Several universities have teamed up in the UK to create the Game Republic Academy, and they say that this program is their solution to the UK talent drought. Wait, there’s a drought?
Yorkshire’s Bradford, Hull, and Sheffield Hallam universities are teaming for this, and local games trade association Game Republic and screen agency Screen Yorkshire have committed £120,000 towards the program, fueling it for two years. The program is looking for game companies to provide even more funds in the future.
This program provides sponsorship for budding game developers from around the world to study for a master’s in game development in the region. They provide up to £3,000 to each student, and promise to work closely with the games industry to keep courses relevant. This academy is backed by Rockstar, Team 17, and Sumo Digital, and will employ students under this program during the summer months as well as during their final year of study. That’s a pretty nice work experience setup.
The course load has students bouncing to all of the schools: the University of Bradford is where they go for their master’s in AI for Games, Hull for Games Programming, and the Entertainment Software degree at Sheffield Hallam.
Jonathan Purdy, director of games studies at the University of Hull, said: “We are very pleased to be involved in the Game Republic Academy and are particularly please to have the support and backing of the games industry.”
“This collaboration should ensure that the brightest talent is given the training and resources required to pursue a career in the computer games industry.”
[via Develop]
