LYIT panel - Higher Diploma in 3D Modelling and Animation

Thanks to all (especially AnneMarie Kelly) in LYIT for inviting me to be part of a (Thursday 23rd of June) panel for their proposed Higher Diploma in Arts in 3D Modelling and Animation. Thanks also to fellow panel members Terry Quigley (University of Ulster), Edward Harte (360 Productions) and Conann (University of Ulster), ably chaired by Dermot Finan. Well done to all!

LYIT entrance steps

LYIT interior

Tempus ALIGN site visits - Ukraina - Khmelnitskiiy!

The 9th and 10th of June saw us conducting Tempus ALIGN site visits in Khmelnitskiiy University. Two programmes 'Cybernetics' and 'Applied Mathematics' were peer reviewed, again from a developmental rather than an accreditation perspective. Thanks to our great friends Svitlana and Pavlo Grigoryuk from Khmelnitskiiy for looking after us during our trip! Especially interesting was our tour to Medzhybizh Fort, where Baal Shem Tov died in 1760. Thanks also to the members of our Khmelnitskiiy peer review panel - especially Hanna, Laryssa, Roman, Iryna Romanets as well as our core panel Stefania, Liza Sozinova and I, again expertly chaired by Paul Hyland!



Khmelnitskiiy University, with its relative proximity to Moldova, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, is uniquely placed to take advantage of the international and mobility opportunities which will be presented over the coming years as education in Ukraina moves towards closer alignment with Europe's Bologna Process.

Kyiv (en route for Khmelnitskiiy) - Paul signs Letters of Invitation

five and a half hour bus to Khmelnitskiiy

Khmelnitskiiy

Museum Restaurant in Khmelnitskiiy

Khmelnitskiiy - meet the Rector

Khmelnitskiiy - Panel meets the Rector

Khmelnitskiiy - Medzhybizh Fort - gateway

Khmelnitskiiy - Medzhybizh Fort - Julia, guide, Alla, Olena

Khmelnitskiiy - Medzhybizh guided tour

Khmelnitskiiy - city tour - Liza, Stefania, Pavlo, Olena, Alla

Khmelnitskiiy - city tour - playground

Khmelnitskiiy - official meal

Khmelnitskiiy - Sergei, Pavlo and Svitlana wave us away! Next stop Taras Shevchenko, Kyiv.

Tara Moves Onwards and Upwards!

Thursday the 19th of November 2015 saw Dr. Tara Ryan moving on from IADT (after 4 years) to become Registrar at Hibernia College. Whilst delighted for Tara in her new job, we're naturally sad to be losing such a valuable human being in IADT. We relied on Tara as an energetic and inventive, student-centred resource. My partnership with Tara began when we started working together (from October 2013) on the Tempus ALIGN project - Tara singlehandedly steered the project's Work Package 1 through with enormous effort and rigour. We all learned from her.

Tara is not gone far away and my two promises to her were that I'd visit her in her new Hibernia office as soon as she was settled in AND that I was determined to work with her again very soon! The best of luck to you Madame!

Thanks to David Doyle for the photographs of the going away party!

Miss Ryan in full flight - picture by David Doyle

Tara, Andrew, looking mischievous with a knife, Laura and Annie - picture by David Doyle

 Barry Dig and Tara - picture by David Doyle

Wednesday - Yerevan, and Ararat appears!

Lunchtime, in between site visits to Brusov and YSAFA. The programme teams on the ground are fully engaged and making great progress towards the development of new programme documents. Very impressive! And this morning, the skies clear and Mount Ararat appears! A BIG mountain, aptly termed as 'Biblical'! Incredible!

Rainy Monday - Brusov

Monday face to face workshop - Brusov

YSAFA workshop - Tuesday

Mount Ararat appears! Biblical! Wednesday.

