One of the most satisfying things about teaching at UOW is to see students achieve things that they never imagined they would be doing. When our students begin their foundation year they're very enthusiastic and you can see their creativity and critical thinking really developing. So the best thing about creative arts is that it has the flexibility to cater to you. It's really up to us we get to create our own piece or composition that in the end of the degree can all come together to create a portfolio as fast as artists.
We set up real world scenarios as much as possible we emulate an industry-based practice so we're teaching people not only how to be thinkers and conceptualisers, but also practitioners in a very real industry world.
All the teaching staff and academics are experts in the areas that they're teaching. For example in visual arts all staff teaching are practicing artists. We have musicians and composers, we have theatre play writers, we have actors. So students studying here really studying with practitioners people who are expert in their field.
Every student that comes here can engage with technology to the degree where they can make their own album, get that out to the world in a professional way, that in in no way is lesser than anything that they would do at any commercial facility.
I think it's really fantastic to see our students develop really close working relationships. These relationships continue beyond university where they continue to make music together. Through studying I've met people who have helped me grow and done some exhibitions together, done some collaborative graphic design projects that have eventuated into real briefs with real clients. The students that we turn out here I think are really well equipped to begin that journey into the creative industries. There is a real investment both from students and the teaching faculty in this idea of building a community.