Students Learn from the Pros at Amity University
Published: MEA
UAE: The new Amity University Dubai campus served as the venue for MediaCast’s first Learn from the Pros workshop of the new year. The session took the form of a DJ workshop for the university’s students, focusing upon products from Native Instruments, for which MediaCast serves as the regional distributor.
MediaCast audio specialist Joel Manarang started the event with a presentation that examined DJ technology, the needs of a DJ and Native Instruments’ products. This was followed by a live demonstration of how the manufacturer’s Traktor Kontrol S8 can be used to build in tracks and work up to a final track by MediaCast sales representative Benjamin Caranza.
Sami Shabazian, a student and DJ hobbyist, then took to the stage to perform a set using his own Traktor Kontrol S4, highlighting the simplicity of the manufacturer’s products. With the assistance of the MediaCast team, attendees were then able to trial the equipment, testing the different controls while mixing scratching and transitioning between tracks.
‘I’m thankful to MediaCast for organising this fruitful workshop, which not only introduced students to the practice of DJing but also explained the hardware and software used in developing skills and competencies in this field,’ said Dr Fazal Malik, head of the media, design and communications department at Amity University. ‘Our students were very excited and remained engaged. I’m sure this workshop has further enhanced the students’ interest in the subject and will encourage them to learn more to pursue a career in creative industries.’
‘Since Media programmes have just been introduced to the university, we were excited to have the opportunity to organise the first student workshop, where the students showed a lot of interest and curiosity, which only makes it more exciting for us,’ concluded Khadija Khalid of MediaCast. ‘We look forward to having more workshops in the near future at Amity.’