Ravensbourne launches free creative courses for underrepresented students

Ravensbourne University London is proud to launch KICKSTART!, an education platform designed to provide new routes for young people from underrepresented backgrounds break into the creative industries.

The online platform, available for free through Ravensbourne’s outreach programme, seeks to plug skills gaps in the creative industries by helping talented young people launch their careers and overcome barriers to entry.

It is hosted by Derek Yates, Ravensbourne’s Interim Head of Work-Based Learning and Curriculum Partnerships, and DINES, the creative director and founder of London-based creative agency Studio Blup.

Creatives from The Wilderness Agency, Mother London, Guardian Digital, and Brandmovers also helped create the course content, which offers courses on designing a brand identity, creating video assets for social media campaigns, and much more.

Each eight-hour course is delivered through a mixture of video interviews, tips, tricks, tutorials, and industry case studies.

A team of Ravensbourne students and alumni were also involved in producing the content. These include tech start-up Drewl – who produced the films; Promo Editor at Sky Creative, Michael Bailey – who edited them, and three current third year students – who created the branding and visual identity for the whole platform.

Professional course contributors are from Asian, Black African, or Black Caribbean heritage, who themselves followed unusual routes into their careers. They share the advice that they received and the lessons they learned when kickstarting their own careers in the creative industries.

The platform comes at a time when the advertising and creative industries lag behind when it comes to diversity, with 32% of Black talent leaving the advertising industry as a result of lack of inclusion (according to UK Advertising Census: All In).

Speaking ahead of the launch, DINES said: “There is a wealth of opportunities in the world of brand communication, content marketing, digital storytelling, and social conversation design.

“This course will help young creatives to get the best out of themselves and provide them with the tools to grow.”

Derek Yates commented: “We are extremely proud of our track-record of producing industry-leading creatives and getting them into employment or further studies post-graduation.

“The new KICKSTART! platform will provide an opportunity to continue the pipeline of students from under-represented backgrounds breaking into industry following their studies.

“Industry collaboration is part of the DNA at Ravensbourne. KICKSTART! is a product of our network of industry partners and alumni that is an integral part of our learning community at the university.”

Find out more and watch industry-led talks on the Ravensbourne website.

Teachers, educators, youth leaders, and individuals can request access to the course by reaching out to Lucy Slater ([email protected]) or Derek Yates ([email protected]).