TVBEurope hears from the co-founder, volunteers and students taking part in Rises inaugural summer school
By Jenny Priestley
Published: August 4, 2022 Updated: August 8, 2022
TVBEurope hears from the co-founder, volunteers and students taking part in Rise's inaugural summer school
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
This week, advocacy group Rise is running its inaugural Rise Up Academy Summer School, with over 500 students set to walk through the doors over four days.
TVBEurope visited Global Academy in Hayes to hear from the organisers, volunteers and students taking part.
The co-founder Rise Academy was co-founded by BT Sport's chief engineer Andy Beale and Rise managing director Carrie Wootten in 2019.
The decision to launch the event was taken following a review of Rise's work in mentoring, as well as encouraging, developing and promoting women who are already working in the media tech industry.
We saw this massive skill shortage coming, explains Beale. Broadcast engineering skills, both in vision and sound, and media engineering, like all the post production and workflowy stuff, were just disappearing. That was either because people were moving on to other careers, or they were retiring.
As well as the lack of skills, Beale and Wootten also wanted to tackle the issue of diversity. We want to attract more people who would never normally have seen this as an opportunity or career for them, particularly more females, and also socially economically challenged young people who just wouldn't ever think about this industry being for them, continues Beale. We asked, can we make this a more inclusive and diverse industry at the same time as fixing the skill shortage? And that's where the Academy was born. We ran a pilot scheme at a school in Reading where we went into Year 6, so kids who were turning 11, and we just tried it.
Following a pause brought about by the pandemic, Rise staged smaller events around the UK earlier this year but they wanted to be able to reach a much bigger audience. Carrie's idea was to have this intense period of trying to bring as many people as we could through the door, be really efficient with the volunteer time and with the equipment we've been loaned.
The team reached out to Global Academy in West London, a university technical college (UTC), which is a publicly funded secondary school sponsored by radio company Global. We've had a cohort of people coming in from all over London, as far away as Surbiton, Bromley and Finchley who want to see what it's about, adds Beale.
The scheme is welcoming two sets of students: 2nd-3rd August was exclusively for students in years 7 to 9; followed by students in years 10 to 13 on 4th-5th August.
They get to experience how to build a little studio, which is a programme we run in schools where you plug up a full camera studio and replays and graphics VT, explains Beale. There's an OB truck very kindly provided by Cloudbass. We've got a cohort of post companies from Soho here, VFX companies looking at things like metahumans and visual design, virtual production with Mo-sys, graphics with AE Live and Singular. We're doing cloud production with AWS and Grass Valley.
The students are seeing a bit of everything from the whole industry. I'm hoping they leave really excited and and we can follow up them afterwards about where to go next if they're looking for next step.
In fact, Beale and the team have had almost instant feedback from both the students and their parents. We've had some lovely emails from parents saying how much their kids enjoyed it, he says. We had an email from a parent of a young child who's autistic saying, normally, they might struggle in this environment given the complications and learning strategies, but actually, they found it really welcoming, inclusive, and they had the most amazing day. That's really, really cool.
Asked if there are already plans to repeat the success of Rise Up Academy in 2023, Beale says the team always need help and support from the media tech industry. I must thank all the sponsors and all the volunteers. Some of them have been released by their employers and some have come because they believe in Rise and it resonates. That resonance is for me is affirmation that the problem that we believe exists, does exist and that it needs fixing.
The volunteer Niki Whittle, head of broadcast at disguise, has been involved with Rise since its launch. Like Beale, she is concerned about the lack of skills impact on the industry. The talent crisis is a big problem, especially with my area, which is virtual production and Unreal graphics, she says. It's new technology that probably is better for the next generation anyway, because they're gamers. It's new skills that haven't been taught yet. We're trying to inspire the next generation into TV, because TV isn't cool anymore.
Whittle is always keen to stress to the students that they're already content creators, especially if they're posting videos on TikTok or YouTube. They're stitching together highlights, adding graphics, and sound. All of that is storytelling, the only difference to what we do is that we get paid for it, and we get to travel around the world!
She has also seen first hand how much the students have been enjoying their time at the Rise Up Academy, citing a young girl who arrived on Monday who she describes as extremely timid. By the end of the session she was skipping around the room, grabbing cables off others and putting the fronts on the equipment when we closed things down. She just had a massive smile on her face, she was absolutely loving it. I heard one girl say to her friend, oh my god, this is so much fun I'm definitely coming back tomorr
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
14/05/2026
At Spotify, we're focused on making every listening experience feel intentio...
14/05/2026
Spotify recently welcomed songwriters, artists, executives, and music students t...
14/05/2026
New articulations, ostinatos, Motion Scoring Articulation Sets & more
Sonuscore's flagship cinematic string library has just been treated to a significa...
