. Um, it doesn't [00:32:00] focus as much into the advertising model or the communication part of the, of the degree itself. Uh, and if that's one particular area that you want to focus your career on, you really want to work for a media agency, uh, in advertising communication, then this particular degree would switch you much.

Speaker 1:        Yeah.

Speaker 3:        And Emily, on the question about media arts and production. So yes, you can take it as a double degree, but it has to be your first major, right? The only rule about media arts

Speaker 1:        And [00:32:30] production. Exactly. That's because of what they teach you in media arts, you just can't do it as your second a D you can't do it as your second degree. It has to be the degree because there's so much to learn it. Yes.

Speaker 3:        And also if you put it, there is a requirement to put it as your first major because of logistics purposes, they need to make sure that everybody has access to the equipment and all the facilities that you need. So therefore you need to have, uh, your interests right up there.

Speaker 1:        [00:33:00] Yep. All right.

Speaker 3:        Are there any questions that you'd like us to ask? Those were all very good questions and I skimmed the same thing if I'm in your shoes. So very happy to be of help. And we hope that, um, this information session really has made you think about how you want to plan, not just for next year, but for your degree, perhaps, or for the kind of future that you'd like to have. And of course, uh, Maureen, [00:33:30] Tonya, Susie, James, and everyone else here at UTS would like you to consider strategic communication as your first choice. But you know, that you are always welcome to explore combined degrees

Speaker 1:        Well said. All right. So you had a mic, I'd say drop it.

Speaker 3:        So focus or Taylor, would you like to do the honor of closing this session? And also James, if there's still some others, we need to feel that the stage,

Speaker 1:        I guess I'll just say [00:34:00] that the last statement, since I'm the oldest person on the call. So I guess I have that honor, uh, you know, this is an exciting time in strategic communication. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is both about the power as well as the tragedy of when communication is not effective. And so for anybody who wants to help make the world a better place for anybody who wants to make people live better lives, anybody who wants to be successful in business, I think strategic communication is an amazing choice. [00:34:30] I've got nothing to add to that.

Speaker 2:        Well, thank you everyone for attending. Um, if you've got any further questions, we've got chat sessions available all day for you to ask a question we'd like to thank Maureen and Kate and also Tanya for joining us today and Suzy who had to take on the other session. We hope to see you at UTS next year.

 

Speaker 1:        If you've just joined your in the information session for the bachelor of communication writing and publishing creative writing is what you might know as, but we're called writing and publishing now. And yeah, you're very welcome. Um, so I'm going to get started. My name is Dr. Sarah Atfield. I'm one of the creative writing lectures here at UTS. And, uh, I'm here to run you through a quick presentation, and then there'll be time for you to ask some questions if you have any toward the end. Um, and it's just to give you an idea [00:00:30] of what to expect if you choose, uh, a bachelor of communication, right. In a publisher that UTS next year. And I will start by saying that I do notice is a tough time for you. If you're doing your HSC this year, if you're in year 12, it is a tough time for you.

Speaker 1:        So hopefully coming along to these kinds of sessions will be something for you to think about, to look forward to when we get past this current year situation of lockdowns, et cetera. So I've been thinking positive today. [00:01:00] All right, here we get. So why should you come to UTS and why should you study with us? Well, there are lots of different reasons. Um, and I mean too many really to put on a slide, but some of the things that you might expect if you come to study with us is a real chance to expand your imagination and to develop your writing and to develop sort of how you, how you formulate ideas and how you actually get down to the nitty-gritty of writing. You learn a lot about the creative [00:01:30] process and like how, how to approach your creative work. You also learn about industry, so write it and publish industry as well.

Speaker 1:        So you learn about how to get your work published. And if you want to work in those industries, how you might go about it. Um, we have experienced writers teaching. We have guests who come in to talk to you about writing and publishing. So there's lots of industry experience and industry practice also. So you get to learn all sorts of different aspects of both the craft [00:02:00] of writing and the writing industry. And there's something there that can appeal to you, regardless of what forms of writing you're interested in. So those are sort of some of the reasons why you, well, we think you should study with us. I mean, obviously there are a lot more as well.

Speaker 1:        So if you do a bachelor of communication and this is the structure, the basic structure of the degree, you have three core community communication subjects, which are the [00:02:30] subjects that everybody does. And then you have eight of your major subjects. If you choose writing and publishing, there are eight subjects in that area, then you have, um, the second major that you choose and elective choices or stream elective. So there's a variety of, um, of, uh, subjects that you do. Some you do altogether as a complete cohort with all the other students and others are in your specific major. And then you get kind of mixed up a little bit when you choose to do an actives and so on. So there's lots of, lots of different subjects. [00:03:00] You do lots of variety.

