In Singapore, the government is actively promoting the media industry, including the digital media industry-which encompasses the production of electronic games as one aspect. The digital media industry in Singapore is expected to contribute a value add of S$10 billion per year by 2018².
To meet the potential needs of this growing game industry. Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Hong Kong-based game company. TQ global Ltd, are collaborating to offer a Master of Engineering degree, with special focus in Game Development. This joint effort will serve to provide continuous training and development of talents in this field, thus reinforcing support for Singapore’s efforts in the interactive and digital media industry.
This programme, offered by NTU’s School of Computer Engineering (SCE), recently started with a pioneer intake of six students. An annual intake of at least ten students is expected over the next five years. The programme is conducted by research and candidature duration is two years. A full sponsorship for the programme by TQ Global is also offered to the graduate students. Who need to serve a two-year bond with the company upon graduation.
The programme is unique because it offers graduate students an opportunity to be immersed in both academic and industry environments as part of the training. There will be actual commercial projects which students undertake as part of their programme requirements. This collaboration will also result in research work by both SCE faculty and students, together with TQ Global engineers into Commercial game development and creation of next-generation console game titles for the game market worldwide. Through this collaboration, NTU is one of the first tertiary education institutions in Asia where the students have access to Xbox360 development kits for use in game development research work.
With this collaboration, SCE will work with TQ Global who is investing a total of S$3 million over the next six years to train aspiring game developers. The S$3 million investment will be used for the sponsorship of students’ course fees, stipends and other miscellaneous resources for the students’ projects. SCE faculty and students will also have industrial attachment opportunities at TQ studios. This collaboration is also supported by the Media Development Authority of Singapore.
|