Skip to main content

Site navigation

  • University of Technology Sydney home
  • Home

    Home
  • For students

  • For industry

  • Research

Explore

  • Courses
  • Events
  • News
  • Stories
  • People

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Study at UTS

    • arrow_right_alt Find a course
    • arrow_right_alt Course areas
    • arrow_right_alt Undergraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Postgraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Research Masters and PhD
    • arrow_right_alt Online study and short courses
  • Student information

    • arrow_right_alt Current students
    • arrow_right_alt New UTS students
    • arrow_right_alt Graduates (Alumni)
    • arrow_right_alt High school students
    • arrow_right_alt Indigenous students
    • arrow_right_alt International students
  • Admissions

    • arrow_right_alt How to apply
    • arrow_right_alt Entry pathways
    • arrow_right_alt Eligibility
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for students

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Apply for a coursearrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Scholarshipsarrow_right_alt
  • Featured industries

    • arrow_right_alt Agriculture and food
    • arrow_right_alt Defence and space
    • arrow_right_alt Energy and transport
    • arrow_right_alt Government and policy
    • arrow_right_alt Health and medical
    • arrow_right_alt Corporate training
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Tech Central
    • arrow_right_alt Case studies
    • arrow_right_alt Research
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for industry

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Partner with usarrow_right_alt
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Explore our research
    • arrow_right_alt Research centres and institutes
    • arrow_right_alt Graduate research
    • arrow_right_alt Research partnerships
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for research

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Research centres and institutesarrow_right_alt
  • University of Technology Sydney home
Explore the University of Technology Sydney
Category Filters:
University of Technology Sydney home University of Technology Sydney home
  1. home
  2. arrow_forward_ios ... For students
  3. arrow_forward_ios ... Graduates (Alumni)
  4. arrow_forward_ios ... Your alumni community
  5. arrow_forward_ios ... Game-changing alumni
  6. arrow_forward_ios Media & the arts
  7. arrow_forward_ios Jake Duczynski

Jake Duczynski

explore
  • Media & the arts
    • arrow_forward bec & bridge
    • arrow_forward Caroline Meldrum-Hanna
    • arrow_forward Jake Duczynski
    • arrow_forward Maya Newell
Jake Duczynski smiling at the camera

Bachelor of Design in Animation (Hons), 2016
Designer, Animator and Director
UTS Young Alumni Award 2017

Although animator Jake Duczynski only recently graduated, he has long known about the beautiful synergy between Aboriginal culture and animation in the art of storytelling.

“Both use vivid imagery (paintings), sound (song) and kinetic energy (dance). Animation is the best way to translate and share this culture. One of the biggest changes in the industry is funding for Indigenous projects in an attempt to preserve what little culture remains after years of oppression.”
In the brief period since completing his studies, Jake has already begun to make an indelible impression on the Australian artscape, with his animation commemorating the 25th anniversary of the landmark Mabo High Court decision to be projected onto the outer skin of Sydney’s Maritime Museum this year.

No artist should forget the story or integrity of the art. With so much of our work online, you’re exposed to the best animators in the world – it keeps you humble and hungry.

This follows Jake and his small team at SBS winning the 2016 Walkley Award for Multimedia Storytelling and the award for Best Responsive Website at the SXSW Festival in Texas for their interactive animated Indigenous language app, My Grandmother’s Lingo. This unique animation immerses users in the story of a young Aboriginal woman from Ngukurr in the Northern Territory who is trying to save her native lingo (“Marra”) by learning from the dying elders in her community.

Jake believes interactive stories bridge imagination and reality, appeal to our curiosity, and enable us to share history. He credits the inspiration of his strong, loving family network for motivating him to reach wider audiences. Witnessing many of his relatives overcoming adversity has encouraged Jake to tell real life stories that provoke thought. Jake sees the challenges inherent in this, particularly in an animation industry that gives primacy to commerce over art.

“Like in many other fields, time is money – and so often production quality suffers because of this. There are plenty of animators and companies that are happy to churn out imitated garbage. They cash grab and forget about the story they’re telling or the integrity of the art itself.”

Animation is built on honesty, he explains. “No artist should forget about the story they’re telling or integrity of the art. With so much of our work online, you’re exposed to the best animators in the world – it keeps you humble and hungry.”

He thanks Deborah Szapiro, UTS lecturer and animator, for encouraging him to use animation to open minds, to be bold, and to understand there is no success in half measures.

“I’m eternally grateful to the animation tutors at UTS. They’re a mob who grew up respecting the traditional art form and the grind it takes to succeed. It’s what the course is built on, and why it’s breeding successful animators.”

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

University of Technology Sydney

City Campus

15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Get in touch with UTS

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

A member of

  • Australian Technology Network
Use arrow keys to navigate within each column of links. Press Tab to move between columns.

Study

  • Find a course
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • How to apply
  • Scholarships and prizes
  • International students
  • Campus maps
  • Accommodation

Engage

  • Find an expert
  • Industry
  • News
  • Events
  • Experience UTS
  • Research
  • Stories
  • Alumni

About

  • Who we are
  • Faculties
  • Learning and teaching
  • Sustainability
  • Initiatives
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Campus and locations
  • Awards and rankings
  • UTS governance

Staff and students

  • Current students
  • Help and support
  • Library
  • Policies
  • StaffConnect
  • Working at UTS
  • UTS Handbook
  • Contact us
  • Copyright © 2025
  • ABN: 77 257 686 961
  • CRICOS provider number: 00099F
  • TEQSA provider number: PRV12060
  • TEQSA category: Australian University
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility