Buckinghamshire New University and Creative Media Skills at Pinewood Studios have joined forces to boost education in the creative industries.

Bucks Creates@Pinewood is a new project funded by a £1.6 million grant from Buckinghamshire and Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (Bucks LEP), which will bring a full suite of 21 new masters and bachelor’s degree programmes to the area.

Courses will include Animation; Costume Design and Making; Film Production; Hair and Make-Up; Production Design for Film; Visual Effects

Students studying these new programmes will benefit from new state-of-the-art teaching facilities and equipment that will deliver a high quality and skills-based learning experience.

Professor Nick Braisby, Vice-Chancellor of Bucks, said: “We are delighted to be entering into a unique and ground breaking partnership with Creative Media Skills at Pinewood Studios.

“The UK screen industries contribute about £7.7bn to the economy and are the UK’s fastest growing sector.

“Through this partnership we will be able to deliver a number of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in the film, media and TV industry, giving students the skills they need to work in this important growth sector.”

Students will have the chance to study and experience the iconic venue of Pinewood Studios, where many blockbuster and Oscar winning films have been made, and also hear from world leading experts from the film and media industry.

Ailie Smith CEO and founder of Creative Media Skills said:  “There has never been a more exciting time for young people to enter the British screen industries.

“Our film and TV sectors are facing a more productive future than ever before, creating huge opportunity for our talents, our skilled crew, and our world-class facilities. Our studios are booked out for the next ten years with Disney at Pinewood, Warner Bros/HBO at Leavesden and Netflix at Shepperton.

“We have the need to increase job creation and productivity across the board. Above all we need more properly trained crew. Our partnership with Bucks New University supported by Bucks LEP directly answers this need."

Other projects to receive funding from Bucks LEP were the National Film and Television School’s hub for training, experimentation and production in immersive technologies and the University of Buckingham’s centres for training and applied research within the School of Computing.

Andrew M Smith, Chair of Bucks LEP, said: “Buckinghamshire’s creative sector is world-renowned and we want to do everything we can to support and continue its growth.

“Funding these three major projects will help to unlock long term impact for the local economy and support the delivery of the Government’s Industrial Strategy.”