Brooks Institute Continues Global Engagement

    VENTURA, CA, April 28, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- As part of Brooks Institute's ongoing efforts to promote a global partnership in the visual arts community, a memorandum of understanding has recently been signed between the school and the Beijing Film Academy (BFA).

This partnership will encourage an academic and cultural exchange between the two schools. They will explore an exchange of faculty members; an exchange of students and/or student works; joint research and development projects; joint conferences and consultancy; and joint cultural programs.

The Beijing Film Academy was founded over 60 years ago and is the only film academy in China and the largest film academy in Asia. It has 263 faculty members and 2,364 students earning undergraduate and graduate degrees. According to the BFA website, over half of all China's directors, cinematographers, art designers and sound engineers currently active in China's vibrant film industry are BFA graduates.

"We look forward to collaborating with the Beijing Film Academy to continue providing great visual arts education to our Brooks students and encouraging these students to foster a global creative exchange," said Edward Clift, president of Brooks Institute.

This agreement is the most recent in a series of initiatives by Brooks Institute to expand its educational experiences internationally. During the week of April 18-22, Brooks Institute hosted students from Kede College in Beijing, China, for film and photo workshops. The students participated in specialized classes introducing them to Brooks' film, photography, graphic design and visual journalism programs. The visit culminated with the Portfolio Show on April 22, a celebration of the work of the Brooks Institute April 2016 graduating class.

"Through engaging these students from Kede College in the 'Brooks experience,' they will gain a greater understanding of our visual arts programs while making an indelible impression on our students," said Clift. "We hope that our students will learn just as much from these students as they will from our dedicated faculty and staff."

Brooks Institute has been conducting admissions recruitment around the world, including in India and China. Brooks Admissions Vice President Maggie Balderas participated in a UStudy High School Tour in Mexico, where she met with students interested in studying abroad and attending Brooks Institute. High schools included Instituto Piaget, Tec Milenio, Colegio Ingles, Puerto Aventuras, Colegio Yitzatil and Papalote. A Brooks Institute Admissions team also recruited in Tel Aviv at the UStudy Eastern Mediterranean Recruiting Fair, which had 2,000 student attendees from that region. As part of the International Student Network, Inc., the team was in South America to meet with over 500 students and families from Colombia and surrounding countries.

Recently, as a part of these initiatives, Brooks announced a partnership with Kaplan International Santa Barbara to provide English classes and other support for the institution's international students.

Kaplan has been successfully teaching English language for more than 40 years and is a leading provider of English language courses and other study abroad programs. Their extensive global network of schools has grown from their first school which opened in London in 1967. Kaplan now has 43 schools in major cities in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. There are 20 schools in the United States where students benefit from the American system while studying short and long-term English classes as well as taking advantage of excellent and consistent record of examination results in the TOEFL, IELTS, GRE, and GMAT preparation courses for international students.

Last year, Brooks signed partnership agreements with the Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication and the "Hands On" Malta School of Filmmakers. With each of these agreements, faculty and students are invited to exchange knowledge and attend courses at the partner school. The partnership with "Hands On" Malta also includes the potential of joint programs between the two institutions.

Brooks Institute
Brooks Institute celebrates 70 years of educating students in the visual and media arts. Based in Ventura, CA, Brooks offers bachelor's degrees in fields including Professional Photography, Graphic Design, Film, and Visual Journalism, a Master of Science in Scientific and Technological Imaging and a Master of Fine Arts in Photography. The school is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). ACICS is a national accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education. For more information about Brooks Institute and the school's programs, visit www.brooks.edu or call 805-585-8000.

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