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Teesside University’s undergraduate degree in Computer Games Programming has become the sixth UK course to be recognised as valuable by the UK skills council Skillset.
The BSc accreditation was awarded by influential body Skillset, the UK’s Sector Skills Council for the Creative Media Industries. Skillset has strong ties with the games industry and is chaired by renowned developer veteran David Braben.
“We welcome Teesside’s BSc in Computer Games Programming joining the list of accredited courses,” said Frontier founder Braben. “The panel found facilities are excellent and students also benefit from strong links with local games companies, through industry placements and industry facing events. There is also a good emphasis on games development teamwork embedded in the course.”
UK game-related courses have mushroomed in recent times, though unfortunately many of them have divided opinion.
Though Tiga CEO Richard Wilson has maintained a positive outlook on the UK’s catalogue of game design courses, early this year Eidos life president Ian Livingstone said that UK universities ‘are not producing enough of the type of people we need. The industry needs mathematicians, physicists and artists.’
Skillset’s accreditation scheme has been created with the games industry as a way of signposting which courses can actually aid students in a meaningful way.
So far, only the University of Abertay Dundee, the University of the West of Scotland, Glamorgan Centre for Art & Design Technology and the University of Hull have received accreditation for their courses.
Kate O’Connor, Skillset’s executive director of Policy and Development, said: “A very big congratulations to Teesside University, which has gone the extra mile to involve the computer industry in the course. The accreditation panel was particularly impressed with Teesside’s links with regional companies like Eutechnyx and Ubisoft, as well as the maturity of the students’ work.”
Dr Derek Simpson, Dean of the University of Teesside’s School of Computing, said: "I am delighted for the School of Computing and the team to have gained Skillset approval for our BSc in Computer Games Programming.
We are very strong believers in external accreditation and this approval sits alongside our Skillset accreditation for animation, our Skillset Academy status and our British Computer Society accreditation. We look forward to continuing our strong and positive links with Skillset in the future."
