LSBU and Ryerson celebrate one year of transatlantic partnership
LSBU and Ryerson University in Toronto are celebrating one year of a partnership aimed at transatlantic knowledge exchange in the creative industriesBeing 3,500 miles apart has not slowed the collaborative effort between London South Bank University (LSBU) and Ryerson University’s Faculty of Communication and Design (FCAD) in Toronto, Canada, as the first anniversary of the partnership approaches.
As just one part of the valuable partnership, academics from LSBU’s School of Arts and Creative Industries have partnered with contemporaries at Ryerson’s FCAD to support knowledge exchange.
Meeting via video conference last month, academics working on five joint creative research projects shared their progress to date.
The research focuses on topics that transcend borders and consider the future evolving before us: from how millennials differentiate between real and fake news to how empathy can be explored within virtual reality and the efficacy of self-organised female protest.
Dean of the School of Arts and Creative Industries at LSBU, Professor Janet Jones, said forging strategic links between universities around the world was key post-Brexit to foster funding opportunities and stay at the forefront of policy innovation.
“A year on since we started this partnership between two like-minded, sympathetically-spirited universities, we’ve lit a match and now the sparks are there and we must keep going to deliver impact locally and internationally,” Prof. Jones said.
“Our partnership with Ryerson ensures that our efforts in research are relevant on a global scale and delivers on our goal to build our capacity internationally to the benefit of our students and staff.”
Dean of FCAD, Charles Falzon echoed Prof. Jones’ sentiments about the partnership.
“Having five active projects and 14 faculty members working together to push research and creative work forward is exciting,” he said.
“We see these members as leaders, working together to foster an ecosystem for international trade in thought leadership.”
The universities continue to work together on developing joint curriculum, including online courses in the creative industries and international collaborative courses using Ryerson's Global Campus Network.
Later this month, the partnership will deliver another of its key projects with a student-designed art project connecting Toronto and London through two live “shop windows” acting as a portal between the two cities.
Learn more about studying in the School of Arts and Creative Industries at LSBU.