Library stacks - Brusov

Timetable - Brusov

UCD Science Expressions from 2013

UCD's Dr. Brendan Rooney directed me towards this UCD Science Expressions website which features two of our 3rd year group animations from 2013 - 'Friends Fight Stigma' and 'Sanctity of Sport' (winner of the UCD Science Expressions competition in 2013 - I'm still trying to remember what prize we won exactly?). I never even knew the videos were online!

The projects were tough work at the time for some of our most brilliant DL041 Animation students, but there was great learning in the process.

UCD Science Expressions website

Sanctity of Sport (2013) on Youtube

http://www.ucdscienceexpression.ie/projects/new-project/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIf5IGT58EA&feature=youtu.be - Link to 'Friends Fight Stigma' on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqK3EAzc6A&feature=youtu.be - Link to 'Sanctity of Sport' on Youtube

SKVC panel - Lithuania

Just returned from a week-long programmatic review panel for SKVC in Lithuania. Thanks to Annie, for expertly Chairing, to Natalia for facilitating our work and special thanks to my fellow panel members and new friends Julia, Vilma, Mika and Peter! Four programmes reviewed in Kaunas, Klaipeda and Vilnius. Return to Lithuania at the end of November.

Biznis Pelikan - Vilnius

  

Genocide Museum - Vilnius

 VMU Kaunas

VAA Klaipeda - photography

team in Klaipeda (image from Annie)

Baltic near Klaipeda

Near Klaipeda

VTDK - exhibition space

VTDK - animation

VTDK - animation

VTDK - animation studio

VTDK - animation

VTDK - animation

VTDK - animation

VTDK - digital editing

VTDK - photography

VTDK - sound studio

VTDK - library 

VTDK - tv studio

Croatia - Training and Rijeka

After intensive ASHE (Agency for Science and Higher Education) panel training in Zagreb, we minibus to Rijeka on the Adriatic coast. Great panel discussions. First site visit tomorrow. Views below from the hotel room...

expert panel training, ASHE HQ Zagreb, experts from across Europa

view from Hotel Jadran

the town looks like it was designed by Hayao Miyazaki

My Research MA Symposium! Success!

Thanks to ALL the participants in yesterday's morning symposium for my research MA! Special thanks to John Parry MA RCA for delivering a probing and provocative keynote speech - your hard work was really appreciated John! 'animism' and 'confidence' were two central themes for me!

The discussion afterwards (on 'A Manifesto for Animated Filmmakers in the 21st Century') was extremely valuable and lucrative, clarifying and 'framing' many of my research findings and discoveries and posing questions and threads for future exploration. Some really considered, heart-felt contributions to the debate! We started the manifesto ideas with Laura's proposal of 'failure' and ended with Michael Algar's telling and decisive 'so what?' observation about 'disruptive change'.

DQ, Donald, John Parry and Elaine

Thanks again to Elaine Sisson, Donald Taylor Black, John Parry, Andrew Power, Marion Palmer, Mark Riordan, Brendan Rooney, Derek Laffan, Katy Goodhue, Michael Algar, Steve Woods, Laura Venables. Also DL832 Animation 3rd years Fiona, Eleanor, Ruth, Caoimhe, Fionn, Laura, Laura Jask, Morwenna, Kayleigh, Komila, Glen, Sean and Sophie. If I've forgotten anyone (or if I don't know your name) apologies and thanks!

Also thanks to Aidan Hickey, Edith Pieperhoff, Eimhin Macnamara, Michael Connerty, and Tara Ryan who couldn't make it on the day. And remembering the late Jimmy Murakami who did the first interview for my research - we miss him!

Next, finishing the dissertation and delivering the 30 minute rough-cut of the reflective documentary before the summer - thanks for all the kind comments and suggestions about the documentary slugs I screened yesterday.

I can see light at the end of the tunnel! Thanks to my learning network!

http://www.incite-online.net/jonasmekas.html

IADT Technology Showcase Video

Excellent work  by DL832 Animation 3rd year (soon to be 4th year) student Viki Katona on this IADT promo video! Great job! Showcase on the morning of May 14th!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzeieWraP38&feature=youtu.be