Overview The Digital Pathways Initiative (DPI):Dakar Apprenticeship Education Experience. We propose a Warner Brother -led experiential education designed to prepare student participants to connect with business executives from Warner Brothers and family organizations(e.g. HBO) as qualified candidates for internships and entry-level opportunities. The program will educate the students in areas including content creation, communication, project management, and leadership and collaboration skills, along with frameworks for understanding the larger entertainment/technology industry landscape. The program will culminate students producing individual Portfolio Pieces appropriate for seeking real-world career opportunities.
Student Selection The program’s participants will be selected from the group that has already completed a significant portion of the Strong Work-Force core instructional programs related to media production (entertainment technology, interaction design, media content development, promo pathways).
Industry Participation The program will feature industry practitioners and business leaders from Warner Brother who will participate in all phases of the experience: as guest lecturers, advisors, team mentors, and judges. We will also look to create partnerships with governmental and educational partners to allow for site visits, donation of time and resources and more.
Program Sequence The program will comprise 2- semesters and winter-break instructional workshops (every Friday for 5 hours). Its curriculum will draw on those from Warner Brother, and will be augmented by guest visitor lectures, visits to partner company sites, and “field-based” experiential learning opportunities. Picked Warner Brothers professionals will serve as participating mentors to the students, helping them to “move up the food-chain” - e.g., from community colleges to four-year universities’ and eventually to apprenticeship.
Outcomes The program’s primary goal is participant placement in Warner Brother or one of its family company’s apprenticeship and/or entry-level roles. We also expect to incubate selected students beyond the sixweek track and link them with industry relationships such as Hart Beat Studios where they can further develop their skills and gain real-world experience. Workshops and instructional sessions and experiences will also be captured and packaged online for livestream (and then archived) sharing with the broader community college audience (outreach metrics will be gathered as proof points).