A leading arts academy, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, is closing a deal with Runway AI to make AI credits and training available for free to students covering a range of programmes, including the Hyper Cinema Lab.
Other tech arts programmes such as the Interactive Telecommunications Programme (ITP) and the Information Technology Management (ITM) will also be part of this arrangement.
Rubén Polendo, dean of Tisch School of the Arts, a recipient of the 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship for AI and Performance, pointed out in an interview with Hollywood Reporter that, “Our film programme has never been about teaching students to become cookie-cutter.
“Our film programmes teach many ways of making films and invite students to weave their own process. This is an invitation to try another mode of working,” he noted.
Runway also has licensing deals with some schools, including the University of Southern California (USC), offering training, free credits, and other incentives to use the tool.
CEO and co-founder of Runway and an alumnus of ITP, Cristóbal Valenzuela, told The Hollywood Reporter that, “Twenty years ago when you went to film school or art school, the thing they gave you was a camera and maybe an Adobe subscription,” adding that now the students are being given access to Runway, which allows them do pretty much anything they want. “For newer generations, this is the new normal,” he said.
