Semester two of the inaugural year of the Masters of Digital Media (MDM) program at the Centre for Digital Media on the Great Northern Way Campus (GNWC) has come to a close. It’s hard to believe that two semesters have gone by so quickly – and so successfully! All of the projects – from the quickly put together short videos created in early September, through the four and five week long epics narratives and applications churned out in December, to the semester long industry sponsored projects lasting from January to April – have seen considerable success. Some projects have even received some not insignificant media attention.

The completion of the four month industry sponsored projects however, is one of the true marks of success for many of the MDM students. For many students, this was their first chance to work on a project commissioned by an external organization, which could potentially see use in the real world. The experience that the MDM students have gained over the past four months in dealing with real deadlines, actual budgets and external clients will hold them in good stead for and future endeavours. This is the purpose of the MDM program after all: to provide its students with industry projects which they can develop over a short time frame in an environment which delivers support and instruction when needed.

Success comes in many different forms though; for the MDM students – and for the Centre – success has also arrived in the form of internships for each of the Firstborn MDM cohort. As part of the MDM curriculum, it is mandatory that each student partake in a four month internship with a digital media company during the summer semester. The internship enhances skills learned during the first two semesters, and provides new skills which can be applied during the remainder of the MDM program. EA Canada, Radical, Relic, InTransitBC, Threewave Software, Mobile MUSE, PowerUp Studios, Telefonica and Nokia are just some of the companies that the MDM students will be interning with this summer.