I have been teaching on the MA Visual Effects course at UAL for the past 2.5 years, following a 20-year career in the industry. Through reviewing students’ summative and formative assessments, and reflecting on face-to-face tutorials and classroom interactions, I became increasingly concerned about the lack of STEM-oriented thinking among many students. This was evident in their final assignments, which often included shallow reflective blogs and low-quality projects. Only a few students demonstrated troubleshooting and analytical mindsets—key STEM-related skills—which enabled them to produce higher-quality work.
The VFX industry demands a balance of hard and soft skills for success. My professional experience in a male-dominated field (where women artists represent only around 27% of the workforce in the UK*) has shown me how critical these skills are for career progression. This observation led me to consider whether developing such skills could be a practical strategy for increasing diversity and inclusion in the industry. Many students appear to struggle with recognizing and valuing soft skills in their academic and professional development.
After months of reflection—both prior to and during the PG Certificate—I chose this topic for my Action Research project, which began with the development of an Intervention Plan during the Inclusive Practices module. To inform my inquiry, I consulted online educational and VFX industry sources, including government reports and statistics.
*Source: September 2019 survey by UK Screen Alliance in conjunction with Animation UK and Access VFX.