Professor Evangelos Moustakas
Dean of Creative Industries & Communication
Dean's Message
Welcome to the Department of Creative Industries.
Art and creativity are crucial in shaping our identities, helping us grow as individuals and as a community. At the Department of Creative Industries, we provide our students with an immersive, dynamic, and collaborative learning environment ready to explore innovative possibilities in their creative projects. Creative Industries are a crucial contributor to the global economy and play a significant role in generating wealth and employment opportunities by developing and producing intellectual property (IP). A wide range of sectors and sub-sectors fall under the umbrella of cultural and creative industries, including museums, archaeological and historical places, music, performing arts, festivals and fairs, photography, film, TV and radio, interactive media, video games, fashion, graphic design, product design, interior and landscape, advertising services and even IT and software. The Creative Industries are rapidly becoming one of the most promising economic sectors, driven by diverse and dynamic economic and socio-cultural shifts across local, regional, and global economies – with the potential to create jobs through innovation and cultural diversity, making a significant contribution to the growth and development of economies.
The Department of Creative Industries is uniquely aligned with the UAE National Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries, which aims to promote the growth of the cultural and creative industries sector and increase its contribution to 5 percent of the national GDP by 2031. According to the 'fDi Markets' 2023 report by the Financial Times, Dubai ranked first in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Index as the top destination for job creation and capital inflows in the cultural and creative industries (CCI) sector out of 115 other destinations in the report confirming its competitiveness as a global capital of the creative economy. This achievement places Dubai ahead of major global cities such as London, New York, and Singapore. This highlights the strong emphasis on positioning UAE as a global cultural and creative hub, inspiring the next generation of creative thinkers and attracting cultural talents and creative entrepreneurs worldwide.
Our unique Bachelor of Arts in Creative Industries program resonates with UAE’s cultural agenda and, most importantly, our partners’ needs and aspirations. As part of our degree, we educate our students and build connections between the growing creative industries in Canada, UAE, and internationally. This interdisciplinary program blends various creative fields into one degree, including leadership for the media business, the music industry, events and live entertainment and communications. The learnings are through practical applications that incorporate creative entrepreneurship projects, industry internships, and, moreover, the opportunity to study in Canada.
Through our collaborative creative work in the United Arab Emirates, we build strong relationships between artists, producers, festivals, curators, and entrepreneurs in Canada and their UAE counterparts. We also curate a significant number of innovative interdisciplinary projects in creative industries. Our graduates go on to make meaningful contributions to art and design globally, whether in industry, academia, or government, carrying with them the creative ethos we cultivate at CUD.
