This significant investment will support new students with a $15,000 scholarship to study at the vibrant Byron Bay campus on Ewingsdale Road, while stimulating growth in the Northern Rivers region by enhancing educational opportunities in creative media.
The Destination Australia program funds eligible tertiary education providers like SAE to offer scholarships to students to study and live in regional Australia. Domestic students from underrepresented groups such as from low socio−economic backgrounds, those who are first in their family to study at a tertiary level, those living with a disability, and First Nations people will be given priority. The study areas that qualify at SAE includes animation, audio, film, games and music.
SAE General Manager, Dr Luke McMillan, expressed his excitement about the funding. “This announcement is a testament to the exceptional education experience and support provided at our Byron Bay campus,” he said. “SAE is delighted to be providing new international and domestic students with financial support to pursue their dreams, while contributing to the growth of the Northern Rivers creative media industry.”
Byron Bay is known for its rich creative community and boasts the largest concentration of creative industry professionals in regional Australia. The Northern Rivers also holds the highest number of creative practitioners and businesses outside Australia’s capital cities. SAE graduate and former Destination Australia scholarship recipient, Fernanda Gerdes, shared her success story.
“Receiving the Destination Australia scholarship was life-changing for me,” Fernanda said. “It not only allowed me to relocate from my home in Brazil to Byron Bay, but since graduating I’ve been able to build a successful art business locally.”
This financial injection reaffirms SAE’s commitment to providing exceptional creative media courses, while supporting the Northern Rivers economy.
