Monday, September 5, 2011

Orientation

Its off to a running start this semester with two days of orientation held for our new and part-time students. This year’s cohort includes 22 students from the mainland, and one who joined from Brazil. Several of the students are returning to Hong Kong from overseas studies at institutions such Carnegie Melon University.


There was plenty of time to get to know one another as well as the PolyU facilities (MIC, M-Lab, Library). In addition to presenting the program streams and subjects, the Faculty also gave presentations on communication skills, meaningful media, project financing, and “pitched” digital entertainment projects based upon their research work.

During the week, the students developed their own concepts and “pitched” them to the class and faculty in the second orientation day. Overall, the presentations were well thought out and I’m looking forward to seeing what the students come up with at the end of the year.

The second day of orientation concluded with a beach party that included food, drumming, singing and dancing organized by the "One Love Tribe." Although the day started with rain, it cleared by the evening, leading to a picture perfect sunset at Cheung Sha beach. We were visited by a herd of wild beach-going cows. A bon-fire drumming circle, sand sculptures, and candle lit venue, brought a sense of wonder. At the conclusion of the event, Howard McCrary led an inspired rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine at the conclusion of the memorable event.

We are introducing many new changes to enhance the program including a Friday “brown-bag” dinner in the Studio before the IMPD class, and Friday Night film screening and workshop evenings after IMPD. We are also providing students with space to work on projects with faculty readily available for advice / consultation. A number of student-requested workshops have also been scheduled relating to animation and augmented reality.

This coming weekend, we have several speakers including Brian Jobling, CEO of Eutechnyx, Meera Gandhi, and Ravi Martha. What a great beginning!

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