CIT creative industry students create a body of work for their portfolios that’s grounded in real-world practicality, all culminating in end-of-year exhibitions that can open doors. Photo: CIT.
CIT photography student Heather Hodgson was 50-something when she decided it was time to pursue something creative.
“That’s one thing that struck me about this place — it’s a total mix of ages and backgrounds,” she says. “There’s one student in my class who’s 73. Nobody feels out of place.”
Heather is among the hundreds of students taking courses in the creative industries – from beauty to interior design, fashion to floristry, media to music and more – at CIT Woden’s cutting-edge, purpose-built Woden campus.
Study options range from online self-paced short courses to diploma-level qualifications.
Facilities include visual arts studios, fashion workshops and design labs. The acoustically-treated large screen and media studio features a dedicated floor-to-ceiling green screen cyclorama for high-quality recording and broadcast systems. There are also dedicated, acoustically-treated music rehearsal and performance rooms, each equipped with control rooms for studio-quality music and sound production.
Heather spends most of her time in the photography studio, which includes a dedicated floor-to-ceiling cyclorama and specialist lighting and dark volume, to optimise shooting conditions.
“The studio is very clearly state-of-the-art,” she says. “We have some very exciting new gear – everything you need to try out the different streams in photography, whether that’s fashion, food, product or something else. You can discover what’s for you.”
But Heather says it’s not all about shiny new digs and equipment.
An incubator for the next generation of creators, CIT is known for its blend of hands-on learning, industry connections and real-world experience, designed to inspire collaboration across disciplines.
CIT hosts events to foster this collaboration among students from music, sound production and hospitality through to hair and beauty, floristry and fashion.
“All the creative industry courses are at CIT Woden and I think it’s amazing for creative students to get that exposure to other disciplines. You never know what interests or talents you might discover,” Heather says.
“I would never have considered fashion photography, but we attended fashion week in Sydney and Melbourne and got to be in the media pit. It was incredible to experience what it’s like to work right there amongst photographers shooting for magazines.”
Graphic Design student Isabella Lewis is living proof that CIT’s approach opens up doors for students and sometimes inspires lateral moves.
The former fashion design student transitioned to graphic design and has already used assessment pieces in her portfolio to land a coveted part-time graphic design job.
“What’s great about CIT assessments is you have total creative freedom, but it’s also grounded in practicality. We do a massive range of stuff, but it’s always this combination of fun and real-world oriented,” she says.
“This work I have created was hypothetical, but you’re taught to create it the same way you’d create real branding and packaging labels for real businesses. That put me in a really good position when I went for my job.”
The body of work created by creative industries students culminated in a series of end-of-year exhibitions held at CIT Woden.
Isabella says the graphic design exhibition Mint Condition — a playful nod to the brand newness of the campus — is a valuable chance for students to showcase their work to the industry.
“It’s fantastic for us to have industry people in the room to see our new space and the work we’ve been able to develop there,” she says. “I hope many opportunities will come out of it.”
For more information, visit CIT.
