a DEGREE in digital art? I think not...
I recently read another blog (it was like cheating on my own blog) blasting Limkok Wing University College. The address is:
http://gnitia.blogspot.com/2005/12/limkokwing-unicoll-what-u-c-is-not.html
This chick blasts it for mediocre construction, but hey, seriously .... like MMU's better? In the lecture rooms (a whopping 5 of them) the roof is lumpy from a leaky ceiling too, and the air conditioning isn't always working. More about MMU in another post.
Some people hate on LKW because it has the status of a university college. The university college designation is one that means different things in different countries, but in England, the country that Malaysia usually tries to imitate, it denotes an institution that has degree-granting power, and may carry out research, but is not recognized as a university. Using the "university college" title requires government approval, and usually the institution tries to lobby for full university status, because of an apparently lower prestige level. That aside, unlike the Brits, we Canadians aren't obsessed with status and prestige. We recognize what should be a university, and what shouldn't, and in some cases, the results may surprise you. In many fields, its much better to go to college because of the hands-on training rather than useless ideologies and theory (mechanic's training is one such field). Similarly, LKW's main programs are art-based, like the faculty of creative multimedia at MMU, and in my opinion should not be degree programs by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think any OECD country would recognize skills training as a degree, and thats precisely what you get with "digital" art. They teach you how to use Photoshop and all the Macromedia junk. I don't see how this "degree" (sarcastic intonation) will actually help much either. The stuff they teach at MMU is ridiculous. In the first year, they teach you that multimedia is made up of text, animation, graphics, sound and video. And then, they INTRODUCE you to the "world of computers." They assume that the students coming in have never seen, heard or touched a computer. When they finish their degree, they'll only be marginally competitive in the Malaysian employee market, and in the international market, they'll be like fish bait to a bloodthirsty great white shark. There's plenty of freelancing individuals who can do stuff waaaaaaaaaaay better than these MMU grads, and they're sitting on their asses because of a lack of jobs. What are these universities doing, having their students believe that there's a big future in "digital art?" I've been told developing countries have more of a market for web designers and the like, but how big can it be? Are there actually any permanent jobs, or just some 1-time jobs? How long can the stream of 1-time jobs last? Whatever the case may be, let a business student explain to you why a market with negative or nil growth is a bad one. Maybe if these "digital artists" had some IT in them, they might stand a chance. Cuz lets say a startup or newish shipping company wants to go online. They can have a company design their website, and then what? They need the IT guys for the backbone, one that needs continuous maintenance and upgrading. The visual shell of the website is such an insignificant portion that I think all these poor souls will have to try and apply for Singaporean immigration so that they can get unemployment insurance.
http://gnitia.blogspot.com/2005/12/limkokwing-unicoll-what-u-c-is-not.html
This chick blasts it for mediocre construction, but hey, seriously .... like MMU's better? In the lecture rooms (a whopping 5 of them) the roof is lumpy from a leaky ceiling too, and the air conditioning isn't always working. More about MMU in another post.
Some people hate on LKW because it has the status of a university college. The university college designation is one that means different things in different countries, but in England, the country that Malaysia usually tries to imitate, it denotes an institution that has degree-granting power, and may carry out research, but is not recognized as a university. Using the "university college" title requires government approval, and usually the institution tries to lobby for full university status, because of an apparently lower prestige level. That aside, unlike the Brits, we Canadians aren't obsessed with status and prestige. We recognize what should be a university, and what shouldn't, and in some cases, the results may surprise you. In many fields, its much better to go to college because of the hands-on training rather than useless ideologies and theory (mechanic's training is one such field). Similarly, LKW's main programs are art-based, like the faculty of creative multimedia at MMU, and in my opinion should not be degree programs by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think any OECD country would recognize skills training as a degree, and thats precisely what you get with "digital" art. They teach you how to use Photoshop and all the Macromedia junk. I don't see how this "degree" (sarcastic intonation) will actually help much either. The stuff they teach at MMU is ridiculous. In the first year, they teach you that multimedia is made up of text, animation, graphics, sound and video. And then, they INTRODUCE you to the "world of computers." They assume that the students coming in have never seen, heard or touched a computer. When they finish their degree, they'll only be marginally competitive in the Malaysian employee market, and in the international market, they'll be like fish bait to a bloodthirsty great white shark. There's plenty of freelancing individuals who can do stuff waaaaaaaaaaay better than these MMU grads, and they're sitting on their asses because of a lack of jobs. What are these universities doing, having their students believe that there's a big future in "digital art?" I've been told developing countries have more of a market for web designers and the like, but how big can it be? Are there actually any permanent jobs, or just some 1-time jobs? How long can the stream of 1-time jobs last? Whatever the case may be, let a business student explain to you why a market with negative or nil growth is a bad one. Maybe if these "digital artists" had some IT in them, they might stand a chance. Cuz lets say a startup or newish shipping company wants to go online. They can have a company design their website, and then what? They need the IT guys for the backbone, one that needs continuous maintenance and upgrading. The visual shell of the website is such an insignificant portion that I think all these poor souls will have to try and apply for Singaporean immigration so that they can get unemployment insurance.
posted by Loy at 3:49 a.m.
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