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SAE Institute Continues Its Global Domination
When the SAE Institute commenced its first nine-month course in Sydney, Australia, with a four-track Sony tape recorder and a 12-channel mixing console, not even founder Tom Misner knew how much they would expand in the next three decades. Since the development of its first campus in 1976, the SAE Institute has expanded quite rapidly. With campuses on five continents, SAE now has 50 locations, in addition to online courses that can be accessed from anywhere. The largest institution in its fields, SAE promotes hands-on instruction that balances both practical and theoretical knowledge.
MM spoke with marketing manager Paul W. Hughes—who has been with SAE for 10 years, having also served as an instructor and school director—about SAE Institute’s extensive moviemaking program.
Eliza Chute (MM): You have programs all over the world. Is each program country-specific, or do you have one overall program that encompasses all the cultures you teach?
Paul Hughes (PH): One of the challenges SAE encounters as we establish diploma and degree programs in new regions is maintaining the SAE curriculum while still allowing enough local adaptation to ensure that what our students learn is applicable to the country in which they’re studying and working. Priority one is that the level of education is equal between all campuses, so that a graduate in Film from SAE Los Angeles or Miami has the same core capabilities and knowledge set as a graduate from London’s Film program. After the “SAE Core” is solidified, then the academic coordinators for each region work with employers and industry professionals in their market to best determine which aspects can be adapted so that our graduates have the best possible skill set, targeted toward the dominant needs of the region.
In the end, it is very nuanced. You can walk into any SAE Institute in the world and know you’re inside a much larger whole in environment and curriculum, but there definitely are subtle differences that make every campus unique. The “flavor” of each program reflects wherever it’s being taught.
MM: SAE Institute has 50 locations worldwide. To what do you attribute the school’s global success? What is your criteria for choosing new locations?
PH: I think SAE’s success is most definitely tied its founder, and to the amazing people who work for this school. The philosophy that Dr. Tom Misner established for SAE back in 1976, when he built the first campus in Sydney, has carried through to today: A hands-on focus with a theoretical foundation centering on creating an autonomous thinker. Doing that requires a lot of one-on-one training and a lot of lab time; accomplishing tasks over and over, students making mistakes and doing things on their own—learning how to solve problems. That core concept works best with smaller campuses, which is one reason SAE has been continually adding new locations since it began.
If we were to combine the students and resources at all our campuses into one location it would be amazingly large and impressive to look at, but then the one-on-one instruction, the fluidity to quickly change as technology changes, the ability to adapt to local markets so that SAE alumni are ready to work as soon as they graduate—all of that would be lost. We never forget that we are teaching theoretical concepts as well as skills. Skills require practice, and practice is best facilitated by keeping classes small and getting the gear into the students’ hands.
SAE’s instructors, academic board and administration teams are also a key part of SAE’s success. When we open a school in a new city, SAE always manages to find highly-committed instructors and staff who really believe in what SAE is doing. Of course, we’re able to hire locally, so our instructors and staff understand what it takes to be successful in that region, because they’ve all worked there in their respective industries.
When we look at new cities for campuses, the potential for our graduates to earn jobs is always important. Before picking a new city, SAE regional directors will often assist in the process by speaking with studios, stations, production houses and post-production facilities to get a feel for what they’re looking for when hiring new people: What equipment they use, their typical project types, etc.
Another aspect that I personally enjoy is speaking with our alumni who are already in the area. The longer SAE has been here, this year is actually our 10th anniversary in the U.S., the more and more alumni we find working around the country. The Alumni Association has become a valuable tool to SAE’s expansion and in sustaining its strong foundation.
MM: The moviemaking world is a very competitive one. Do you reflect this in your moviemaking program or do you find that your film students collaborate more often than compete?
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Zenerx on 8/23/09 at 5:32 pm
I didn’t realize that SAE is the only media Institute with a network of over 50 campuses world-wide.
- Comment by Cabinet Handles on 9/24/09 at 4:38 pm
SAE is just doing a great job and is one of the Best World Wide!
- Comment by مدونة العصابة on 10/04/11 at 10:04 pm
dude, that is super gnarly.
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