GAMES:EDU:07 Announces Speakers

Author: by Beth A.

GAMES:EDU:07, the international conference for games education, has announced speakers from the leaders of the next generation gaming industry, including Microsoft, Epic Games, Evolution Studios, SCEE, Autodesk, Rare and Disney. Organised by Pixel-Lab and Tandem Events, the conference takes place as part of the Develop Conference in Brighton from Tuesday, July 24 to Friday, July 27. The conference, now in its second year, focuses on the current and future education needs of the computer games industry, bringing industry experts and educators together to encourage debate and the sharing of best practice. Last year saw over 120 delegates from across the globe networking, participating in workshops, and engaging with the world's top developers and publishers. Confirmed speakers for GAMES:EDU:07 include Epic Studios, Chris Satchell (Microsoft), Matt Southern (Evolution Studious), Michel Kripalani (Autodesk), Nick Burton (Rare / Microsoft Game Studios), Mike Gamble (Instinct Technologies), Jason Avent (Disney Interactive Studios), Chris Chilton (Skillset), and Rob Catto (FullSail). Supporting GAMES:EDU are some of the UK's foremost educators, and this year workshops will be led by the University of Abertay, the University of Glamorgan, and Full Sail from the States. Andy Sithers, Microsoft Academic Alliance, who will be speaking on the technology panel as well as supporting the event comments: "Microsoft is fully committed to helping develop academic work in games in the UK. GAMES:EDU is an excellent opportunity for academics and games developers to begin a conversation which will help keep the UK as a growing centre of excellence in the gaming industry to ensure graduates have the right skills and knowledge to enter into the industry and contribute to that success." Skillset, the sector skills council for the audiovisual industries, is fully supporting the one-day conference and will be discussing its future plans to develop the Computer Games Industry accreditation program. GAMES:EDU:07 features a series of case studies entitled: "The Skillset Sessions". This year they focus on how education can work better with the games industry, the overall aim being to develop the UK as the world's source of creative and innovative talent in the future for all forms of computer gaming. For more information, including registration, visit GAMES:EDU and Develop Conference.