News

Avid signs up first European academic institution to new media education initiative (18/10/2004)

- The Avid Academic Partner program aims to creates closer links between education and media industry

Avid Technology Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc., has signed up The Sheffield College as the first academic institution to join its new European educational initiative, the Avid¨ Academic Partner (AAP) program. The aim of the AAP program is to create partnerships between Avid and media colleges, in order to provide the resources needed to deliver digital media creation training that is appropriate and relevant for students entering the broadcast industry, and to bridge the gap between education and employment.

The Sheffield College is one of the largest providers of Further Education in the UK, and offers vocational media training including HND, National Diploma, AVCE, GNVQ, AS and A Level courses. "Avid's ground-breaking AAP program is the missing link between the broadcast industry and education. It marks the start of a powerful collaboration and a commitment to quality training for the editors of tomorrow," said Paul Hemmingfield, Manager, Creative & Digital Industries Project, The Sheffield College. "Our partnership with Avid provides tangible access to industry for students and staff, and the fact that they are working with the latest industry-standard solutions which are used in the workplace puts them in touch with true media production."

"When we asked our educational customers what they wanted from us, it was very clear that they wanted more than just low pricing. Their biggest challenge is to provide the kind of training content that is required by the media industry," said Hans Venmans, European Product Marketing Manager, Avid Technology Europe Ltd. "Avid Technology has always been committed to providing quality education and training to meet the needs of industry professionals, and we feel that the AAP program is another significant step towards this goal. We are providing career support to the media students of today, who are the professional editors of tomorrow."

The AAP program offers two levels of benefits:

* The first level is aimed at the educational institution, providing free-of-charge access to Avid's vast library of media training materials, as well as dedicated curriculum support material that is written exclusively for AAP members by Avid's educational experts. It also offers sponsored formal training courses for educational staff to keep their product and industry knowledge up-to-date.
*The second level is aimed at the media students. It enables them to join an exclusive, dedicated community, receive career information and support from experienced Avid editors, qualify for sponsorship of formal Avid training courses and, importantly, gain contact with professional media facilities through a range of work placement and recruitment opportunities.

Universities and colleges that offer full-time media studies can apply to join the AAP program once they have made a commitment to the use of Avid content creation systems within their institution. The AAP program has started in the UK and will be rolled out in other European countries over the coming months. Avid will also continue with its existing program of educational discounts for both software and hardware-based systems.

www.avid.com