FORTY-THREE Jamaican students have received certification and graduated from the inaugural six-month ‘Animate Jamaica’ certificate programme that was being offered by the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) in association with GSW Animation Limited and Toon Boom Animation Inc.

The graduation occurred in the form of two ceremonies.

The first graduation was held on February 8 at UWI, Mona, at which 28 students graduated. The other 15 students graduated on February 12 from the Western Jamaica campus where they were trained.

Professor Archibald McDonald, principal, UWI, said the institution is pleased with the fruitful outcome from the newly formed tertiary level training programme which has provided the graduates with certification to get a foothold in the growing US$222.8 billion global animation industry.

“This is indeed a joyous and monumental achievement for our students, this institution and Jamaica as it heralds a revolution in education for our country. This first group of animators have become Jamaica’s first real hope of breaking into the global animation market, a prospect that will certainly drive international investment for our country,” Professor McDonald said during his address at the graduation ceremony for the cohort of students who were trained at Mona.

“The knowledge, skills and accreditation that our first batch of graduates now possess have heightened Jamaica’s appeal to international animation firms that are seeking to outsource this specialised talent pool, thus driving production and income for our struggling economy,” he added.

According to Professor McDonald, the partners who joined forces for this initiative and signed an agreement last June should be highly praised.

“The success of this programme would not have been possible without the outstanding partnership between the University’s CARIMAC, GSW and Toon Boom. These three entities recognised that there was a potential market for well-trained animators in Jamaica and pooled their extensive knowledge base and expertise in order to develop a programme that has certainly set the bar for other academic institutions hoping to delve into this field,” he added.

Professor Hopeton Dunn, director of CARIMAC said this, the first programme of its kind being administered by the university, developed and succeeded beyond their expectation.

“The students who will graduate will enter the record books as pioneers. They are among the first group of students to graduate in cartoon animation production at the UWI; also, the first and largest group of its kind to graduate in this field in the English-speaking Caribbean,” Professor Dunn said.

— Ainsworth Morris