Sheridan College announces the launch of Nova, an initiative to chart paths in a new era of content creation

With traditional approaches to creating content fragmenting, new technologies uprooting how art is created, and audience preferences shifting across multiple platforms, Sheridan College has announced the launch of Nova — a bold, interdisciplinary initiative designed to help creatives succeed in a changing world.

Nova will bring together teams of faculty, students, and professionals to explore questions facing creative industries, where artists and content creators across all disciplines are navigating a constantly shifting landscape, one that requires them to think like artists, entrepreneurs, marketers, and technologists all at once.

Together, they’ll work across disciplines to experiment with new approaches to audience engagement, creative-content generation and interdisciplinary practices to respond to challenges in the arts and content generation — questions that are essential to maintain the health of Ontario’s $3.8 billion television and video production industries.

“Over the past few years, the creative industries — from the narrative, to the digital, to the material — have undergone a dramatic shift. Disruptive business models and new technologies have shifted the way creative content is produced and experienced,” says Mark Jones, Dean of Sheridan’s Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design. “Members of the creative community recognize the shifting landscape in their industries and want to be involved in shaping solutions. Nova is Sheridan’s new framework to bring industry together with faculty and students so we can ensure the creative industries in Canada continue to thrive.”

Nova will also draw on the strengths of experts across Generator at Sheridan’s research centres, including the College's Screen Industries Research and Training (SIRT) Centre. SIRT drives creative and technological advances in film, television, interactive digital media, gaming, and virtual/augmented reality, as well as application of technologies to other sectors, allowing Nova to explore solutions beyond the screen industries, such as the performing arts.

“Sheridan has long been a leader in applied research and technological innovation. Our cutting-edge research centres position us as a trusted partner for industry and community alike,” says Dr. Vicki Mowat, Dean of Research at Sheridan. “By working closely with these partners, we provide practical solutions to the challenges and opportunities they face. Our ability to bridge the gap between innovation and real-world application is essential to driving progress and ensuring that the industries we serve remain competitive and future-ready.”

Nova’s unique approach builds on the wealth of experience and knowledge of external advisory members from across North America, including multiple alumni who hail from industries ranging from music and publishing to film and technology. Their expertise on emerging trends and challenges fuel the questions and themes that teams of students will come together to develop solutions for.

Work is now beginning on Nova’s first projects, including The Creative Industries Catalyst, which will offer which will offer upskilling opportunities for creative industry professionals. Other early-stage projects will be focused on artist-centred technologies and furthering research to examine how to better support skill development for individuals on the neurodiversity spectrum to allow them to innovate in the tech industry.

“Neurodiverse students bring incredible knowledge and new approaches to problem solving,” says Jones. “Through Nova, we’ll have the opportunity to tap into new approaches to thinking about problems across disciplines and generate fresh ideas that we can share to help drive industry forward.”

As an educational innovator, Sheridan has an established legacy of being at the forefront of developing bold approaches to creative industry needs — including the first computer animation program in Canada, the first four-year bachelor’s degree in game design in the country, and Canada’s first bachelor’s degree in interaction design. Sheridan is also one of only four postsecondary institutions in Canada to be designated an Adobe Creative Campus. Today, our graduates are leaders who are consistently sought after across the art and design world, making the College well positioned to pioneer new strategies.