Eduardo Giusto pauses for a moment when we asked him what stood out most about SAE Sync. Then he smiles.
“The room was buzzing,” he says. “People were moving, asking questions, laughing. You could feel that something was happening.”
We are talking a few days after SAE Sync, the end of year showcase where SAE students presented their final projects to peers, families, industry guests and the wider public. What was meant to be a simple celebration quickly became something more, a live snapshot of student creativity in motion.
SAE Sync is designed to give students space to bring their work out of the classroom and into the real world. Not as slides or submissions, but as experiences people can see, hear and interact with.
“This is about celebrating the heart and work students put in across the year,” Giusto says. “It’s not just about the final output. It’s about the journey that got them there.”
Projects you could play, watch and hear
Walking through the showcase, visitors were met with a mix of disciplines sharing the same space. In one area, game development students invited people to sit down and play five different games. Controllers were passed around as students explained mechanics, creative choices and technical challenges while their work unfolded on screen.
“It was very practical,” Giusto explains. “People weren’t being told what the game was. They were playing it.”
Nearby, animation students talked through their final projects, while content creation students delivered more structured presentations in a dedicated room. Tutors sat in the audience, asking questions and pushing students to articulate their ideas clearly.
Film screenings formed another focal point of the evening. Three short films, each between 15 and 20 minutes long, were introduced by the directors and production teams behind them. After each screening, audiences stayed for Q&A sessions, asking about inspiration, collaboration, production challenges and what might come next.
In the audio studios, the doors were open. Students showcased recording, mixing and mastering projects, often involving full bands. With sessions visible on screen, visitors could see exactly how tracks were built, adjusted and refined, guided by students who had spent months shaping the sound.
Hearing from outside the classroom
One of the most valuable elements of SAE Sync was the presence of industry guests, including Hannes, a music producer, songwriter, and composer who has run his own studio in East London for over a decade.
A classically trained multi-instrumentalist and graduate of the prestigious Tonmeister programme at the Music University of Vienna, Hannes has built a diverse body of work spanning left-field pop, improvised and experimental music, contemporary jazz, classical composition, and film scoring.
Over the years, he has collaborated with artists such as Laetitia Sadier, Tim Hecker, Marshall Allen, Neneh Cherry, Farida Amadou, and Bobby Conn.
He moved through the space, attended presentations and spent time speaking with students, particularly those working in audio.
“For students, that external feedback really matters,” Giusto says. “They’ve been working closely with tutors all year, so hearing another professional perspective is huge.”
It was also an opportunity to begin building networks early, to understand how student work translates beyond education and into professional environments.
“This is how you start connecting study with what comes after,” Giusto adds. “It’s a bridge.”
Collaboration in real time
SAE Sync was not limited to one cohort or one institution. Students and staff from SAE and ICMP attended, reflecting collaborations developed earlier in the year, particularly in games and audio. Some ICMP students were invited directly by SAE students they had previously worked with.
First year students also attended, many seeing this kind of showcase for the first time.
“They didn’t fully know what to expect,” Giusto says. “But they left understanding what the end of the year could look like for them.”
That sense of shared experience extended beyond the work itself. With coffee and tea at the start of the evening, pizza midway through and a celebratory toast at the end, the showcase felt as much like a community gathering as a formal event.
“It was a celebration,” Giusto says. “And the timing helped, close to the end of the year, close to Christmas. It brought people together.”
Bigger, better and growing
If SAE Sync felt energetic, it was partly because the space was full. Capacity was quickly reached, and that has already shaped plans for the future.
“This was the smaller intake finishing in December,” Giusto explains. “When we get to the next one, there will be more students, more projects, more interest.”
Future editions of SAE Sync are set to be bigger and better, with larger venues, more disciplines involved and stronger industry presence. There is also potential for prospective students and offer holders to attend, offering a clear view of what studying at SAE can lead to.
“As the student community grows, this event has to grow with it,” Giusto says. “There’s so much room to build on what we started here.”
For now, SAE Sync stands as a snapshot of student creativity at its most alive, not hidden in folders or submissions, but shared, discussed and celebrated.
Discover Your Creative Journey at SAE
SAE Sync offers a glimpse of what students can achieve through hands on learning, collaboration and industry focused education. To experience SAE for yourself, explore our courses and book an open day to see where your creative journey could begin.
