COVID-19 UPDATE 17 June 2020

COVID-19 UPDATE 17 June 2020

Kia ora SAE Students 

COVID-19 has reshaped our lives in recent months. At SAE Auckland, we moved quickly to respond to this global pandemic – shifting around our trimester breaks and swiftly moving to teaching online. This has been a huge success. Indeed at SAE Auckland, we have not had a single student withdrawal as a result of COVID-19. That fact alone speaks volumes.

I’m very aware however that there was one thing you did miss out on during lockdown: access to our studios and equipment. I also know that our industry standard facilities are largely why people study at SAE.

I discussed this issue with your Student Reps during a recent Board of Studies meeting and together we’ve come up with a solution.

I’m pleased to announce that, for 2020, we will extend your studio access beyond the end date of teaching and allow you to continue to use our studios and equipment for the remainder of the year. Usually, your access is ceased in mid-Nov, as your final course wraps up. But for this year, we will allow you to continue to book studios and equipment beyond this date until the campus closes for Christmas. These additional few weeks will give you a chance to hone those practical skills – the very skills that will help you once you step into the industry.

There’s a few caveats around this to be aware of:

  1. The extended access weeks run from the end of your final course until Wednesday 16 December.
  2. The studio hours for this one-off extended period will be Monday to Saturday, 9am-5pm. 
  3. Studio Supervisors will be available during this time to provide support if needed
  4. This offer is for all current SAE students, including those in Level 7 who would ordinarily be finishing up with us in November
  5. Studio and equipment bookings through this extended period will continue as they are now. 
  6. Importantly, accessing our studios/equipment is about developing your skills. This equipment is purchased, in part, through government funding and a condition of that funding is that the facilities must be used for educational purposes only. That means, as is the case at all times, you cannot use this time to make something for commercial release. We do not want to undermine local studios nor jeopardise our funding conditions. Rather, please book the studios/equipment simply to practice.
  7. You will still be required to hand back your student access card in mid-Nov as usual. Whenever you come to campus during this mid-Nov to mid-Dec period, we’ll just issue you with a temporary visitor pass for the day.

I hope that by providing this ongoing access to our studios, you’ll be able to make up for the time lost during lockdown. There are no classes during those weeks, so it’s a great opportunity to spend time on campus, all day if you wish, developing your practical skills. 

Finally, many thanks to our Head Studio Supervisor, Alex Ferrier and his awesome team of Studio Supervisors, for helping to make this happen. 

Ngā mihi nui,

Suzette

DR SUZETTE MAJOR
Campus Director, SAE Auckland



2020 SAE AUCKLAND REVISED ACADEMIC YEAR

  

2020dates2