Speaker 1:        So in creative writing, these are the major subjects that you would be studying. Um, any first year, you will study foundations in writing and editing, imagining the real and narrative inferior practice. Um, and first year is designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of writing and also how to read like a writer. Um, so there's a big focus on the fundamentals. I suppose, the, you know, the [00:03:30] basic things you really need to know. Um, you also learn about genres. You learn about narrative, you learn about narrative theory. Um, you also learn about writing creative non-fiction, which is a type of writing that we love. Um, and there's a lot of emphasis on, um, writing about, um, learning about writing from different kinds of groups as well. Um, and, uh, quite an emphasis too on indigenous writing and, and we cover [00:04:00] all forms. So we look at prose fiction, we look at poetry, we look at screen lighting, creative non-fiction and all sorts of other things in between.

Speaker 1:        Um, in second year you study screen story adaptations and publishing cultures. So here you can really deploy your skills that you've gained in first year. You can get to work screenwriting or writing for different screens. Doesn't have to be traditional and adaptations. You get to think about how you might adapt as one text [00:04:30] into another text. Um, and there's quite a collective element. So the subjects in second year as well, and very collaborative. And if third year is the sort of professional readiness, I suppose, where you, um, work on creative and professional projects, there's a chance to work with industry professionals and then to work on your major in a project. So a big kind of creative project that it's all your own independent work. So those are the, the subjects that you'll study in creative writing. And then [00:05:00] of course there are those you choose a second major and the electives that you'll do in the course.

Speaker 1:        So there are lots of different careers that you can embark on. If you do creative writing and writing and publishing, um, you can work as an editor, as a publisher script writer, literary agent, uh, Dramatists feature writers. I mean, the hero on the sly copywriters storyline is freelance writers. Novelists. You can work in publicity or as a communication [00:05:30] professional, you don't have to be somebody who's totally focused on wanting to be a professional creative writer. As you know, you might imagine it looks like a novelist or a poet. That's great. You can do that, but there are all sorts of other career paths for you if you choose creative writing. And it's really useful anyway, in any kind of career that that use uses communication was it was based around communication. Um, so it's, you know, it's really beneficial in, in hone in those creative and critical skills.

Speaker 1:        [00:06:00] There are also a bunch of combined degrees that you can do, um, with us. So you might be interested in the bachelor of international studies, which depending on which form you choose gives you opportunities to, well, let's say hopefully go overseas where we've rendered, we're thinking positive. We're thinking in the future here. We're not worrying about right now. So, you know, opportunities to travel. Um, you can study a language if you do international studies, which is fantastic, or [00:06:30] you might combine with bachelor of laws. Um, if you're interested in, if you're going into legal professions, there's the bachelor of creative intelligence innovation as well, or you might be interested in teaching. So you might want to consider the masters of teaching where you, you, you, you, you do your undergraduate degree at the same time as the masters. So it's called a stackable degree. So some of you might be interested in teaching English, and this might be the course. I see.

Speaker 1:        [00:07:00] So within the bachelor of communications, you choose a second major as well. So there are some that you can choose from. You can choose digital social media or journalism or public communication or social political sciences or media business. So these are your choice of second majors, which you, um, it gives you a great opportunity to try something that's a little bit different to your first major. They compliment each other really well. And it means you can combine two interests at the same time is that you usually pick [00:07:30] one that you think aligns best with your kind of interests or you think might challenge you a little bit. And so you get that full experience of a second round major as well, um, opportunities to go and international exchange as well. So we have sent students to, to, um, on exchanges to, uh, creative writing courses in other universities around the world, such as America and the UK.

Speaker 1:        So for those of you who are keen on traveling and [00:08:00] in the future, then there are those opportunities as well to, to do this kind of international exchange. And we, we like you to think in that kind of global sense. Well, and this is the, the creative writing team at the moment. It's myself. Um, I'm Sarah, if you missed that at the beginning, uh, we also have Delia falconer, Claire Corbett, penny Russlynn, Andrew peoples Ella sweet Aperol and Tony Makris and the creative writing team has different kinds of areas of specialization. [00:08:30] So their specialization across areas such as poetry, novel writing speculative fiction, which is, um, fantasy sci-fi, um, there's, uh, children or young adults fiction there's, um, creative nonfiction, there's all sorts of variety across the, the writing staff. And so you, so you get that kind of benefit of the experience of the writing staff or the writing staff with published authors. Well, um, plus a team of, of, um, casual tutors or guests [00:09:00] from industry who come in and when, when we need somebody with a sorbet specialist area, people will come in and talk to you and you get to, you get to meet sort of writers through your contact with the creative writing team.

Speaker 1:        And there's also the industry connections. Um, there also connections with publishers, whether they be your sort of larger mainstream publishers, but also some wonderful independent publishers that we have wonderful relationships with, who offer opportunities to students and internships and so on. [00:09:30] Um, so there's lots of ways that you can get involved, um, outside of your actual, your studies. There's lots of sort of extracurricular things that you can get involved with, which are really interesting. One of the best, most fabulous is that UTS writers anthology, which is a wonderful opportunity if you're interested in getting involved with, so the UTS devices anthology is, um, an anthology of student work that's put together by students and the student editorial team. Um, so as a student, you can submit [00:10:00] your work to the anthology. And as a student, you can also express interest in being on the editorial committee.

Speaker 1:        And as part of that committee, you both, um, gather the writing. That's going to go into the anthology, but you're also involved in all the process of getting something published and you work very closely with the publisher. You get to choose the book cover, you get to arrange the launch, you get to do all of the things that you'd expect in a professional book publication. It's a very well-received publication. It gets reviewed across [00:10:30] all the major kind of outlets and, uh, very well-respected. So it's a great opportunity if you're interested both just from a writer's perspective. Also, if you're interested in going into the publishing and editing industries, then this is a great opportunity for you to have a go and have a try at something that is really beautiful and professional. Now, I do believe we have wonderful Alexander kids day. There's one of the current students and, um, Alexandra is going [00:11:00] to let you know some things.

Speaker 2:        Uh, thanks, sir. Uh, just a little introduction about me. Um, I'm currently at UTS I'm in my third year and I'm doing the bachelor of comes in. Well, it's used to be called creative writing, and now it's called on writing and publishing. I also do a double major in digital social media as well. Um, the main thing that I probably would like my first thing [00:11:30] to tell you guys would be like, it is so much fun during the creative writing force or writing and publishing, and you get a lot, you hit the ground running and you're immediately writing, and that's the main thing you need to do in this degree, practice writing constantly. And you workshop with your peers as well. Uh, it's, it's really good.

Speaker 1:        That's great. Um, Alexander, anything, any sort of specific moments you can think of that you'd like to relay?

Speaker 2:        Oh yeah. There's many [00:12:00] moments. I think I would, uh, I really liked the workshopping we do in our tutorials. So every class that you go to as a creative, as a writing student, um, you're in your inventory, in your classroom settings, and then you're talking with your peers, workshopping your own projects together. So it's not like, um, it's not a tutorial where you're just talking to your, um, you're talking to each other as well. So you get to know each other, how everybody else writes [00:12:30] you learn from each other. And also just the fact that you're doing that you exchange so much more than just talking to your tutor or just going to the lectures because everybody else has a different perspective on writing as far as well as the different genres and forms and mediums you can use. I thought it was so interesting when I was talking to somebody who was doing comics and that was how they were doing that on project. And I was so fascinated by that because I didn't know he could do that, but yeah, it's very free to [00:13:00] do anything you really want. And that's the best part, especially when you need it for workshops.

Speaker 1:        Yeah, absolutely. And students really inspire each other as well. So like you say, you might come across them ideas you hadn't thought of, and that can inspire and prepare your own ideas as well. Um, and I think, look, I think it's fair to say, and you can, hopefully Alexandra will agree with me here that the creative writing cohort, the students in creative writing do, do form quite a strong bond. Um, you know, it's a, it's a cohort of, um, [00:13:30] very like-minded kind of students and you're a bit of a bit become a bit of a family if you like. I like to think of it along those lines anyway. Oh yeah,

Speaker 2:        Definitely. We all ranch together about certain authors, certain stories coming out like, oh my God, did you hear about this? And then we just talk on for ages just about that very like-minded mindset.

Speaker 1:        Yeah. We do. We do the students get to know each other really well. And, um, and you, and you get to know the staff really well too. I think, um, because, you know, I, I think we're very [00:14:00] approachable as a team and we get to know the students really well as a result. So it's a, it's a good experience. Um, you learn a lot. It's, um, it's very flexible in that, you know, you get to choose what you want to do. You don't have to be locked into a certain sort of, uh, formal style of writing, but we do certainly encourage you to challenge yourselves and to experiment as well. So, you know, hopefully you kind of learn a lot of things that you didn't know before. Um, yeah, we've got some questions. Great. That's [00:14:30] good segue into my question slide. Um, all right, so there's a question there in the chat. So the question is, is their child's to write big pieces, similar to extension two pieces. Um, you do get to thanks for the question Ruby, you do get to write, um, substantial pieces for your assessments. Um, I mean, they are bound by a kind of a word count. I'm not, I'm not quite sure what the word count is for extension too. It's probably quite [00:15:00] large, isn't it? I don't know Alexander, if you can remember in

Speaker 2:        My memory, I think it was 4,500 for pros.

Speaker 1:        Actually, there would be pieces you would write for uni will be shorter, but then what you can do is you can write, um, you can submit, um, extracts. So if he wants you to work on a longer piece, you could submit an extract for assessment. So, you know, there's opportunities to write longer pieces. Um, but generally there would be, [00:15:30] there would be a bit shorter than that. You're probably looking more around 2000 to 3000 words. So your final kind of projects, um, that's, that would be just for prose fiction. Obviously they'd be equivalent if they, if you were writing poetry or scripts or hybrid forms. So a little bit smaller than a bit shorter than, um, school. And I look at that also, I would say for those of you who are doing your HSC at the moment, which obviously it's a very stressful time university experience is not stressful in the same way. Um, you, you know, you get [00:16:00] to sort of, um, because you have a lot more freedom in what you do, so you don't have so many stresses. I'm just going to have a look at what's in the Q and a yes.

Speaker 1:        Okay. So there's a question there. Um, are there internships in this subject? Um, so there are, um, opportunities to engage with industry. So, so not necessarily internships in that we, you know, we set you up with a company, but there are [00:16:30] opportunities for you to explore, um, internship, like, or sometimes internships. So that, sorry if that sounds a bit vague, but it really depends on what you want to do because, you know, for example, if what you want to do is be a novelist, then there isn't really an internship for you to intern with, uh, with another novelist, but there are opportunities for you to intern with publishing companies and other arts organizations, but also just to work with, um, professionals, industry professionals on projects as well. [00:17:00] Um, there's another one here. Can you write for film? Yes, you can. Absolutely. You can write for, you know, you can choose projects based on screenwriting fulfill or TV or web series or podcasts or anything like that.

Speaker 1:        Um, so th they're coming thick and fast. Now these questions, could you please talk about the final project and the parameters for this? Yeah, pretty much you can choose what you like for your final project. Um, in the, in the, particularly the last subjects [00:17:30] there's, um, the final project is really entirely up to you. The only parameters would be around word count because we have to draw a line somewhere. So they don't get too too large, but you can, you can pretty much do what you, what you want. I mean, you, you negotiate with your tutor as well, you know, and you have a kind of a two and a fro and you workshop ideas as well. Is it an assignment based or test-based based course, um, it's assignments, um, at this stage there were no plans to include any tests or exams in [00:18:00] creative writing. So I'm assuming there won't be,

Speaker 2:        You're not doing exams when you leave the work. You're not leaving count in the workforce doing exams. So why would you do it in university?

Speaker 1:        Sure. No, exactly. So, yeah, and particularly in creative writing, they would be very hard thing to set an example, I think. Um, is there any advantage to having done extension English classes in high school? Look, it doesn't hurt, but if you haven't done it, I don't think there's any disadvantages at all. I mean, the main, the main thing too, for you advantage for [00:18:30] you, if you want to do creative writing, is that you like reading. So if you're a reader, if you're somebody who enjoys reading, then you've already got a headstart. So I, you know, I don't really think it matters where you, where you're at in terms of English at school. Um, there's another, um, so I'm going through more of these questions. Are there opportunities to get published while at uni? Yes, there are. So there's the UTS writers, anthology has mentioned. There's also an on-campus publication called vertigo, which takes creative writing.

Speaker 1:        [00:19:00] Um, they're also, when you do the publishing cultures, uh, subjects, you will put together your own digital literary journal plus, um, your lecturers and tutors will advise you of any opportunities for publication and encourage you to do that as well. External, um, let's have a look here. Um, you mentioned a major writing project in third year. Is that a longer project? It's a little bit longer, but it's going to still be around about the three K [00:19:30] limit. I think at this stage was still to be determined. Um, our assessments specific to a particular falls, or can you select the form that you interested in that will depend a little bit on the subject? So if, um, in some of the subjects you will be able to choose the form completely. Let's say, for example, in imagining the real you're using creative non-fiction as your form.

