Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Congratulations to Rising Sun Pictures and the University of Adelaide, which won the creative industries and international education and training awards at last night’s Australian Exporter of the Year Awards, held in Canberra.
The national awards recognise Australia’s most successful exporters, with 12 South Australian businesses reaching their category finals after winning their categories at the South Australian Business Chamber 2019 South Australian Exporter of the Year Awards in October.
Visual effects studio Rising Sun Pictures was recognised for its work on feature films and series. Over the past year it has contributed visual effects to Ford v Ferrari, Spider-Man: Far From Home, X‑Men: Dark Phoenix, Dumbo, Captain Marvel, Alita: Battle Angel and The Predator, as well as several Chinese productions. Its clients include 20th Century Fox, Disney, Marvel, Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros, as well as Chinese film companies. Since its inception in 1995, staff numbers have increased from 4 to 180.
International education is South Australia’s largest services industry export. In 2018, international students made up 29 per cent of the University of Adelaide’s student body of 27,000. It plans to grow this significantly over the next decade by focusing on regions including Africa, the Americas, Latin America, the Middle East and Oceania.
The university is also increasing investment in online learning, blended model delivery and delivery of content in international markets as intensive training programs. It also employs world-leading researchers, generating outcomes in areas from sustainable food production to a healthier climate, improved health and well-being and cleaner energy sources.
The 2019 Australian Exporter of the Year went to Brisbane-based professional services firm Populous, which is world-renowned for designing iconic venues such as Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London and the Yankee Stadium in New York.
The South Australian Business Chamber Chief Executive Martin Haese said export growth was critical to South Australia’s economic future, and both Rising Sun Pictures and the University of Adelaide were leading the way by growing their presence in competitive international markets.
“Rising Sun Pictures and the University of Adelaide exemplify excellence in exporting, by showing entrepreneurship and innovation, with targeted growth strategies and an ability to think way beyond our borders,” Mr Haese said. “We congratulate them for their dedication to South Australia and for taking that leap into challenging and competitive markets.”
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Simon Birmingham, said exporters created more Australian jobs and made a huge contribution to our economy.
“Businesses that export hire 23 per cent more staff, pay 11 per cent higher wages and have labour productivity that is 13 per cent higher than non-exporting firms. That’s why we continue to back our 53 000 exporters by providing more opportunities through expanding our network of free trade agreements,” Minister Birmingham said.
