Michael Marsden, Executive Dean of the Nottingham School of Art & Design
Expert Blog: The future of digital arts education
Though few people realise it, one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK right now is the creative industries – and at the centre of it is Nottingham.
Figures show that the sector’s value – measured as gross value added (GVA) – stands at around £124.6bn a year nationally, dwarfing other areas such as sport, tourism and more.
In a political climate which associates graduate jobs with STEM subjects, the creative industries is an economic powerhouse in the UK through its hundreds of innovative small businesses.
These SMEs are quietly providing careers to thousands of young people, allowing them to pursue roles which enable them to earn while satisfying their creativity.
In Nottingham, the number of creative design industry businesses has almost trebled since 2000, from 770 businesses to 2,175 in 2022. This is one of the largest growths in the sector since 2015 – outpacing even London.
So with this in mind, we are proud to be officially opening our Design & Digital Arts (D&DA) facility today, making Nottingham Trent University (NTU) the leading art and design school in the UK.
Featuring state-of-the-art technologies for the next generation of creatives to master, it will see young adults developing the skills needed for their future art and design careers.
Building on our 180 year heritage as a major UK educator in art and design, the project has led to the redesign of our creative courses portfolio, with new forward-thinking undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in subjects spanning games art, design and technology, visual effects, motion graphics, digital design, virtual production and more.
NTU’s Design & Digital Arts (D&DA) building
Part of the development has involved NTU’s amalgamation with Confetti Media Group, which includes Confetti’s campus in the city’s bohemian Hockley area – and a new campus which has just opened in London.
This investment adds to the city’s creative industries ecosystem, with Confetti Media Group, the Antenna creative business hub, the Dryden Enterprise Centre, music and events venue Metronome, e-sports venue Confetti X, Notts TV television studios, and more, all within walking distance of each other in Nottingham city centre.
And our education provision doesn’t end with students.
We’re making opportunities available to support businesses and professionals through research and knowledge exchange, which will span virtual environments, archives, heritage, culture, digital design and more.
We’re giving opportunities to working professionals to undertake short courses as part of their ongoing continual professional development, so they can keep up-to-date as the creative industries evolve at breakneck speed.
Access is available to our virtual production suite, digital innovation lab, black box studio, and more. It will allow professional filmmakers and NTU students alike to access one of the most advanced virtual production suites in the UK – the same tech used to make Disney’s Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian.
So we’re incredibly proud and excited to invest in our new D&DA facility. It will position us at the heart of one of the UK’s most innovative cities, creating the best talent in one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK economy.
Michael Marsden is the Executive Dean of the Nottingham School of Art & Design
