Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW) 2024 will host the inaugural Games Education Symposium – a new, free event designed to illuminate the power of games as educational tools. The Victorian Government-developed event, subtitled “Careers and Frontiers” will feature two days of networking and learning, bringing together games industry professionals, teachers, and students.
On day one, secondary students and teachers will have the chance to learn from games industry professionals, with talks focussed on career opportunities, and the “intersection between video games and the wider world.” A major focus will be on games for social good, and there will also be roundtable mentoring sessions for developers to share their own experiences with creating games and forging meaningful careers.
The second day of the program will be focussed on networking between game studios, developers, and tertiary institutions, with a focus on the future of games. One panel will focus on the nature of game jobs and whether or not they’re “real,” and there will also be talks on how to train for the jobs of the future, without a magical crystal ball.
As part of this second day, there will also be a special “Tertiary Hackathon” taking place, where tertiary students will “harness the spirit of ‘games for good’ to develop positive solutions to real world challenges.”
Read: Should you still pursue a career in the games industry?
There appears to be strong enthusiasm for the launch of this event, with ample support from the Victorian Government, and the organisers of Melbourne International Games Week.
“Victoria is Australia’s digital games leader and as the global digital games industry continues to expand this symposium will ensure we remain at the forefront as a place that trains, fosters and retains the next generation of highly skilled, industry-ready games leaders,” Colin Brooks, Minister for Creative Industries said in a press release.
“We are thrilled to back this symposium and we encourage students, educators and anyone curious about a career in the games industry to take advantage of this free and inspiring event,” Ben Carroll, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education added.
As announced, the first Games Education Symposium will take place between 3-4 October 2024 near Federation Square and ACMI in Melbourne, Australia. You can learn more about the event on the ACMI website.
