Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) has forged industry partnerships with a Singaporean production company and an online news website that operates in Singapore, in conjunction with the launch of its new Common Media Programme (CMP), aimed at bolstering its position as a leading tertiary institution that nurtures the next generation of multi-platform media content creators.
Today, content is delivered through an increasing number of digital platforms to devices such as smartphones, tablets and computers. Content is also consumed over a variety of linear (e.g., radio, television and film) and non-linear platforms (e.g., social media, interactive games, metaverse). These developments have heralded a transmedia business model built on telling stories across multiple media platforms. Thus, it is crucial to equip students with the multi-platform knowledge and skill sets to create, market and distribute content to audiences via a wide range of channels and platforms.
Helping students develop multi-platform media skills
The new Common Media Programme (CMP) by NP’s School of Film & Media Studies (FMS), with its first intake in April 2023, aims to nurture the next generation of multi-platform media practitioners. With a curated series of modules that includes storytelling techniques, motion graphics and video production, CMP is poised to give students the multi-platform grounding they need before they enter one of FMS’s three diploma courses: Film, Sound & Video, Mass Communication, and Media PostProduction.
Over one semester, students will be exposed to different media skill sets to orient them towards a multi-platform mindset and build foundational skills needed to create transmedia content. In the following two and a half years, the course curriculum will reinforce the foundation by deepening the students’ skill sets through industry-relevant programmes such as project collaborations with industry partners, internships, masterclasses, etc.
Industry partnerships to hone emerging skills for multi-platform content creation and distribution.
To develop multi-platform media skill sets – including media data analytics and strategies to leverage the creator/influencer economy – FMS has embarked on industry partnerships that allow students to immerse in the media industry, learn from experts who are shaping its transformation, as well as participate in hands-on learning through working on real-world projects.
Singapore’s leading youth-focused digital news platform, for example, will present students with the opportunity to gain experience in “digital-first journalism” and how today’s audiences can be engaged through storytelling. With FMS’s partnership with the company, students may build their transmedia storytelling skills through relevant industry exposure. They will gain experience in reporting on trends and issues that resonate with youths in Singapore and sharpen their story-angling competency to better engage audiences.
The second industry partner, a regional media and entertainment company will offer students the opportunity to be involved in the creation and distribution of short films through its regional streaming platform, as well as a feature-length film as part of the partnership. This will help students gain practical work experience and hone the skill sets needed for the new media landscape.
Students will learn how to market and distribute content to local and regional audiences, as well as develop an understanding of how content platforms bring value to advertisers and content creators. Specialists from mm2 will also co-develop the curriculum by offering relevant projects and co-assess students’ work, allowing students to acquire the competencies they need for their future careers as multi-platform media practitioners.
In addition to the two new partnerships, FMS has also expanded its existing collaboration with Mediacorp to further drive efforts to nurture the next generation of media professionals. Mediacorp’s content creator network Bloomr.SG will look to offer lessons and project assignments to NP students, while there will be opportunities for them to work with Mediacorp in the areas of content creation, social media marketing, journalism, as well as in editorial functions.