Speaker 1:        So you do have to sort of stick within those parameters, but for the most part is pretty, pretty flexible. Do we study, practice [00:20:00] creating a broad range of genres and mediums, or do we focus on one thing? We really like, well, a bit of both. So you do study and practice across a broad range of mediums, and we encourage you to do that so that you can have a go at things that you might not have thought about doing before. Um, but in some subjects you do have to sort of focus a little bit on sort of form, but generally speaking, you know, we would encourage you to have a go, um, prerequisites. So prerequisites in [00:20:30] terms of, um, you know, the general kind of entry requirements. But other than that, there, there isn't really a prerequisite. I mean, like I say, been interested in reading is really important.

Speaker 1:        Um, you know, obviously there's a lot of writing, so you have to be happy and interested in writing because you do a lot of that. Um, that would be the main prerequisites, um, with a full-time degree. Would that mean you're at uni every day. That's a good question. That would depend on your timetable. [00:21:00] So I couldn't really tell you the answer to that. Um, it would say it depends on, you know, if you take your full-time load and they met the subjects that you're doing, sometimes they might be spread out a little bit across the week. Sometimes they're a bit more, um, consolidated or in the, you know, in a couple of days. So you wouldn't necessarily have to be in every, every day, um, in terms of hours per week, again, that will vary from subject to subject. So some will be some subjects, you know, you'll have, um, [00:21:30] you know, you'll be in for tutorials or studios and whatnot.

Speaker 2:        Yeah. My timetable currently, um, I'm only in uni will virtually in uni, uh, two days a week. Uh, when I first started in my first year, I was 30 days, but even so I was only in actual classroom hours for tops three to four hours doing the writing communications course. But it depends on your degree if you're like combining it with like a law [00:22:00] degree or anything else, it does change. And it's very variant on what you pick.

Speaker 1:        Yeah. It depends on the subject. Like if you're, if you're enrolled in a big subject, there's sometimes some opportunity to choose the tutorial. Um, you know, they might not all be on the same day. Sometimes they spread out a little bit in a smaller subject they'd dust tend to be all on the same day, so you might not have as much choice, but will be some choice of time. So, um, yeah, that really will vary. So we'll do a combined degree with international studies help with employment [00:22:30] opportunities. Post-graduation uh, well, look, you know, if you're interested in anything that you think would benefit from a kind of global outlook then absolutely. Definitely. Yeah. Learning a language is a wonderful thing to do, and that can always help you with your employment opportunities. Absolutely. Um, what's the class environment like or the creative writing students, a closed community?

Speaker 1:        Yes. I'd say we are. Um, or they are, cause I'm not sure the students get a chance to work with tutors in a mentor mentee relationship. [00:23:00] So you get a lot of feedback on your work from your tutor. Um, we do provide extensive feedback and plus you get the opportunity to get feedback from your peers as well. So, you know, I think we do develop those kinds of relationships with, with students. Um, are you able to choose elective subject as well as compulsory course subjects? Um, yes, there are, there is an elective bank as well, and they they're, um, some of those, what we call cross disciplinary, uh, electives, which, um, which kind of [00:23:30] fit across the whole of communications, um, what does creative non-fiction involve? And I mean, it really involves writing about, you know, the, the real, I suppose, in a creative kind of way, so different, different to like you're not writing reports or it's a little bit different from journalism is that you're using the sort of skills you, you acquire as a creative writer, but you're applying them to a, to something that is, um, you know, is a not fiction.

Speaker 1:        [00:24:00] Um, yes, there events and opportunities to network with industry professionals. We bring guests in to talk to you. We organize events as well. Um, so there definitely are those opportunities. What are the pros and cons of taking a joint or combined course? I suppose the only con is that is actual work. That's one thing to keep in mind, you know, if you're up for it, that's great. But just, you know, it's good to be prepared. Um, any combined course obviously does mean extra work for you. [00:24:30] The pros are that you have doubled the stuff that you learned about. I mean, you know, if you like learning and then you're up for it, then that's a great thing. Um, yeah, I think all the courses in comms are eligible for early entry. And I think there is, um, hopefully somewhere there is a link somewhere that you can, uh, click on for some more information about early entry.

