iACADEMY Receives Center of Excellence Recognition from Toon Boom

1/21/19


Filipino animators are making a name in the global animation industry. These successful artists serve as inspiration to aspiring young animation students in the country. There is no doubt that we are a talented race but in order to be at par with the experts, these students need to be trained and educated.

The biggest names in global animation and entertainment (Sony, Lucasfilm, Dreamworks, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon, etc.)  all use one leading animation software/platform: Toon Boom. 

There is only one school in Southeast Asia and only one school in the Philippines has a Center of Excellence (CoE) when it comes to teaching young and aspiring Filipino animators to become experts at Toon Boom. That school is iACADEMY. 

Getting a CoE from Toon Boom means that iACADEMY is fully qualified and equipped to expertly teach its animation students how to make full use of the Toon Boom platform to create world-class animation productions. 

While other schools can use Toon Boom in their animation classes, they are neither certified nor qualified to use 100 percent of the platform. These schools can only teach their students 1/8th of Toon Boom’s amazing capabilities. 

On January 17, 2019, iACADEMY received the Center of Excellence (CoE) recognition from Toon Boom. This is a game-changing milestone for the institution as it is the very first Toon Boom CoE to ever be awarded to an educational institution in Southeast Asia and in the Philippines. 

Initially, iACADEMY did not apply for the CoE. It was Mr. Bernard Boiteux, Toon Boom Asia Pacific Director of Sales, who suggested the idea. After learning that iACADEMY included Toon Boom in its curriculum, Boiteux approached Peter Brown, faculty of Animation Department of iACADEMY, and suggested that the school aim for getting a Center for Excellence status. 

The Toon Boom CoE is awarded to academic institutions that offer exceptional courses in Animation and Storyboarding with Toon Boom software as their program platform. 

In its School of Design, iACADEMY uses Toon Boom Harmony 16 in the Anipri (2-5), Thesis (1-3), and 2D Effects animation courses. On the other hand, iACADEMY uses Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 6 in its Storyboarding (1- 2) and Thesis 1 subjects. 

The awarding was attended by iACADEMY’s president and CEO Vanessa L. Tanco, along with the institution’s School of Design Dean Mark Meily, Animation Department Chair Prof. Weena Espardinez, and Animation Department Prof. Peter Brown. Toon Boom representatives present at the event included Toon Boom Asia Pacific Director of Sales Mr. Bernard Boiteux, and Mr. Aymeric Pons, Toon Boom Sales Head for Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, and Taiwan.