{"id":143829,"date":"2024-11-06T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T15:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=143829"},"modified":"2024-11-05T12:23:36","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T17:23:36","slug":"ucf-partners-with-universal-creative-to-inspire-next-generation-of-themed-entertainment-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-partners-with-universal-creative-to-inspire-next-generation-of-themed-entertainment-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Partners with Universal Creative to Inspire Next Generation of Themed Entertainment Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summer, Universal Creative gave 16 students from the University of Central Florida (UCF) a behind-the-scenes look at creating a world-class theme park as part of the UCF Creative Lab<\/a>. First introduced in 2023, this is the first-ever themed experiences program<\/a> offered anywhere. Its unique immersive learning experience allows students to gain insight directly from the industry\u2019s top professionals.<\/p>\n

Universal Creative is responsible for bringing to life the most relevant stories and popular characters through innovative attractions, immersive destinations and more at Universal Destinations & Experiences locations around the world.<\/p>\n

Each semester, students join the Universal Creative team on-site at Universal Orlando Resort, where they learn first-hand what it takes to develop theme park rides and experiences, including the upcoming new Universal Epic Universe theme park.<\/p>\n

Universal Creative Team Members also participate as speakers and as part of panel sessions where they share their areas of expertise. These focus areas include storytelling, design, engineering and safety, legal, budgeting, business analytics and other key skills needed when creating an attraction. Over 90 speakers from Universal Creative have participated since the program\u2019s inception.<\/p>\n

\u201cUniversal has gone above and beyond what I had originally proposed for the class,\u201d says Peter Weishar, founding director of UCF\u2019s themed experiences program<\/a>. \u201cThey\u2019re showing us projects in progress like Epic Universe. They\u2019re talking to us transparently about challenges they had and things they would have done differently. That kind of access is invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the benefits of the program being in Central Florida is that this is the epicenter for themed entertainment<\/a>,\u201d says Chris Oliver, vice president of engineering and safety for Universal Creative. \u201cThe students are learning from those who are creating the future of this rapidly growing industry. We try and show them everything that\u2019s involved in creating and building attractions, to get holistic exposure from ideation to completion.\u201d<\/p>\n