Sam Gyimah MP, the Universities Minister, visited BU in April as part of his #SamOnCampus campaign and has since mentioned the university twice in two months, commending the vocational courses offered by the Faculty of Media & Communication.
Sam’s scope as Universities Minister is focused on ensuring that students are seeing the value from their degrees, not just while studying but also in life after university and views vocational courses as key. Sam was interviewed during his visit to BU and said: “Students are investing a considerable amount of money in their degrees and I want to make sure that they get what they have paid for from the university, but also afterwards that whatever they want to do with their degrees, that they are able to pursue those dreams and ambitions.”
Sam first mentioned BU during the 24 April Education Select Committee hearing when, in response to a question, he said: “There is some good practice in the sector that is often not acknowledged. For example, 42% of degrees are currently vocational. If you look at what some universities are doing, Bournemouth University, where I was a few weeks ago, is a most effective place at training people for media and film studies. If you want to work at Universal Studios, one of the best universities in this country to go to is Bournemouth. They have a focused university curriculum.”
Last week, Sam spoke at the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) Annual Conference and again mentioned BU’s film, TV, media and music production courses as some of the best examples of degrees that prepare students for a career. Sam said: “Much of Britain’s best vocational education goes on in degree courses in universities. For example, take Bournemouth University’s computer animation and visual effects courses, whose graduates have gone on to work on some of the biggest movies of the past decade.”
Those movies include Oscar nominated and winning films like Blade Runner 2049, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Jungle Book, Ex Machina and Interstellar, with BU graduates frequently celebrated for their contributions.
You can find out more about BU’s film, TV, media and music production degrees here.
