Hyper Island & NESTA

02/03/11

A golden ticket is being offered for young creative talent as Sweden's "Digital Harvard*" launches industry-led learning in UK.

Budding digital media students are today being offered the chance to take part in a cutting-edge new educational programme in the UK, backed by businesses such as Channel 4, Saatchi & Saatchi and Sony Games. 

Applications open today for a British version of a tried and tested Swedish education model for people in the interactive media, communications and advertising industries. The 'Interactive Media Design and Management' programme, which will be run in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, is the first of its kind to be introduced by Hyper Island outside of Sweden and has already received the backing of leading brands such as MTV, McCann, Channel 4, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sony Games, Code Computerlove and Wieden + Kennedy.

Hyper Island’s model offers a distinctive action-learning approach, with participants delivering solutions to real problems brought to them by businesses. This new programme has been designed in collaboration with leaders in the media and advertising industry from around the world, many of whom will help deliver it.

“It’s all about industry-ready people”, says Hyper Island’s David McCall, Director of the new programme, which opened for applications today. “Media and communication technologies have converged, and the industry needs talent that is unbound by disciplines, instinctively collaborative and able to thrive in a rapidly changing environment. Our first UK programme has been designed with industry, with exactly this kind of talent in mind.”
McCall adds, “At Hyper Island there are no teachers and no tests. No homework gets set, and no textbooks are needed. Instead, participants will be immersed in project-based activity, in an environment that mirrors the workplace. They will work side-by-side with leading professionals, responding to real briefs set by real clients. At the end of the programme each of the participants will get a rare opportunity to be part of life in one of the world’s most exciting media brands, through a specially designed internship. They will leave us properly prepared for a career in the industry.”

At a time when UK graduate unemployment rates are at the highest level for 17 years, 98per cent of Swedish graduates from Hyper Island find work within the digital media sector upon graduation. The programme is being delivered in partnership with the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA), which is funding the one year pilot to examine whether the model can deliver similarly impressive results for UK students.

Jon Kingsbury of NESTA says: “The digital media sector offers exciting growth potential for the UK if we can develop people with the right skills. NESTA is excited to be partnering with Hyper Island to understand how an industry-led approach to education might be a more effective way of giving talented young people a pathway into the digital media sector.”

There are 25 places available on the pilot for exceptionally talented young people, aged between 18 and 25 years old, who want an alternative start to their career in interactive media, communications and advertising.

“We are looking for young creative people with passion and Hyper Island potential”, continues McCall. “Passion for communications, media business and design, and the potential to shine as people and professionals. We want to find people who think independently, act collaboratively and have an infectious enthusiasm for innovating solutions. They might come straight from education or simply have an inspiring portfolio.”

So why is industry supporting the introduction of such a radically different approach to education? Here are a few thoughts from some of the partners involved with designing Interactive Media Design and Management:

“It is essential that industry is involved with this new programme, because the programme itself is essential to industry”, says Tony Foggett, Managing Director of Manchester’s Code Computerlove. “There is a huge gap in talent, and the pace of change in our area makes it very difficult for traditional courses to keep on top. In the Hyper Island model professionals are embedded in the learning experience, helping to shape content and deliver the programmes and, as a result, you end up with industry ready people. The young people who successfully apply to this course are pretty much guaranteed a job, and most likely a job at one of the best agencies in the UK.”

“What really interests me about the Hyper Island model is the creative thinking, and the connection with industry”, says Phillip O’Ferrall, Senior Vice President, Digital Media for MTV. “What we really need, and what’s really exciting, is for students to come into industry feeling like part of the team. Businesses like MTV face 100 different problems every day, and we need people who can be part of a ‘brains trust’, working together to come up with really great ideas and solutions.” 

“It is great that Hyper Island is launching a programme the UK. It means we can have a more intimate exchange and connect their student with our clients. I can see us getting very involved in Interactive Media Design and Management”, says Sam Brookes, Managing Director of Wieden + Kennedy’s Platform. “It’s a real fast-track for us to get to the best talent.”

“Hyper Island’s programmes are completely different”, says Jo Taylor, Head of 4Talent at Channel 4. “The kind of transcendental thinking, the relationships with industry, the exploding of myths and experiences, and the project work people come out with is their golden ticket into a really amazing job. You will not get that anywhere else, in my opinion. I hope that in 12 months some of the graduates from this new UK programme are working here at Channel 4.”

