Computer Graphics World

July-Aug-Sept 2021

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j u ly • a u g u s t • s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 1 c g w 4 9 sentations to schools locally and interstate. "Now, things are ramping up again, as we are in a stable situation with COVID. We're participating in live events again, including the Adelaide Film Festival Creative Careers Expo. We're also opening our theater here at Rising Sun Pictures for schools to come and visit," she adds. In Hodge's opinion, it's a great time to be studying visual effects, as there is excellent demand for graduates due to there being so much work. RSP is getting contacted by a lot of companies that are scaling up very quickly — a company in Brisbane hired seven students who graduated from RSP's program last October. RSP also hired seven graduates. Moreover, some students have received multiple job offers. The ability to work remotely as a junior is something that wasn't available before, so students are now able to stay in Adelaide while working interstate, she points out. Embracing Online Despite the pandemic, DigiPen fared well during the past school year, making the switch to an all-online educational delivery over the course of a weekend and, as a result, was able to successfully teach almost all of its courses online. "We offered a successful online commencement ceremony, expanded our technology infrastructure, and streamlined a lot of processes to digital, all while continuing to prioritize our community's health and safe- ty," says Angela Kugler, senior vice president, DigiPen Institute of Technology. DigiPen's curriculum remained the same this past year, but delivery had to be adjust- ed for teaching students online. Knowing that online instruction might be difficult to adjust to, the school added additional staff positions to support online delivery and teaching. It also added staff to support students who needed on-site assistance to supplement their online learning. While DigiPen plans to return to in-person courses this fall, the school will continue to leverage some of the lessons that it had learned from the past year. "This year, we benefited from moving a lot of our processes and communication channels for students online, which we plan to continue," says Kugler. "We will also look to use online delivery of courses as part of future offerings, and we have expanded the locations from which staff and faculty can participate." Additionally, realizing that the rising soph- omores had a very atypical first year, the school plans to offer a special orientation for them at the start of the school year. And, the institution is moving forward. Having now had a successful year of online delivery, it is moving forward with launch- ing two new online master's programs – a Master of Science in computer science and a Master of Arts in real-time visual ef- fects. The details of these two programs are still forthcoming, says Kugler, but they have been approved by the accreditation body to offer in the near-term. Moreover, Kugler believes the school has benefited from moving a lot of its processes and communication channels for students online, "which we think will continue to be beneficial in the future." Indeed, it has been a tough year of social distancing and online courses for many universities and colleges, but as these educators have indicated, they have learned a great deal from the pivot, and the schools are all the better for it. Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of CGW. A DigiPen student game, "Dino Delivery." DigiPen will leverage some "lessons" from the past year. A DigiPen student game, "Homeland Lay to Rest."

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