Mentoring creative talent
With the advent in technology and fast-changing industry trends, Jason Loh, the course head of the animation programme at Dasein Academy of Art, is constantly on the look-out for new learning opportunities for the students.
in addition to the fixed modules of learning in the Diploma in Animation programme, students have the opportunity to pick up extra knowledge and skills with top-up workshops organised, such as “introduction to ZBrush (a digital sculpting tool and software that replaces traditional clay modelling for 3D learning)”, “Movie VFX Fundamental: Camera tracking & Matchmove”, “Creative Story Development for Short Film” workshops and more.
Studio owners and representatives from various agencies such as Passion Republic, Glow Production, Magnus Games Studio, Silver Ant PPi, illusionist Animation Studio and more are often invited to sit in during the final project evaluation day to check out the students’ works to give input and constructive feedback. this not only serves as an open platform for the students to gain industry insights, build their networks with their seniors and industry professionals but also an opportunity for agencies to recruit fresh talents directly from the college.
“Not only did they learn the know-how, but they get to know the who’s who when they are ready to go out and work. this is why we organise the workshops, studio visits, industry sharing and gatherings. i always remind the students to uphold their dignity, passion, ethic and professionalism in order to thrive in this industry,” said Loh.
Unearthing one’s creative best via Edu-Mentoring
Derived from the German word dasein (‘da: za-in) which means “existence” or one’s “presence” – the word has inspired many famous philosophers, artists, poets, and creative thinkers to discover and re-define the importance of their individual existence.
With that ideal in mind, Dasein Academy of Art was established 22 years ago by a team of avid educators and professionals from the creative industry, all whom were aspired to revive the role of creative education from identical qualifications back to the cultivation of individual distinction.
the college’s founders believe that creative education is more than just a skill or job-oriented curriculum.
the college takes pride in creative transformation via EduMentoring – essentially a people-centred approach when it comes to guiding and mentoring students on individual development and growth. Edu-Mentoring is made up of three components.
Edu-Clinic is where the lecturers and students have one-to-one sessions to diagnose both academic and non-academic issues faced by the students. industry professionals are often invited to mentor and inspire students via the Edu-Lab projects in line with the goal of fostering unique creative individuals. Students are also exposed to social activities aimed at helping the underprivileged via Edu-Social programmes. it helps students to realise that skills learned at the college are also about helping others.
the college offers diploma programmes in six different majors including animation, illustration, digital media, graphic design, fine art and mass communication with intakes in January, May and September.