A graduate student from the Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography was awarded gold for his portfolio at the Global Young Ones Student Awards.
Graduate Simon Kotze won gold for his portfolio of seven projects in the Animation and Visual Effects category at the annual awards, on 13 May.
Stellenbosch Academy graduate, Simon Kotze, receives two awards at the Young Ones Student Awards. PHOTO: Rudi Kruger
The Global Young Ones Student Awards are awarded by The One Club for Creativity, an international non-profit organisation, to identify young creative talents across the globe.
“I didn’t know what the scale of the competition was, until I won… [or] how big of an accomplishment it was,” said Kotze.
Kotze was also awarded merit in the Animation and Visual Effects category for his project, Lumen, an interactive game design.
Stellenbosch Academy graduate, Simon Kotze, wins merit for his interactive game, Lumen. PHOTO: Supplied/Louise van Wyk
The Stellenbosch Academy was thrilled by the news, said Wessie van der Westhuizen, a lecturer in Multimedia Design Studies at Stellenbosch Academy.
“The [awards are] a big international accolade for design and advertising agencies and schools alike,” said Van der Westhuizen.
Having these awards is a fantastic achievement for the academy, he said.
The Young Ones Student Awards aims to identify young creative talents from across the globe. GRAPHIC: Facebook/The One Club for Creativity
According to Louise van Wyk, marketing manager for Stellenbosch Academy, the institution tries to get their students involved in international competitions to benchmark the quality of their work.
“We have had student portfolio winners in the past with the Young Ones Student Awards and some of our lecturers have been invited to serve on the judging panel in recent years,” said Van Wyk.