Christina Charcharidi may have made her directorial debut with a short film in Greece, working with some of the nation’s finest actors, but her career didn’t start out in the director’s chair. In fact, far from it. She was a civil engineer before she came to a crossroads about what to do with her professional life – stay or embrace her creative talents.
Charcharidi would end up taking a leap of faith and joining the University of Salford’s School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology. “Creativity is like oxygen to me. I don’t think I could live without it,” she says.
To build her skills, she joined Salford’s MA Editing for TV, Film and Digital Media. The programme is hands‑on and taught by academics with real industry experience and connections, helping students develop the practical, transferable skills employers look for today.
Charcharidi picked an MA that sharpens narrative, technical and teamwork skills for television production. But Salford offers many more options for different interests.
You can pursue the MA Digital Video Production and Marketing programme, a favourite among digital marketing agencies and e-commerce recruiters, where you’ll put your analytical and creative skills into practice through hands-on project work, collaborating directly with a company on a real product brief. You’ll also benefit from guest speakers from companies within Manchester, such as The LADbible and Manchester United FC, who are major producers of social video content.
Or if the MA Public Relations and Digital Communications is more your thing, you will gain practical skills in content creation and do a mandatory placement to develop your confidence and apply your expertise in real-world settings.
Across all courses, creative thinking is strengthened through experimentation and innovation, whether that’s through alternative approaches to idea generation in MA Animation or pushing the boundaries of filmmaking with the MA Film Production. Students are encouraged to develop their own creative identity, market themselves effectively, and build the resilience and networking skills needed to stand out in a competitive sector.
“Throughout the course, we were consistently given the tools to set us up for success, whether that was using the industry-standard equipment at MediaCity or having lecturers from leading organisations,” says Charcharidi.
The MediaCity waterfront — situated next to Manchester, known as the UK’s most creative city — is home to renowned studios and tech companies, including the BBC, dock10, and ITV. The community at Salford is warm, forward-thinking, and multicultural, enriched by real-world exposure. With access to cutting-edge spaces and equipment like Mac-based editing suites, green screen studios, and ARRI cameras on campus, your creativity has room to soar.
Charcharidi herself got to witness the best of UK media. “We had a guest lecturer from Channel 4’s ‘Hollyoaks,’ which is one of the UK’s most popular soap opera TV shows, who offered our class work experience as production assistants,” she says.
With these vast resources, Salford gives you the freedom to explore and take risks within your creative practice, and develop your leadership skills while fostering cultural sensitivity and ethical responsibility. For example, MA Visual Communication discusses the ethics surrounding the use of AI. In MA Film Production, you’ll rotate through different leadership roles, collaborate with peers, and explore the social impact of media through work with local community groups.
That’s just the nature of Salford’s creative programmes: rigorous and real-world focused. Courses ask you to evaluate campaigns and productions using critical analysis and persuasive communication skills. Projects build your self-confidence as you present to peers, tutors, and external practitioners, and pitch creative ideas to industry professionals.
Students in the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology often have their work recognised at events like the Create Student Awards or the Asian Media Awards. Source: University of Salford
Charcharidi’s final project was an editing experiment on ITV’s “The Durrells.” She decided to reach out to actors and producers on the show to ask for insights — and they were more than happy to share. “I was able to access some of the script breakdowns and post-production paperwork,” she says.
Such is the nature of an education here. Salford’s faculty experts are industry-active and connected to large networks, which opens doors to valuable career opportunities. It was through one of her professors hearing about an editing opportunity in his network that led Charcharidi to her first professional experience. For graduate Sibongiseni Zondi, an MA in Public Relations and Digital Communications graduate and a Chevening Scholar, the university led him to a placement with the Salford City Council.
“I was involved in all aspects of their communications strategy, from creating social media posts to writing blogs and helping them update their website,” says Zondi. “It was an incredible opportunity for me to apply what I had learnt and make some important connections.”
Having built resilience and adaptability, graduates from Salford’s postgraduate degrees in arts, media, and creative technology go on to achieve excellence in the creative arts. Charcharidi had the opportunity to work freelance on a major production with BBC Wales, and has since moved to London, applying her skills in mega projects: HBO’s “His Dark Materials, Netflix’s “Man vs Bee” and “Alexander the Great,” BBC’s “Bad Education,” and more.
Eager to take your creative practice to a master’s level? Check out the programmes at Salford’s School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology today.
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