Digital training is happening all over the world like at Toonz Animation.

As part of the Education & Training theme of June, VFXWorld queried a wide range of education and training institutions around the world about their individual programs and approaches in preparing students for careers in the rapidly changing 3D animation and visual effects industries. Here is the final collection of their informative responses to the following topics/questions:

Please describe your core philosophy of balancing education and training and what distinguishes your program.

Talent is in-born and Skill needs to be inculcated. We have designed the course to identify & sharpen the talent and train their mind and body to meet the challenges.
Toonz Animation
India

Our core philosophy at Escape Studios is to provide training by being able to effectively replicate a "real world" production environment. This is crucial, even from the earliest stages of the learning process. This is reinforced by using practicing professional freelancers as tutors in order to let anyone who wants to learn benefit from their production experience. It is a broad-based creative education that allows artists to develop their traditional skills and aesthetic awareness is of paramount importance. However, the opportunity for those artists to then acquire the technical expertise and professional practices required by the industry must also be provided.
Escape Studios
London, England

Students at work at Escape Studios. Courtesy of Escape Studios.

We try to keep the development of critical thinking skills as an overarching theme of our program. We also stress the development of good communication skills, problem solving and the importance of developing the skills necessary to visually communicate ideas clearly to the intended audience.
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, Tennessee

The balance lies in providing useful and up to date technical skills with the developments in theory and historic perspective. Our programs look to encourage this balance to provide artists with powerful tools and technicians with artistic principles.
Fiction Lab Animation School
Mexico

The core philosophy is one of applied learning: from pencil to digital, graduating animators and not operators. The first year is entirely 2D animation. The third year is entirely 3D character and digital post effects The second year is a transition into 3D animation and 2D digital ink and paint. Theory (education) is based on applied learning. For example, second years write a digital post-production terminology exam at the end of academic year. Lecturers are ex-industry pro's. Distinguishing characteristic: a third year will graduate with specialization on his show reel but have experience in Stop motion shoots, 16mm, Flash, 2D, 3D character and effects — pretty much all forms of animation production. Lastly, the animation department is run like a working studio with interaction with the sound and edit departments for studio bookings.
CityVarsity Film & TV and Multimedia School
Cape Town, South Africa