Hollywood internships for Ngee Ann Poly students under degree tie-up
Posted: 24 June 2008 1820 hrs

SINGAPORE: A degree tie-up between Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) and well-known US film school, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, at Chapman University in California will enable Singapore students to do internships on Hollywood movie sets.


Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Film & Media Studies students

NP's School of Film and Media Studies will offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Producing for current students of the polytechnic's Film, Sound and Video (FSV) and Mass Communication (MCM) courses.

This is the polytechnic's third degree tie-up under the Ministry of Education’s Poly-Foreign Specialised Institution collaboration framework. Under it, students will be able to complete the degree in two years instead of four.

Lui Tuck Yew, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communication and the Arts, said: "Over the years, we have built up a core of diploma graduates and now, I think, is the time to move some of them on to the next stage."

Hollywood film-makers teaching the course will include John Bradham of Saturday Night Fever fame, and Oscar-winning director, David Ward.

Kenneth Tan, Chief Operating Officer, Media Development Authority of Singapore, said: "I think we're now at a stage where we are really poised as a film-producing country to leapfrog onto the world stage. To do that, a few things have to happen.

"One, we have to tell more stories that have indigenous flavour but universal appeal. Two, we need the mechanisms to make this happen, which means we need to have plans and programmes to send our film-makers to festivals, to markets. Thirdly, we need the best training that our film-makers and film-practitioners can avail themselves of."

Chia Mia Chiang, Principal, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, said: "It is not just about the creative aspect of film and TV productions. Our students will also be taught very essential aspects, like financial and business management which are actually very critical to the overall success of the productions."

Classes begin in August at the polytechnic's campus. - CNA/vm