Hyper Island’s decision to deliver the programme in the North West is no accident. Manchester is home to Europe’s second largest media hub and a major centre for television, film, animation and games development, and 320,000 people are employed in 31,000 creative businesses across the region. “Manchester is an international city”, adds McCall. “It is two hours from London by train, and has an airport with links to 200 destinations around the world. The economy in the region is thriving. If you join Hyper Island here you will have options to stay after you graduate.”

Angie Robinson, Chief Executive at MIDAS said: "Hyper Island's decision to run this ground breaking training programme in Manchester is fantastic news for both the region's digital media sector and our local talent pool. Greater Manchester already has a strong reputation as a hot-bed for creative output and the arrival of Hyper Island will only serve to boost this. We are thrilled to support their arrival in Manchester and look forward to seeing the progression of the scheme."

“I think this programme is coming to Manchester at exactly the right time. For 16 years Hyper Island has been at the forefront of innovation in life-long learning for people in media and communications and advertising”, says McCall. “Interactive Media Design and Management builds on that legacy, here in the UK.”

Christina Andersson, Hyper Island’s Managing Director in UK concludes;
“We are proud to launch this programme here in the UK and Manchester is the perfect location. The UK office of Hyper Island opened 2in 009 and has to date been focusing on intensive industry professional development. We are pleased that we now can share our 16 years of experience in life-long learning for people in media and communication. ”

Interactive Media Design and Management is the pilot for a new UK qualification that (subject to validation) will be accredited by Teesside University, a partner in the Skillset Academy Network. In 2010 Teesside was voted university of the year.

The deadline for applications is 01 April 2011. For successful applicants to the programme, school will start on 23 May 2011.

For more information on how to apply visit Hyper Island.

***ENDS***


Editors' Notes

Contact details:
David McCall is Director of Global Partnerships at Hyper Island, and Director of Interactive Media Design and Management. David is available for interviews: david.mccall@hyperisland.se

Director of Marketing, Hyper Island, Charlotte Sundåker is also available for interviews: charlotte.sundaker@hyperisland.se

NESTA press office:
Jan Singleton 020 7438 2606/ jan.singleton@nesta.org.uk
Ruth Attride 020 7438 2609/ ruth.attride@nesta.org.uk

Industry partners involved in the design and delivery of Interactive Media Design and Management are:
•    Amaze
•    BBC
•    Channel 4
•    Code Computerlove
•    Dare
•    Glue Isobar
•    Love
•    McCann Eriksson
•    MTV
•    Poke
•    Profero
•    Saatchi & Saatchi
•    Sony Games
•    Stardotstar
•    Neighborhood
•    TBWA
•    Wieden + Kennedy

About Hyper Island:
Swedish born Hyper Island is a global leader in the field of interactive and digital media training, with over 16 years of experience shaping the digital talents of tomorrow.

We began life in an old prison in Karlskrona, Sweden and we now have offices in Stockholm, London, Manchester and New York.

Hyper Island is no ordinary place of learning. There are no teachers or tests. No homework gets set, and no schoolbooks are needed. Instead, people who come to Hyper Island learn by doing. They learn about themselves, about how to work with others in teams, and about how to make amazing things happen.

We have a long track record of working closely with industry, and many of the people who have graduated from Hyper Island are now leaders in their field, and form part of our global legacy network. As a result inspirational people are always coming in to help us to deliver programmes.

Participants on our programmes might find themselves working side by side with a Creative Director from a global brand, or an Interactive Art Director as a major agency, drawing on their knowledge as they respond to real briefs, set by real clients. In this way, Hyper Island mirrors the workplace, and this means that people leave us properly prepared for what lays ahead.

Our doors are always open to creative people who think and act independently, and have an infectious enthusiasm for innovation.

Our programmes continue to nurture talented individuals like this, and 98% of people who walk through our doors each year walk out with their first job in place.

About NESTA:
NESTA is the UK’s foremost independent expert on how innovation can solve some of the country’s major economic and social challenges. Its work is enabled by an endowment, funded by the National Lottery, and it operates at no cost to the government or taxpayer. NESTA is a world leader in its field and carries out its work through a blend of experimental programmes, analytical research and investment in early-stage companies.
www.nesta.org.uk

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* “Hyper Island = Digital Harvard.”
Rob Schwartz, Chief Creative Officer, TBWA/Chiat/Day, USA