BU Research Blog

Richard Wallis and Christa van Raalte have just published a position paper exploring the persistent barriers to effective partnership between the UK’s screen industries and its HEIs. In it they identify six myths that undermine progress in this area. These are that: ‘universities exist primarily to serve the needs of employers’; ‘the screen industries do not require a graduate workforce’; ‘media work specifically requires media graduates’; ‘the value of a media degree is determined by how well it prepares students for entry-level media jobs’; ‘practice-based and “practical” courses exist to produce “set-ready” graduates for specific industry roles’; and ‘universities are a barrier to industry diversity’. The authors deconstruct each of these in turn arguing that they represent fundamental misunderstandings about the nature of these sectors. The article concludes by posing questions about how to develop a sustainable, national vision for effective collaboration, acknowledging the need for local initiatives and recognising systemic issues within the industry’s current employment model.

The paper is now available open access from Media Practice and Education