Two master's programmes join other courses intended to capitalise on a growing demand for arts and cultural managers in the region
VIVIENNE CHOWvivienne.chow@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 25 August, 2015, 12:01am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 25 August, 2015, 12:01am
HKU Space, the University of Hong Kong's school of professional and continuing education, is partnering with the University of the Arts London's Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design and its London College of Communication to offer two master's programmes, starting next year.
A leading university in London has chosen Hong Kong to offer two new master's degree courses abroad for the first time, capitalising on the city's growing enthusiasm for the creative industries and its heightened demand for arts and cultural managers.
The two new degree-conferring programmes with theUniversity of the Arts London are expected to intensify competition in self-financed postgraduate courses related to arts and cultural management among local institutions.
HKU Space, the University of Hong Kong's school of professional and continuing education, is partnering with the University of the Arts London's Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design and its London College of Communication to offer two master's programmes, starting next year.
The University of the Arts London's Central Saint Martins College of Arts and DesignThe partnership marks the first time the London university will offer master's programmes outside Britain.
Central Saint Martins will be offering a two-year MA in arts and cultural enterprise starting from January next year at a cost of HK$160,000. London College of Communication will teach an MA in media, communications and critical practice over a 16-month period from February at HK$130,500.
"The time is right," said Juliette Sargeant, head of international programmes at the University of the Arts London. "Over 40 per cent of some 190,000 of our students come from outside the UK. Hong Kong is a clear global partner."
Pointing to Hong Kong's swiftly developing creative industries as well as its blossoming cultural infrastructure as seen in West Kowloon Cultural District, PMQ and Central Police Station, Sargeant said the ingredients were in place for growth.
Dominic Stone, programme director of culture and enterprise at Central Saint Martins, said the college's MA course directly responded to the needs of cultural practitioners.
Dominic StoneHe described the programme as not about creating content, but about helping managers and entrepreneurs learn how to best facilitate the development and promotion of creative content.
"The content and concept of cultural and creative industries do not fit with the usual orthodox business lexicon," Stone said.
"This programme will equip students with a breadth of cross-disciplinary knowledge so that they can talk the business language while act as a translator between the cultural and business worlds."
Compared to Hong Kong, Stone noted that London has a long pedigree in the arts and a strong sense of cultural capital. But he said there is "a real hunger" for the arts in the city.
The university is looking for students who have a minimum of two years of working experience in the cultural sector.
A range of MA programmes for cultural managers is already on offer in Hong Kong. While the Chinese University's MA in cultural management is the oldest of its kind in the city, having commenced in 2001, last year the Institute of Education began offering an executive MA in arts management and entrepreneurship, with the University of London's Goldsmiths College.
The HKIEd programme's leader Professor Tseng Sun-man said the course attracted cultural practitioners not just from Hong Kong but also the mainland, Taiwan, Macau and Singapore.
Yet Paul Tam, chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association, says degrees offer "a helpful framework" but do not guarantee jobs. "To gain a foothold in arts administration, a degree is a plus, not a must," he said.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1852175/hong-kongs-cultural-scene-grows-top-uk-arts