14/05/2026
World-class studio opens on T rkiye's Aegean coast
P r Recording & Residence have announced their official opening, introducing a new world-class reside...
14/05/2026
Now supports channel layouts up to 9.1.6
Nugen Audio have just released an update for their AI-powered dialogue intelligibility and compliance tool. Set to ...
14/05/2026
New recordings & one-key chord tool
UVI have just announced the release of Orchestral Suite 2, a ground-up redesign of their all-in-one symphonic orchestra ...
14/05/2026
Two new arrivals & expanded factory content
Rob Papen's all-encompassing plug-in and virtual instrument collection has just been treated to another upda...
14/05/2026
Embed QR codes into DAW sessions
FSK Audio's latest plug-in doesn't process audio, but serves as an organisational tool that allows QR codes to be e...
14/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz transforms spectrum complexity into situational awareness and ef...
14/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Quantum Systems join forces to redefine EW and C-UAS-enabled...
14/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz showcases STANAG aligned ARDRONIS Counter UAS capability at NATO...
14/05/2026
Code of Silence has won the BAFTA for Best Drama Series at Sunday night's ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall.
The series, starring Rose Ayling-Ellis and w...
14/05/2026
Vivid Broadcast was embracing remote production long before it became the industry norm. Now, with Calrec's True Control 2.0-enabled Argo M and Type R conso...
14/05/2026
The high-stakes chase thriller from Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated writer Matt Charm...
14/05/2026
Back From The Brink airs Sunday 17 May and Sunday 24 May at 6.30pm on RT One an...
13/05/2026
Thousands of props donated from Skys longest-running original seriesWednesday 13 May 2026
How a neon windmill from A League of Their Own ended up in a dogs'...
13/05/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 13, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that I...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
FOX Announces Schedule for 2026-27 Season FOX'S POWERFUL NEW SERIES PIPELINE FUELS A BREAKOUT SEASON WITH RETURNING HITS AND BOLD NEW STORYTELLING ACROSS ...
12/05/2026
Customer demand for data continues to grow in the first quarter of 2026 at Magya...
12/05/2026
The latest drama underscores Sky's continued investment in regional production and Welsh creative talent.Tuesday 12 May 2026
Wales takes the spotlight in S...
11/05/2026
As Eurovision fans gear up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the iconic song ...
11/05/2026
Pela primeira vez na hist ria, o Brasil figura entre os oito maiores mercados de...
11/05/2026
New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance
Bastl Instruments have announced the Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modellin...
11/05/2026
Compact sampling workstation gains new features
1010music have announced the blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWl...
11/05/2026
Performance-focused sequencer with microtonal control
Berlin-based KOMA Elektronik have announced Monoplex, a new 42HP Eurorack sequencer designed for hands...
11/05/2026
Boasts wireless control from mobile devices
The latest iteration of IK Multimedia's compact amp and effects modelling pedal expands on the capabilities ...
11/05/2026
Spans traditional orchestral and experimental sounds
Sonora Cinematic have recently released the third instalment in their Transfigured Orchestra series, de...
11/05/2026
Our exhibition coverage
Watch all our SUPERBOOTH 2026 video coverage in one place. Check back to this page regularly as we will be updating with more video ...
11/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, is participating in the Equity Forum Ge...
11/05/2026
Bounteous Acquires Cartesian to Accelerate Enterprise AI
May 11, 2026
Business Assurance
News
Acquisition enhances deep data and analytics capabil...
11/05/2026
11 May 2026
VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board and Chairman, Reaffirming Confiden...
11/05/2026
Fox Corporation Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results NEW YORK, NY, May 11, 2026 - Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX; FOX or the Company ) t...
11/05/2026
Arvato Systems Becomes a Member of InsurLab Germany
Collaboration in the insurance industrys leading innovation network
G tersloh - Arvato Systems has joine...
11/05/2026
Pirate Predator uncovers new information from victims and survivors of abuse on ...
10/05/2026
RT ALL-IRELAND DRAMA FESTIVAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED DURING GALA AWARDS STREAMED LIVE ON RTE.IE/CULTURE
Kilmeen Drama Group hailing from Rossmore, Co. Cork Scoops ...
09/05/2026
New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance
Bastl Instruments have announced Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modelling, F...
09/05/2026
Compact sampling workstation gains new features
1010music have announced blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWless ...
08/05/2026
One-button synth generates random four-track ideas
Cyma Forma and French artist Bambounou have announced RND synth, a compact hardware synthesizer built aro...
08/05/2026
Portable four-layer granular and sampling instrument
Tasty Chips have announced the GR-2, a new granular synthesizer and sampling instrument that combines e...
TVBEurope hears from the co-founder, volunteers and students taking part in Rises inaugural summer school
