CARDIFF, Wales, November 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The Director-General of the BBC, Tony Hall, officially opened the enhanced creative industries campus of the University of South Wales on November 1.

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After meeting students, staff, and creative economy leaders, Lord Hall of Birkenhead unveiled the plaque at the USW Cardiff Campus, in the heart of Cardiff's growing creative industries zone between Pinewood, the Roath Lock drama village, and the new BBC Wales HQ in the city centre.

Lord Hall announced the creation of new Fellowships at USW for senior BBC leaders, who will lecture at the University and host USW students at BBC headquarters across the UK.

Speaking in an evening ceremony after receiving an Honorary Doctorate of the University, Tony Hall said: "Our BBC Fellows at USW will be drawn from many different areas of specialism - in journalism, leadership, radio, TV and digital media - and they will all represent the brightest and best of the BBC. Over time, I hope they will provide students here with a real insight into a complex media world and how our biggest broadcasters are adapting at a time of unprecedented flux and change."

The development is home to USW's Faculty of Creative Industries, replicating industry workplaces across the creative sector to provide students with professional dance studios, broadcast film and TV studios, photography studios, drama theatre spaces, animation renderfarm, and music recording studios.  

Jane McCloskey, USW's Dean of the Faculty of Creative Industries, said: "Our aim is for our USW Cardiff Campus to grow as a powerhouse for growth and creativity.

"We're providing a pipeline of creative talent. We do this through teaching by professionals who work in their industries. We do it through placements with our partners in the creative economy, from film studios to animation start-ups, and we do it in the most innovative professional simulation facilities. We're opening the doors to industry professionals to work with the next generation of emerging talent."

Professor Julie Lydon, USW Vice-Chancellor, said: "The campus and these Fellowships reflect USW's focus on the workplace. That vocational emphasis on careers is something that's in our DNA, and we're proud of it.

"Whether our graduates are winning Oscars for their documentaries, growing start-up businesses, publishing books, recording albums - and we're proud that they do all of those things - they're adding both to our economy and to the society around us."

NOTES:

• Image Captions
  • 01 - BBC Director-General Tony Hall receives an Honorary Doctorate from the University of South Wales
  • 02 - BBC Director-General Tony Hall talks to drama students at the University of South Wales
  • 03 - BBC Director-General Tony Hall with Vice-Chancellor Julie Lydon
  • and students from the University of South Wales
• For more information, interviews or multimedia content, please contact the USW Corporate Communications team on 01443 483362 or email press@southwales.ac.uk

• University of South Wales: With more than 30,000 students the University of South Wales (USW) is a major player in UK higher education. USW students voted the university as one of the top 10 UK universities at the WhatUni? Student Choice Awards 2016.

One of the top ten campus universities in the UK by student number, it attracts a cosmopolitan mix of students from over 120 countries and all backgrounds. Within the United Kingdom, USW is unique in the breadth of its role, encompassing a modern university and two subsidiaries in Wales's national conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and The College Merthyr Tydfil.

With campuses in Cardiff, Pontypridd and Newport, the University is renowned for its partnerships with major employers, from British Airways to the National Health Service. Its relationship with employers as a leading university for careers is reflected in the high employment rate of its graduates, with 94% of students in employment or further study within six months of graduating.

USW is a powerhouse in applied research used to shape major decisions. As a major public policy think-tank, it offers independent advice to government, industry and employers across the UK on health, education, economic growth, social policy, and governance.

SOURCE University of South Wales