Sheffield Hallam University partners with Aardman

6th March 2023

Sheffield Hallam University has become an Aardman Academy partner to give students and staff access to training with the award-winning studio.

Animation students at Sheffield Hallam will be able to visit the studios as well as attend masterclasses with specialists from Aardman, creators of Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep.  

The University already has links to Aardman, with alumni and honorary doctor Nick Park going on to work there and winning multiple Academy Awards and BAFTAs for his animations.

As an Aardman Academy partner, new students will be able to access online foundational workshops run by Aardman before starting their course, and at the end of their course will be able to have a one-to-one portfolio review session with staff at Aardman.  

Melvyn Ternan, senior lecturer in Animation at Sheffield Hallam, said: “We are one of only five partners in the UK and we are extremely proud to be in partnership with the Aardman Academy. The partnership will enhance our students’ development in animation, giving them invaluable insight and guidance directly from Aardman. 

“Having that regular access and exposure to an industry-based animation studio will be beneficial as well as inspiring to our students. Each of us here on the animation course are excited to see where we and our students go.” 

Mark Simon Hewis, Head of the Aardman Academy, said: "We are so pleased that our final UK Partnership has been taken by Nick Park's old place of study, Sheffield Hallam. We can't wait to invite the next generation of animation filmmakers to our studios and help them gain a better understanding of everything this wonderful industry has to offer." 

The partnership builds on top of the work that Hallam’s animation course team have been doing to enhance students’ development and to help them to both understand animation and find their personal specialism within the art.