SAE was founded in Sydney in 1976 as the world’s first dedicated school of audio engineering and is now a global creative media and technology institution.
In 1976, a small audio school in Sydney set out to change how creative education is delivered. Fifty years later, SAE has grown into a globally connected University College delivering creative media and technology education across animation, audio, computer science, design, film, games, music and VFX.
SAE students now learn all over the world, in professional standard studios, with world-class equipment and expert industry educators.
In October 2026, SAE will celebrate its 50th anniversary, and to mark this auspicious occasion, we’re inviting all SAE students, alumni, faculty and community members to take part in a number of initiatives celebrating where we’ve come from and where we’re going. These include events, promotions and fun lookbacks at the years gone by.
Keep an eye on SAE’s social media channels to see what’s happening to honour SAE’s 50th birthday, including celebratory events around the country in October.
This milestone isn’t just about looking back; it’s about the creators, storytellers and innovators shaping what comes next for the creative media and technology industries.
SAE’s 50 years of creative education
SAE’s story began in 1976 in Sydney as the world’s first dedicated school of audio engineering. By 1982, the institution had expanded nationally across Australia, before opening its first international campus in London in 1985.
Through the late 1990s, SAE introduced university degree programs through partnerships with Southern Cross University and Middlesex University, followed by the launch of North American campuses in New York and Nashville in 1999.
SAE became a registered Higher Education Provider in Australia in 2003, and the acquisition of QANTM College in 2004 expanded its offering into animation, game development and digital design. Global growth continued with the opening of SAE Dubai in 2005 and a new chapter in 2011 when the SAE Group joined Navitas. In 2022, AD Education acquired SAE’s European and UK operations, strengthening its international creative education network.
A year later in 2023, SAE achieved University College status in Australia. SAE continues to grow its global student and alumni community globally, with campuses in Pretoria, South Africa and Ahmedabad, India launching in the last year.
Your head start, 50 years in the making
Since its establishment in 1976, SAE University College has focused on one simple idea: the best way to learn creative skills is by creating.
This hands-on approach has been at the heart of SAE for five decades and continues to shape how our students learn today.
Rachael Shea, Dean of SAE University College, states:
From audio engineering to creative and technology innovation
SAE’s teaching method started in audio engineering but quickly expanded. Today, SAE offers courses across a wide range of creative and technology disciplines, preparing students for careers across film, audio, animation, music, games, design and emerging creative technologies.
SAE’s creative heritage has also enabled the institution to expand naturally into technology disciplines. Whether studying computer science, cyber security or information technology, students follow the same project based, hands on approach to learning that has defined SAE since its beginnings in audio.
Rachael Shea continued:
“Our courses combine practical learning with relevant, up to date knowledge so students graduate with both the creative confidence and technical capability employers are looking for.”
A global creative network
Over the past five decades, SAE has grown into an international creative education network.
With campuses across Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia, SAE connects students to a global community of creators, collaborators and innovators. From the UK, Germany and France to the United States, Mexico and Australia, and across growing creative hubs in India, Indonesia and South Africa, SAE’s international network is united by a shared passion for creativity and collaboration.
This global reach opens opportunities far beyond your campus. You can collaborate with creative peers across disciplines, gain insights into international creative industries and explore study or work opportunities around the world.
When you study at SAE, you are not just joining a campus. You are joining a worldwide creative community built over 50 years. Today, SAE spans 49 campuses across 20 countries, connecting students to cross border collaboration and global creative careers.
From Netflix to Epic Games, Pixar to Nike, SAE alumni build global careers across the creative media and technology industries.
Matt Evans, Executive General Manager, SAE said:
“We are committed to helping more and more people find their creative voice. People all over the world are bringing their own unique experiences to their creative projects, and we think the world is a better place for it. That’s why we continue to expand, giving people as far apart as Mexico, Germany, India and Australia the guidance and education to bring their creative and tech ideas to life.”
Real world experience. Real industry impact.
Across festivals, studios, live events and creative workplaces, our students have gained hands-on experience that helps shape careers, while being at some of the most awe-inspiring creative moments of the past 50 years.
From helping backstage during iconic sets, to being in the VFX studio while blockbuster hits are developed, our students have a front and centre view to moments that have shaped culture.
Five decades of learning from industry professionals
At SAE, our lecturers are more than educators. They are expert working professionals in the industries our students want to join.
Over 50 years our classrooms have been consistently led by the people who are shaping the creative industries. They bring real world insight into the classroom, helping you understand how creative industries actually operate.
Celebrating 50 years of creativity
Rachael Shea concluded:
"But it’s also about SAE’s current and future students. I want to use this 50th anniversary to ask them, what impact will you make in the next 50 years?”
If you would like to share memories, photos or work from your time at SAE, please contact [email protected].
