Media Design School wins prestigious Westpac Business award

MEDIA ALERT - Media Design School wins prestigious Westpac Business award

Auckland, 3 November 2012: Media Design School took top honours at the Westpac Auckland Central Business Awards last night for Excellence in Innovation.

The school was recognised for delivering high-quality education for emerging creative technology sectors including animation, visual effects and computer game development.

The annual awards, which are presented by the Chamber of Commerce, recognise business excellence across eight categories including innovation, marketing, leadership, emerging business, service delivery, workplace safety, exporting and retail. This year, twenty-four Auckland companies and four individuals were named as finalists from 111 entries.

Media Design School CEO Frances Valintine said the award was icing on the cake after a remarkable year for the school.

“Over the past year, students and faculty have won industry awards all over the globe up against industry leaders. We have also developed and launched four new bachelor degrees that provide specialist education in high growth segments of the design and creative technologies sector," said Valintine.

Media Design School has spent the past fourteen years at the pioneering end of education. The school utilises qualified subject experts, project-based learning and industry collaboration to provide students with the knowledge and experience to achieve success. The school operates under a similar model as a large studio or digital lab where the focus is on delivering very high quality education at degree level as well as short intense master classes for the industry.

The founding philosophy of the school is to confront the traditional boundaries of education and prepare students for a 21st century careers. ENDS
Awards and recognition in 2012
STUDENT FILMS IN GLOBAL FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
• Time for Change
Selected for nine international film festivals in Australia, United States and France. WON at San Francisco Independent Film Festival.
• Das Tub
Selected for nine international film festivals including the global YouTube Film Festival. Screened in Paris, Wichita, Saint Tropez, Normandy, Los Angeles, Bondi, Lubin and Alberta.
• First Contact
Selected for six international film festivals, a finalist in two of those and received an honourable mention in Boston Sci-Fi convention in USA. Was awarded Silver in Interactive Category at Best Design Awards in Auckland this month.
• Rotting Hill
Selected for 16 international film festivals including New Orleans Horror Fest, Charlotte Horror Fest, Telluride Horror Fest and Blue Mountains International Film Festival.
• Dr Grordbort Presents: The Deadliest Game
Awarded Gold for Interactive Design at Best Awards in Auckland this month. Selected for 18 film festivals including YouTube Film Festival selected from an initial shortlist of 50,000 film entries.
STUDENT SUCCESS
• Design student Sarah Findlay won Becks Emerging Artist Competition – her label design was rolled out nationwide.
• AdSchool students Owen Bryson, Anna Paine, James Burton, Jonathan Swan, Andrew Younge and Rory Dunleavy won the Absolut Vodka Challenge.
• Media Design School students won both the overall student prize and the topical prize at the 2012 Newspaper of the Year Awards.
• Hayley O’Connor represented Media Design School in New York. Her artwork was projected into Times Square and simultaneously broadcast into theatres across New Zealand in October 2012.
• AdSchool graduates Jake Barnes and Liz Richards took out the top award for copy at this year’s International Crowbar Student Awards, making it the fourth year in a row that AdSchool graduates from Media Design School have won the top award.
SCHOOL SUCCESS
• Media Design School won a Westpac Auckland Central Business Awards 2012 for Excellence in Innovation.
• Frances Valintine was a finalist in the Next Magazine Woman of the Year for her contribution to education.
• Media Design School took a trifecta at The Best Design Awards winning Gold, Silver and Bronze in the interactive design category.
• Media Design School was a finalist in two categories at the 2012 Effie Awards for marketing effectiveness.

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