A pilot programme has been launched by the University of Nottingham to help Chinese universities improve the quality of the training they provide to film industry students.
The University of Nottingham hosted a group of 27 screen industry academics from 23 universities across China, who came to the UK to find out how the University trains graduates and prepares them for careers the screen industry.
China’s film industry is expanding rapidly. In 2015, the Chinese spent more than $6.5 billion on movie tickets, an increase of almost 50% on the previous year. Around 20 new cinema screens are opening every day in China to meet demand, and last year, profit from film production climbed 76% to 868 million yuan.
New collaborations
As part of the five day Screen Industries Collaboration programme, the Chinese participants met with screen industry professionals and academics from the UK in order to share experiences and explore the development of new Sino-UK collaborations in the film industry.
During their visit, the delegates took part in the Nottingham International Microfilm (NIM) Festival which took place at venues across the city, including the University’s Lakeside Arts centre. This event provided the opportunity for the participants to meet with film-makers from across the world to discuss ideas and issues.
Equipping students with skills
Speaking about the Screen Industries Collaboration programme, Dr. Gianluca Sergi, Director of the Institute for Screen Industries Research at The University of Nottingham, said: “We were delighted to host such an eminent group of experts from China. They were able to find out more about how universities here work closely with the film industry to equip students with the skills that they need. Their learning will hopefully help to inform the way that they design courses in China in future.”
At the end of the programme, a number of participants expressed interest in further collaboration with the University. Speaking about the visit, one participant said: “The University of Nottingham is nothing like any other international university we have worked with before. It has such vision, professional dedication and heart”.
Closer links
The next phase of the programme is to establish a new UK-China Screen Industries Education and Skills Group (SISEG). This group will see UK and Chinese universities working together in order to promote curriculum change in China and to build closer links between the UK and China in this sector.
For more information about the Screen Industries Collaboration programme, contact Min Rose, Senior Executive at the Asia Business Centre, on +44(0)7780 491135 or email min.rose@nottingham.ac.uk
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More information is available from Lucy Fox, Asia Business Centre Project Coordinator, email lucy.fox@nottingham.ac.uk, or from Nick King, Marketing Projects Manager, University of Nottingham, +44 (0)115 82 32184, or email nicholas.king@nottingham.ac.uk
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