FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2015
VFS & BCIT launch unprecedented partnership providing business degrees to entertainment industry entrepreneurs
Vancouver, BC - Vancouver Film School (VFS) and the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) announce a first-of-its-kind partnership. The VFS Pathway is a cross-institutional agreement enabling VFS graduates to fast-track into the BCIT School of Business and be eligible to obtain a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at BCIT.
Participating students will earn a VFS production diploma from one of 10 qualifying one-year programs, a BCIT advanced business diploma, and a BCIT Bachelor of Business Administration in as few as three years when studying full-time. International pathway students will be eligible to apply for a Post-Graduate Work Permit, and pursue the dream of working in Canada’s world-class entertainment arts industry upon graduation. This pathway will be immediately accessible to new students and alumni from qualifying programs.
“VFS has a rich history of developing entrepreneurs. Innovative companies, including Blast Radius, HootSuite, and Nerd Corps, count VFS Alumni among their founders,” explained James Griffin, President and Co-Founder of Vancouver Film School. “The Pathway program enables students to further develop their enterprising ideas, whether to climb the ladder in their current company, develop an intellectual property, or launch a business.”
“BCIT is proud to offer accessible and innovative pathways to learning,” says Kathy Kinloch, BCIT President. “The partnership with Vancouver Film School offers students the opportunity to acquire a unique set of skills that will allow them to meet the demand for skilled workers in BC’s dynamic entertainment industry.”
This private-public partnership further strengthens the province’s position as a leading incubator of North America’s entertainment arts industry and the new business talent that contributes to our thriving creative economy.
“British Columbia has a diverse, strong and growing economy including an entertainment industry that needs creative and business skills,” said British Columbia Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson. “I wish students, staff and faculty every success in the collaboration between VFS and BCIT.”
This joint announcement comes just months after the launch of the Shanghai Vancouver Film School—a remarkable partnership between VFS and Shanghai University resulting in a 75,000sq.ft. school with 100 students and 30 faculty members in the heart of the city.
Following this international success, the Pathway program marks VFS’s continued commitment to institutional partnerships within Canada.
About Vancouver Film School
Based on the certainty it was possible to learn film production skills much faster than taught by traditional university programs, Vancouver Film School opened in 1987 with 12 students as the world’s first full-time immersion film program dedicated to comprehensive skill development. Building on this model, VFS has introduced ‘first in the world’ production programs in classical animation, 3D animation, new media, sound design and camera based acting and now offers 13 fulltime media related programs.
VFS alumni earned credits on approximately half of total world box-office (18 billion) in 2014 alone, and have credits on 28 of the 30 all-time highest grossing films. The Pathway program provides another avenue to support, and engage with, the entertainment arts industry in Canada and beyond.
About the British Columbia Institute of Technology
The British Columbia Institute of Technology is celebrating 50 years of applied education, and has been integral to building the economic, social, and environmental prosperity of British Columbia since 1964, producing more than 160,000 career-ready graduates over that time. BCIT offers degrees, diplomas and certificates in a variety of polytechnic studies, educating 48,000 full and part-time students annually.
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Media Enquiries
Zoe Grams, ZG Communications
T: +1 604 336 3822
C: +1 604 500 3822
E: zoe@zgcommunications.com
Jocelyne Leszczynski, BCIT Media Relations
T: +1 604 432 8306
E: jleszczynski2@bcit.ca