Published on 12 August 2019
Dr Adele Hulsmeir and Nicholas Glean, in conjunction with Northumbria Police and their Sexual Assault Referall centre, have won a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence - a hat-trick for our Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries, which has twice before received the national accolade.
This project plays an important role within the University and beyond. Led by Dr Adelle Hulsmeier, it represents a unique collaboration between our drama and media production teams, Northumbria Police and various organisations involved in supporting victims of crime.
The Crime Awareness Student Film Project represents one of a series of projects which aligns our teaching with our role in society. Part-funded by the Police and Crime Commissioners Community Fund the project allows students studying both drama and media production to work on a live client brief, enabling them to gain practical experience and important skills to promote employability. The project has been running for the past six years – more than 500 students have taken part in the production of 23 films on a variety of serious crimes.
The project has received widespread acclaim, from the media industry, from forensics experts and those dealing with the victims of crime. Dame Vera Baird QC, former Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, has previously congratulated the students for creating films able to communicate messages about serious crimes in ways the police and public services cannot.
Uniquely, the films have been used to raise awareness amongst children, health professionals, the police and other university students - making a significant contribution to the lives of victims and helping with prevention and awareness raising. In addition, the films are used in teaching within the University to stimulate debate on issues such as domestic violence and rape.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Young, said: “The University is committed to providing its students with an authentic teaching, learning and assessment experience – an important part of this is providing access to real world projects. The Crime Awareness Student Film Project represents a unique collaboration between academics and statutory and voluntary bodies across the region, I was delighted to support the team with their application and share in celebrating their success.”
