SAE Global President visits Jordan

The SAE Amman Campus is owned by LUMINUS Generations, a member of the LUMINUS Group.

Dr. Misner heralded His Majesty King Abdulla bin Hussein's vision for Jordan and said that one of the main reasons for SAE to choose Jordan as it 49th location was because of its emerging potential as a regional education hub and a regional communications industry.

SAE Amman Campus's student population will come from Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan and Northern Saudi Arabia. Dr. Misner said, "Safety, security, stability combined with His Majesty King Abdullah's and the government of Jordan's direction and investment in its human capital are significant trademarks to global organizations looking for expansion in the region. That's why SAE is here in Amman."

SAE Institute celebrated its 30th year of operation in 2007, and employs over 2,500 people worldwide. To date more than 250,000 students have graduated from the program from almost every corner of the world.

A dinner to welcome Dr. Misner to Jordan was hosted by H.E. Akel Biltaji, Senator and attended by H.E. Eng Bassem Roussan, Minister of Information and Communications Technology, H.E. Dr. Mohammed Halaiqa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Al Quds College, Mr. Greg Hull, Australian Trade Representative, Australian Embassy, Dr. Munib AL Saket, Deputy President, Al Balqa University, Mr. Radi Al Khas, CEO, Media City, Mr. Mohammed Olayyan, CEO of ATV, Mr. Ali Maher, Chairman of the Royal Film Commission, Mr. Faisal Schbul, CEO of JTV, Mr. Ibrahim Safadi, CEO LUMINUS Group and Dr. Mustapha Adwan, Dean of Al Quds College.

"We warmly welcome Dr. Misner and are thrilled that SAE Institute has chosen Jordan for its regional education hub for the Levant and North Africa. The SAE Amman Campus will open many doors for its students through providing international standards and certifications in film making, 3D animation, audio engineering and multi-media and web design which will add much value and support Jordan's continued positioning as a regional film making and broadcast hub, elevating the standards of our talent," said His Excellency Mr. Akel Biltaji.

Ms. Ruba Saqr, a renowned Jordanian musician who will release her first album soon, performed two of her latest songs for Dr. Misner and guests at the dinner, held at the Sawani Terrace, Grand Hyatt Hotel. As a surprise to his guests to thank them for their great Jordanian hospitality, Dr. Misner also took to the stage to 'jam' with the band on an electric guitar much to the delight of all who attended.

At the dinner Dr. Misner shared his personal business philosophy with the hundred plus guests from the radio, film, television and broadcast industry.

"When I started SAE 30 years ago, I had been looking for training that would help me grow as an audio practioner so that I could advance my own career. However, formal education in this industry did not exist at that time, so I began it with one school in Sydney, Australia. I wrote my own curriculum and opened the doors to students and the Institute grew from there. Over time I expanded the curriculum to cover the industry's needs and now we teach four main streams of education around the world- audio engineering, film making, 3D animation, multi media and web design. We also offer short courses and corporate training.

"Many people ask me, what is the secret of SAE's or my personal success? I am not sure the answer - but I think it is attributed to the fact that we deliver the kind of education that both the industry and our student's need- it's international, but also practical and hands-on and they learn on the industry's best equipment. In addition our students have bridging opportunities to take higher degrees or to work anywhere in the world," said Dr. Misner.

SAE's Amman campus will have the world's most state of the art equipment, of which 80% of Hollywood movie productions are used for post production work. The investment to date in SAE's Amman Campus, owned by the LUMINUS Group is a significant commitment.

I am very impressed with our partnership with Mr. Ibrahim Safadi and the LUMINUS Group. As such, I personally came to ensure the quality of the studios is perfect.

We want to ensure that the SAE Amman Campus gets our full support to enable success from day one. As well, SAE Institute has also hand picked the international faculty members for the Amman Campus and the Head of School, Mr. Marco Betteli is already based here in Amman to get the programs and facilitators up and running so that we can open for the October semester" said Dr. Misner.

Dr. Misner, H.E. Akel Biltaji and Mr. Ibrahim Al Safadi also met with Her Royal Highness, Princess Rhym Al Ali and the Royal Film Commission to express support of the emerging film industry in Jordan, discuss areas of mutual cooperation and to offer SAE Amman's help to continue to develop the talent within the industry. Dr. Misner also briefed Her Royal Highness on SAE's new regional scholarship program which is available to prospective students in the Levant and North Africa Region to enable them to study at SAE Amman Campus.

Other activities included a tour of Media City and meeting with Mr. Radi Al Khas, CEO, Media City, a tour of the Royal Automobile Museum, a trip to the Dead Sea and a series of media interviews.

"Jordan is an exciting country, and has a real buzz to it. I was very impressed by the quality of the people. The industry is vibrant and that will continue to grow and evolve. The SAE Amman Campus is here to support this industry, and produce the highest quality practioners in the world, and our Amman Campus is fully able to provide this. I am looking very forward to my return visit to Jordan to open the school in October," said Dr. Misner.