Prestigious Beijing Film Academy joins forces with Taylor’s University to spur collaboration

The Beijing Film Academy is one of the top global film institutions with notable alumni including world-renowned directors, performers and actors such as Zhang Yimao, Chen Kaige, Liu Yifei, Zhao Wei and Huang Xiaoming, to name a few.

Recently, the Beijing Film Academy Modern Creative Media College (BFAMCMC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Taylor’s University School of Media and Communication in Malaysia to facilitate mobility and research collaboration among students and faculty members in Taylor’s filmmaking and digital media production courses.

 

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Taylor’s University, an established private university in Malaysia, is the only university in Southeast Asia to have a partnership with the BFAMCMC.

With this partnership, Taylor’s Digital Media Production degree students will benefit from the opportunity to take a semester abroad at BFAMCMC, among others.

An integrated 3 + 1 Master’s programme will also be offered where students will complete three years in BFAMCMC followed by the remaining year at Taylor’s.

Professor Dr Pradeep Nair, Taylor’s University Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer,  explained: “Both  institutions will now explore our plans to offer our students, both in Malaysia and China the opportunity to graduate with two qualifications: one from Malaysia and one from China.

“We think that this type of partnership will open up opportunities for more Malaysian students and SEA students to be able to get exposed to the very high standards in filmmaking at the BFA.

Additionally, there will be a dual award bachelor degree from Taylor’s University and BFAMCMC as well as an integrated PhD programme.

BFAMCMC will also bring international participation in the student-led Taylor’s University Film Festival 2020.

Taylor’s University Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer, Professor Dr Pradeep Nair (middle), and Beijing Film Academy Modern Creative Media College Vice President, Professor Dr Wang Chenglian, shake hands after the MoU signing ceremony. Source: Taylor’s University

Professor Wang Chenglian, Vice President of BFAMCMC, said at the MoU signing ceremony, “We are happy to partner with a prestigious education institution such as Taylor’s University and impart the right knowledge and skills to a talented pool of aspiring Malaysian filmmakers.”

“As the film industry in Malaysia steadily grows, we are excited to be part of this journey and see some stellar local productions coming out of this collaboration.”

He also said that this partnership is mutually beneficial as students from both schools can learn from one another in areas that are lacking. For example, students in BFAMCMC can improve their English skills when conversing and interacting with Malaysian students.

Dr Pradeep Nair said: “We see this partnership in many different dimensions. One will be academic programmes that we can develop together for China and SEA students, there will be research opportunities as well, and there will be opportunities for our students in Malaysia to spend an entire semester at the BFA.”

“We are very proud to be associated with BFA and we believe our students will certainly benefit a great deal from this. The standards in China are very high in terms of quality of films that are produced, and we can leverage on these standards to train new talent for our country and other SEA countries.”

The partnership between Taylor’s and BFA adds to the list of dual degrees offered by universities in the country, which are often marketed as offering more knowledge and cross-cultural competencies to students.

Other examples of international partnerships in the country’s higher education system include UCSI University’s partnership with Australia’s Griffith University and INTI International University and College with the US’s Iowa State University.

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