The Austrade Short Film Competition was launched at the University yesterday by Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Trade Anthony Byrne.
Mr Byrne, the MP for the electorate of Holt in the south-east of Melbourne, addressed staff and students from the faculties of Business and Law and Arts, Education and Human Development at the Footscray Park Campus.
He said the aim of the competition, open to Australian higher education students and young film producers, was to encourage marketing and multimedia students to produce short films that address trade and investment opportunities.
Films should focus on:
- Cross-cultural communications skills required for specific markets and regions
- The adaptation of products to the particular tastes, culture or laws of a market
- Investment strategies for market entry
- Managing staff in offshore locations
- Corporate and social responsibility in business
Successful films would supplement the range of multimedia teaching resources produced by Austrade as part of its Exporting for the Future (EFF) program.
In her welcoming address, Associate Professor Anne-Marie Hede, from the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Marketing, said VU had built strong links with Austrade in recent years, providing research expertise and developing higher education resources.
"In turn, Austrade has been supportive of Victoria University, providing input into course reviews in international trade and marketing to ensure our programs are highly relevant and current."
Mr Byrne said Australia was well known around the globe for "punching above our weight" in overseas trade. "We are widely regarded as a good place to do business," he said.
This was in part due to our recent success in weathering the Global Financial Crisis, but our reputation had been built over many years because of the resilience of our economy and the stability and flexibility this provided overseas investors and importers.
There will be six prizes of $500 for state winners of the film competition and a national prize of $2000 for the overall winner. Entry details are available here.
Anthony Byrne at the launch
