Getting your foot in the door can be the first major hurdle that creatives face when establishing a career. How do you make connections within the industry? How do you find the people who will give you a shot to prove your stuff?
Not to brag, but industry connections are kind of our thing. From our teachers and guest mentors to our extensive network of partnerships, we set up our students with the movers and shakers in their creative fields.
In this article, we’ll outline how we build bridges between creatives and industry, and how it’ll get you the real-world experience to launch your creative career sooner.
Our academic team is our most valuable resource. Every program leader, coordinator and lecturer at Collarts is an experienced creative, actively working in the industries they’re teaching about.
Each of them brings a working knowledge of the industry landscape to the classroom, as well as a wide network of working creatives to connect you with. Like Game Design Program Leader Tim Westhaven who has worked on many films, including Batman Begins, Final Destination and The Tale of Despereaux.
Learning from award-winning industry veterans means you’ll graduate with a tried and true understanding of exactly how the creative industries work, on top of the important skills you’ll need throughout your career.
Our connection to industry also allows us to tap into a wide and diverse network of experts outside of our own team, setting up guest lectures, workshops and mentorship opportunities with the most innovative thinkers in different creative fields.
For example, by recently establishing a creative partnership with ACMI, we’re able to work with guest lecturers from the ACMI exhibition design team. This is an amazing opportunity for students in our Animation, Game Design and Interior Design courses to learn directly from the people shaping creative spaces in Australia.
We’ve worked hard to lock in major partnerships across a variety of creative industries. This means you can work with cutting-edge technology and state of the art facilities, as well as stepping into real industry opportunities.
One of our most well-established Collarts industry partnerships is with Melbourne Fashion Week, where our students get hands-on job placements and experience at runway events each year. Just this year, we partnered with M/FW to present the experimental Fashion x Music Runway. During this show, our Fashion, Music and Design students and alumni had the chance to assist behind the scenes, perform at the event, and even design and produce the official runway program booklet.
Our industry network exists to help you launch your creative career sooner. But how can you take advantage of these connections during and after your time with us?
A huge part of all our courses is the opportunity to secure industry placements and internships while completing your studies. No matter what field you’re pursuing or what course you enrol in, you’ll have the chance to get hands-on experience and start building your industry resume before you even graduate.
These placements take many forms, from opportunities to shadow inspiring industry mentors to positions at fashion brands, music labels and design studios.
One of our Entertainment Management students, Jacquie, recently spent months working behind the scenes on the Australian Women in Music Awards. This role saw her assisting with event coordination, artist liaising, and live music production.
“To say this was an amazing opportunity is an understatement,” says Jacquie. “I met so many leaders and drivers of change and am genuinely inspired to continue this music industry path.”
By building networks early and throwing yourself into internship opportunities, you’ll give yourself a major leg up when it’s time to graduate and enter the workforce.
82% of our students find jobs shortly after they graduate, many of which are at big name brands and leading studios in their respective industries.
Some students even land amazing roles while still studying, like Fashion Marketing (Buying & Retail) student Olivia. She’s currently working as a Buying Administrator at Forever New, supporting the brand’s busy buying team.
Olivia says, “It’s been such a great way to apply what I’m learning at Collarts directly into a real-world role.”
But what if you’d rather strike out on your own after your studies? If you’ve got big ideas and the drive of a true entrepreneur, you might be more interested in starting your own creative business. Plenty of our students have chosen this path for themselves, and are now at the head of their own brands and businesses.
Maybe you’ll start your own fashion label like Nico, establish a freelance photography business like Nighty,, or launch a new fashion festival like Julieanne.
Or maybe you’ll discover a whole new path that never even occurred to you, like Fashion Marketing graduate Lilli. She’s currently working as a freelance content creator, using her hard-earned knowledge of branding, communications and creative partnerships to turn her online platforms into a thriving business.
Describing her career journey, Lilli says, “Nothing about my career went to plan. And that’s the best part. The job I was meant to love didn’t even exist yet.”
Career milestones in the creative industries aren’t always about getting a new job or founding a brand. Sometimes it’s about getting your work in front of new eyes, or being involved in industry events.
Take Screen & Media alum Francesca Paolo, who recently had her work featured on SBS and at ACMI, as part of the Melbourne Women’s Film Festival – two huge achievements so early in her filmmaking career.. Francesca’s documentary short, Homi, was created as part of her final project while studying at Collarts
Ready to start building your own creative career? Explore our wide range of creative courses, or book a consultation with a course advisor.