Seven young people have been awarded a new scholarship to study technical production fulltime in Sydney through 2009. The new scholarship scheme at Julius College was made possible through the generous support of a number of suppliers, including industry leaders like Chameleon, Bytecraft, Jands, TDC, Lots of Watts and Norwest. The technical production course includes training in live audio, lighting and video and has produced graduates now employed across the Australian and worldwide production industry since 2005.
Julius College is a private educator, which although heavily audited, attracts no government funding for its fulltime program. Accredited to the same level as a TAFE college, Julius has developed its own courseware and learning strategies with all texts and teaching aids specifically written by the firm for its courses.
Scholarships in 2009 were decided on criteria including community and schoolwork, education background and personal circumstances of applicants. A high number of applications were received which were then culled to the final seven, a number based on viability at a small boutique college with a typical enrolment of fewer than 45 students.
The support that made this possible comes from ongoing relationships with many production houses, equipment distributors, and venues, which the college has forged since it, commenced in 2003. That support ranges from the loan of equipment, through provision of facilities and placement of interns.
“There isn’t a business case to buy what is needed for this level of training”, says Julius Grafton, “I know some of the TAFE colleges and universities have done the numbers and discovered they need 600 students to make it pay. That’s why we only exist through the generosity and support of the industry. I never get a ‘no’ when I pick up the phone, as everyone knows that new talent is the life blood of the industry”.
Having launched this first round of Scholarships, the next program is due to open for nominations in February. A scholarship nomination must come from a third party, such as a school or a community or industry stakeholder. When they nominate a willing participant, an industry panel assesses the potential student. ALIA members are welcome to join the assessment panel.
“The selection process was stressful for all of us in 2008 due to the strength of many of the applicants”, says Julius. “We managed to bring final selection forward a little, to ease the suspense that we are sure they were feeling. It was a relief for us, and I’m sure for them, when we chose the final seven”.
The Advanced Diploma of Technical Production runs from February 16th in Sydney.
www.juliusmedia.com
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