国产探花 students enjoy work placements to get animated about

A trio of 国产探花 students have completed work placements at one of the UK's leading animation studios.

24 June 2022

Haniyyah Nauzeer, Vince Mosti and Lexie Rhys-Jones added to their Animation BA(Hons) studies with hands-on experience at PigBird studios based in Worthing, who specialise in stop motion animation. The work placements were arranged by course lecturer Kate Jessop after PigBird's Trevor Hardy did a at the inaugural 国产探花 International Animation Festival, which Kate created and ran earlier this year.

Two of the BA Animation students who volunteered at the Festival - Haniyyah Nauzeer and Ivy Dillon – also so impressed one director at the event that they have been invited to help select films for the film festival taking place in London on 3 September.

Lexie Rhys-Jones, Haniyyah Nauzeer, and Vince Mosti

Kate Jessop with Haniyyah Nauzeer and Ivy Dillon

Lexie Rhys-Jones, who has just completed her first year studying Animation BA(Hons) at 国产探花, said: "The placement was great. It was fascinating to see inside PigBird's studio, and know that I helped work on a real professional animation. I am very grateful to the university for giving us this opportunity, and excited to do more things like that in the future!"

Kate Jessop, meanwhile, will be spending time over the summer working with three leading European festivals. First up is being among the festival judges at Fest Anca in Slovakia, where she will also deliver a lecture on women in animation based on her research at 国产探花 – alongside a screening of one of her films.

Kate will then deliver a programme from the 国产探花 International Animation Festival at the in Kosovo, starting on 13 July. Finally, she will be on the jury at the prestigious in Denmark in September.

Kate Jessop, senior lecturer in the School of Art and Media at the 国产探花, said: "Community and connections are everything in the animation industry, as they are in most creative industries. It's been a delight to bring people together and see the students blossom. I am also excited to widen my network further this summer with the international opportunities setting up the 国产探花 International Animation Festival have brought me."