Speaker 1:        So it's the, it's the first time we've done it on things. So, um, I'm not so across that, but there's definitely information out there. [00:25:00] I think, I think Charlotte's typing announces that one and society's extracurricular things. Yes, you can there heaps of societies. Um, one of the ones that you'd probably want to join straight up, if you do come to UTS and do communications is the UTS communication society. So they organize events, you know, particularly at the beginning when you're in first year, that sort of icebreaking kind of events and things like that. They do a camp when, when we're, when we're not in COVID, um, and lots of social events [00:25:30] as well. And there's heaps of other societies and everything. If you're interested in animators, animation society, if you like judo, judo society, you know, it depends on your interests. Um, can you write for magazines?

Speaker 1:        Um, you can write for anything you like, you know, whatever your interest is, we'll encourage you to write, write for that, you know, absolutely. Um, what happens in years two and three? Um, well I suppose second year, you know, you're building all the knowledge that you've gained in first year and you're applying it a lot [00:26:00] more. Second year will be a little bit more collaborative than first year. And then third year is, goes, becomes a little bit more independent in that, you know, you're given, you're given more bigger projects to do and you, um, you do a bit more independent kind of learning. Um, there's a, there's a question in the chat. Let me just have a look says, um, I love novel writing poetry, but not really other forms of writing journalism. Do we have to study these other forms of writing our journalism?

Speaker 1:        So [00:26:30] we don't do, we don't study journalism in, um, in creative writing, there are other forms outside of novel writing and poetry, but they're all still creative writing. So that would be things like having a, you know, dabble in a bit in, um, in screenwriting or, or writing for screens or adaptation, or maybe thinking about even multimedia forms of writing. So, but, but not journalism. Like if you choose journalism as a second major, then obviously that's what you'd be doing, but not in creative writing. Um, [00:27:00] and then we've got how many students will be in the course. I don't know. I'm not sure. Um, you know, we do do have a, uh, in creative writing, we do have a good sized cohort, um, but not too huge that you can't get to know people. So I don't know for sure. It depends on how many wonderful students or prospective students apply to UTS.

Speaker 1:        All right. A few that was a bit of a whirlwind of a of questions. Um, so is there anybody else [00:27:30] got a question they wanted to put in the chat tool because otherwise we're almost at time. Oh, there's something else in the Q and a, can you write that? Anything like wellness stuff help? Well, you could, if you, if you, if you wanted to explore the creative nonfiction, then you could write about that kind of stuff. Absolutely. Um, what you would into international exchange programs. Like I'm not completely sure on the structure that may be, maybe one of the sprouts can answer that one, but I'm not usually first [00:28:00] year, at least I wouldn't have thought that Alex, if you've got an experience of,

Speaker 2:        I don't know entirely, I'm not an international studies student, but I'm pretty sure it's a second here, but I, there might be ways to move that around, especially with COVID a lot of things have gotten more flexible, so yeah. You'd probably have to talk a bit more than that. Yeah.

Speaker 1:        I think Charlotte's typing in answers to that one, but yeah, it wouldn't be in first year. It wouldn't. So, um, what do you recommend in regards to employment after [00:28:30] completing this degree? Is it a useful degree to gain employment, earn a living? Uh, yes, it is communication skills and communications are really sought after by employers, um, employers like students, or, you know, graduates to have what they call soft skills, which are things like, you know, being able to communicate, having critical thinking skills, being creative, kind of thinkers, problem solvers, uh, and so on. And those kinds of skills are things that you definitely definitely [00:29:00] learn and hone in. Um, in the communication degree in general, um, also employers are increasingly interested in how to create, if you like stories of their organizations, you, the idea of narrative and how important it is is becoming very, very sought after by employers.

Speaker 1:        Um, there, if you specifically in creative writing, there are a bunch of different degrees. Whether you, whether you become a professional writer, freelance writer, that's across a range of different kinds of areas, or whether you go into writing and [00:29:30] publishing or you go into communication industries more generally, there's like a communications professional communication officer of an organization. You can, you can work in, even in publicity can, there's, there's such a big, a big sort of range of careers. And our grads are very employable and employees talk to the university a lot about, you know, what they like to see in graduates and communication graduates have that.

Speaker 1:        All right. Okay. Okay. [00:30:00] So I think that might be enough from us. So, you know, if you do decide to come see UTS, we will be very happy to see you and to welcome you and, um, good luck with all your, your studies at the moment. If you're doing your HSC best of luck with everything, there's look forward to next year and having sort of COVID behind us as much as we can and thinking about the future and all the sorts of policy possibilities that they're out there for you. So I think that's probably all [00:30:30] from us and hopefully we might see you next year at UTS. So thanks everybody.