Media college bids to develop Emirati talent

Australia-based institution has around 50 branches around the world.

ABU DHABI // A media college is to open a second campus in the UAE as part of Abu Dhabi's effort to build its creative media industry.

The Australian-based SAE Institute, which has about 50 branches worldwide, will open its doors this year at TwoFour54, the capital's media free zone.

Wayne Borg, the chief operating officer of TwoFour54, said one of the zone's key goals was vocational training and developing young Emirati talent - and the investment in SAE was the next step in its educational plan.

"It will allow us to fast track Emiratis into the workplace," he said. "From an industry perspective, they are the leaders in professional industry training.

"They have some of the leading courses for the sector, which was a perfect fit for us here. It was a combination of quality training and bringing an institution with an established reputation."

SAE already has a campus in Dubai Knowledge Village, which opened seven years ago and has about 300 students.

It offers courses varying from short diplomas to bachelor's degrees, attracting school leavers and industry professionals who want to change direction or to learn new skills.

The Abu Dhabi campus will focus on school-leavers. "That's not to say industry professionals won't come, but its focus is mainly those leaving high school," said Mr Borg.

Predgrag Toncev, the SAE Institute's campus manager in Dubai, said the Abu Dhabi site would initially offer only diplomas.

The TwoFour54 location would help students develop close links with the industry, giving them more career opportunities when they complete their studies.

Students will specialise in fields such as audio, film, animation and gaming - technical courses that are currently thin on the ground in the UAE.

Zayed University offers a degree in journalism and mass communication, and Paris Sorbonne University offers communications-based masters degrees focused on marketing and publishing, but there is a gap to be filled when it comes to technical expertise.

Dr Mahboub Hashem, the head of mass communications at the American University of Sharjah, said course offerings in the UAE were still limited to "old fashioned" forms of journalism, advertising and public relations.

Industry, meanwhile, is crying out for a broader range of graduates.

"I support the development of these institutions [such as SAE] that offer programmes like gaming. The country needs it," he said. "This is a young country with a young population and gaming is a major part of youth. If you look at social media and gaming, it occupies most of the time of our youth and it would be nice to consider these as fields for expansion."