Creative Technology Studios To Launch At De Montfort University Leicester

One of the most advanced recording and broadcast studio facilities in a UK university is being launched at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) this week.
The £3.7 million Creative Technology Studios feature state-of-the-art equipment, including video, audio and radio production suites, fully-equipped recording studios and laboratories with the very latest broadcast and audio analysis technology.
The studios are set up to replicate the workflow of a working studio environment with the aim of providing students with as realistic an experience of working in the creative technologies industry as possible. Graduates will have invaluable experience of working with the same equipment used by the professionals and knowledge of the procedures used in, and challenges affecting, the industry.
Aziz Rashid, Head of Regional and Local Programmes, BBC East Midlands, will officially open the facilities on Thursday 15 November.
As a leader in teaching and research for the creative industries, DMU already has an enviable reputation for its outstanding facilities and strong links with industry. This prestigious new learning centre further enhances that reputation and gives students the opportunity to learn in a brand new technology-led environment.
Professor Adrian Hopgood, Dean of the Faculty of Computing Sciences and Engineering, said: "The level and quality of the technology available in these studios is second to none and will ensure graduates from this University are truly equipped for careers in the broadcast and broader creative technologies sectors.
"Significantly, the studios offer more than the very latest, leading edge technology. They provide students with a very real world experience of how things are done in the work place. This is incredibly valuable as it is not just technology alone which drives the end result.
Rashid said: "I am very pleased to officially open De Montfort University's Creative Technology Studios. Technology plays an increasingly important role in the broadcast sector and is one of the driving forces behind the extremely high quality of programming output many of us perhaps take for granted.
"This new facility aims to combine perfectly the very latest in technology with the very best practice in reflecting what happens in the real world - that is a compelling combination and one which will best prepare students for a role in today's creative industries."
The facilities include:

• Industry-standard video, audio and radio production suites


• A suite of 21 high-definition (HD) video workstations


• Television studios with HD video cameras, green-screen facilities and virtual studio capabilities


• Two fully equipped recording studios with analogue and digital recording systems and surround sound monitoring


• Broadcast standard radio production studios with professional playout and management systems


• Audio and video laboratories, with high specification test equipment for signal analysis


• Fused media and motion capture studios for the teaching and research of 3D image capture, modelling and display


• A high-speed, high-definition, data backbone, enabling the integration of audio, video and computer-generated media projects


• Hybrid technologies, using the best of current analogue and digital media

The facilities of the Creative Technology Studios are backed up by a strong team of academic specialists, delivering teaching in the principles and techniques of media technology and production.
(DS)