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A new program announced today to boost Queensland’s rising digital workforce will see Griffith University working alongside local creators to produce global YouTube content.

Launched by Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade Jackie Trad, the $900,000 Queensland Creative Entrepreneurship Program will see YouTube teaming up with Queensland Government, Griffith University’s LiveLab and QUT to offer content creators the skills they need to take on the world.

According to LiveLab Creative Director Richard Fabb, this type of collaboration is a first for YouTube and will allow students to work closely with leading talent to produce content for the world’s “go-to video platform”.

“This is where students watch content and increasingly it is the place where they can create content too,” he explains.

“LiveLab is about providing opportunities for students to learn in industry and to produce work that finds an audience and this Creative Entrepreneurship Program does both – partnering with some of Queensland’s best YouTube creators to make content that can reach a potentially huge audience worldwide.”

Program elements, to be backed by $750,000 of funding over three years from the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland initiative, include:

Creator Original Awards, which will provide cash grants to leading creators each year to help them develop and enhance the quality of their digital content for YouTube and expand their global presence. YouTube will arrange for a handful of these creators to participate in a training trip to the YouTube Space in Los Angeles. For successful program applicants, Griffith University and QUT will provide access to state-of-the-art production facilities and equipment, project mentoring, and specialist support in bringing the creator’s ideas and projects to life.

Creator Days, to be hosted by Griffith University and QUT, will bring together YouTube experts, entrepreneurs, producers, content creators, industry partners and universities several times a year to learn, collaborate and bring successful projects to life.

YouTube Top Creator Visits, which will bring globally successful digital content creators to Queensland to share their expertise.

In addition, Screen Queensland has committed first-year funding of $150,000 for an initiative to match mainstream screen producers with top local YouTube creators.

Sanoop Luke, YouTube Partnerships Manager, Asia Pacific said the new program would help even more Australian voices reach global audiences.

“Queensland is home to some of the world’s leading YouTube creators,” he said.

“This initiative with the Queensland Government will help supercharge these creative entrepreneurs by providing funding, education and support for the production of new online content.”

Griffith University Deputy Vice Chancellor (Engagement), Professor Martin Betts, said Griffith is delighted to be part of the creative entrepreneurship program.

“The global reach of YouTube means the work of our students can find a potentially huge audience,” he said. “It’s great to be supporting Advance Queensland and working with colleagues at QUT and Screen Australia to build a sustainable screen industry and digital economy.”

LiveLab is the commercial production arm of Griffith Film School operating as an in-house production studio, the only one of its kind in Australia, offering students a unique opportunity to work in the industry while still studying.

These students are already showcasing their work to a global audience with a current YouTube project, Fruit Ninja Nation, a 13-part series of videos that go behind the scenes of the super successful digital game Fruit Ninja.

Created by Brisbane company Halfbrick, Fruit Ninja is one of the most downloaded games of all time on mobile devices, with more than one billion downloads since its launch in 2010.

The Queensland Creative Entrepreneurship program opens early 2016.