NextGen is proud to launch NextGen RISE – an innovative Remote Industry Studio Experience designed to equip students with the real-world skills, industry experience, and the employability confidence they need to succeed.
For years, creative industry employers have highlighted a critical gap: graduates leave education with technical knowledge but lack hands-on industry experience. Without opportunities to apply their skills in real-world environments, many students struggle to make the leap into employment. NextGen RISE was built to solve this challenge.
Created in collaboration with Tom Box, Co-Founder of Blue Zoo Animation Studio, RISE immerses students in professional workflows through Skills Bootcamps and industry-led projects. It isn’t just another online course - it’s a transformative learning experience. RISE mirrors the fast-paced, problem-solving nature of creative studios.
Students:
✅ Work on real industry briefs written by professional studios
✅ Receive expert feedback from games, animation, and VFX employers
✅ Develop teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills
✅ Build a portfolio of industry-standard work that boosts employability
RISE offers a win-win solution for students, educators, and employers:
🎓 For students: A direct pathway to industry with real-world experience before graduation.
🏫 For educators: A fully integrated, low-admin solution to enhance employability outcomes.
🏢 For employers: A pipeline of work-ready talent, reducing in-house training needs.
RISE started in 2021 as a pilot project with Blue Zoo Animation Studio, supporting students through industry-led bootcamps. The results? Incredible. Students thrived, industry engagement grew, and the platform evolved with every bootcamp and cohort.
Since then, we have been using RISE as a learning tool in our Skills Bootcamps and short courses, with every bootcamp we’ve been listening to our students and refining and updating the platform in line with their feedback. Now, with support from Ufi VocTech Trust, RISE is ready to expand beyond NextGen.
We are inviting educators and industry partners to help shape the future of creative education by integrating RISE into classrooms across the UK.
Whether you're an Educator, Student, Employer, or Funder, there are benefits of using RISE to teach immersive Games, Animation and VFX projects and bootcamps. Get in touch today and let's work together.