“Adobe &” Program Brings Digital Design Skills Training and Technology to Students in Australia

Posted by Erica Fensom, Head of Government Affairs – Asia Pacific

I am a new member of the government relations team at Adobe. Having just finished my fifth week with the company and meeting with colleagues in four offices across three countries, I’ve had an intense first immersion in Adobe culture. I am impressed with how much creativity, openness and genuine sincerity there is across this company.

Every day, Adobe strives to change the world through digital experiences and I’ve seen this first-hand. During my first week in the Sydney office, I had the opportunity to attend an Adobe & workshop with a select group of sixteen students from Merrylands High School. Led by experienced graphic designer and Adobe Digital Media Solutions Consultant Renee Lance, the training provided the Year 9 students with an introductory course to develop technical design skills using PhotoShop and Illustrator.

Within a few hours, I witnessed a group of young students transform photos of koalas, images of their family, and self-portraits into vibrant works of abstract art using variety of advanced tools professional designers use to manipulate images and design illustrations. These students (and I include myself in this group) were learning how to stretch their creativity and develop skills in leading-edge creative design technologies.

As Australia seeks to increase the number of students who are trained in career-ready ICT skills, the Adobe & program seeks to empower young people with the tools they need to develop skills for the digital economy, including web design and creating digital experiences for audiences online. As part of the day, students were given the opportunity to sit an exam to become an Adobe Certified Expert, an industry certification that can be used on students’ resumes as they prepare for future careers.

I spoke with my colleagues who run the education programs in Australia to learn more about why Adobe is doing these workshops. I learned that Adobe believes arts and creativity is an important part of education. Adobe conducted a study called Creativity and Education, Why it Matters, which interviewed over one thousand educators. An overwhelming majority of teachers believe that creativity can be applied to every domain of knowledge and every school subject. They do not see creativity as being relevant only to intrinsically creative subjects such as the arts, music and drama, but they see creativity as of paramount importance for the development of creative thinking and learning across all subjects.

Across the state of New South Wales, Adobe has partnered with the government to provide industry-leading digital media products to more than 250,000 students, representing over two thirds of students across NSW. Our focus in education is to unleash the creativity of all students, educators and schools. Teachers who have participated in the Adobe education programs in Australia have found the skills experience workshops to be valuable for their students. You can listen to educator Ross Johnson discuss his experience here.

I’m enjoying being a part of the Adobe team in Asia-Pacific and I look forward to taking part in more of these educational workshops for students. With Adobe, I’m proud to support government policies that enable ICT skills growth and development that will be important for Australia’s future in the digital economy. As a mom with a daughter about to enter kindergarten in the Sydney suburbs, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for her in Australia.

To learn more about Adobe’s vision for creativity in education, please click here for information about tools and programs available in Australia.