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Games:Edu
Industry-Ready Graduates: Bridging the Gap Between Game Education and Studio Expectations
With game development education often sold as a direct route into exciting careers, are we truly preparing students for the realities of the industry—or setting them up with false expectations?
Drawing from his background as an educator of Game Development, former Global Learning and Development Manager at Cloud Imperium Games, and now the Head of The Game Assembly UK. Matt Wilson shares insights from both education and studio life. Having taught at every level and worked cross-culturally with teams around the world, Matt brings a unique perspective on how to truly prepare aspiring developers for the demands of modern studios.
Until recently, studios were increasingly looking to European graduates, drawn to their discipline-specific, production-focused training. While rising costs and visa demands are changing that landscape, there’s still a lot to learn from how these institutions embed real-world skills and professional mindset into their teaching.
In this session, Matt explores what “industry-ready” really means today—from mindset and collaboration to production literacy—and how we can evolve UK education to deliver it.
Session Takeaway
- Learn what can be adopted from the methods and approaches used by leading European game schools to strengthen employability
- Define what “industry-ready” really means today, beyond qualifications
- Explore actionable ways education can better align with studio expectations through mindset, discipline focus, and practical experience
Practical Solutions Panel: Insights from the Experts
A broad and expert panel from academia, industry and those that bridge the two, will provide a unique overview of the support mechanisms, solutions and frameworks they have used and provide to successfully deliver and capitalise on the challenges and opportunities we are facing. This will be flowed by a Q & A session and provides a grounding to the final workshop.
Session Takeaway
- A series of applied solutions to the problems both industry and academia are facing
- A chance to ask the experts about their experiences
Welcome: State of the Nation, Education and Industry Opportunities
Brief welcome and overview of the Games:Edu track from Dr Tom Cole and Laurence Oldham.
Followed by an expert panel, focusing on the challenges and opportunities for education and industry. The panel will bring their diverse perspectives and many years of practical experience to provide a grounded view of where we are today and where we could be. This will be followed by a Q & A session and provide a solid foundation for the workshops and discussions that will be held throughout the day.
Session Takeaway
- A wide ranging view of the challenges and opportunities facing industry and education as seen and informed by the panel of experts
- A chance to ask the experts about their findings and experience
Workshop: Opportunities and Challenges
Working in groups of around six people, with a mix of academia, industry and those that bridge the two, this workshop will focus on collaboratively identifying and exploring the opportunities and challenges being faced by industry and academia.
Everyone will benefit from clearer communication of the challenges of one sector to the other. This session aims to encourage discussions, collaboration and reflection, and forge a clear understanding and common language around the challenges we are all facing. This will provide a group driven focus for the afternoon sessions where we will be looking at practical solutions to the opportunities identified.
Session Takeaway
- Discuss, share your own challenges and experiences with a broad range of people.
- Collaborative experience that builds both personal and practical links between industry and education.
- A clear understanding of the issues and opportunities faced by both industry and academia.
Workshop: Solutions
Working in groups of around six people, with a mix of academia, industry and those that bridge the two, this workshop will focus on exploring solutions to the challenges and opportunities faced by us all.
Everyone will benefit from clearer communication collaboration and visibility in tackling the challenges we face. This session aims to encourage discussions and collaboration with a strong focus on practical actionable results, sharing of experiences and models that have been found to be successful, as well as lessons learned from those that have not yielded results.
Please note there is no requirement to have attended the morning sessions
Session Takeaway
- Discuss and share your solutions and approaches to tackling the issues we are facing with a broad range of people.
- Collaborative experience that builds both personal and practical links between industry and education.
- A series of practical actions to apply to the challenges you are facing.
Workshop: Solutions Round-up
Working in groups of around six people, with a mix of academia, industry and those that bridge the two, this workshop will take the solutions derived from the workshops and the information garnered from the panel, to outline, challenge and refine potential solutions. These will then be presented to the broader group for feedback and input, leading to a series of practical proposals / approaches to the challenges and opportunities outlined earlier in the day.
Please note there is no requirement to have attended previous sessions
Session Takeaway
- Input on and interrogate solutions and approaches to tackling the issue we are facing with a broad range of people.
- Collaborative experience that builds both personal and practical links between Industry and Education
- A series of practical proposals and concrete ‘next steps’ to the challenges you are facing and people who can help with them.
