TIGA Publishes Free 'Leap 2014' Report to Help More Students Make the Jump to Employment Straight Out of University

LONDON, March 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

TIGA, the network for developers and digital publishers, and trade association representing the UK videogames industry has published a new report following the 'Leap' education and HR event in 2014 in partnership with Winchester School of Art.

The purpose of Leap was to bring together university and college games development course leaders with heads of recruitment from some of the UK's top games development studios, to discuss what studios need from a graduate to be able to say "you're hired".

TIGA's Leap report shares the key points raised and insights learned from that discussion and covers:

• what games development studios and recruiters want from students;
• what games development studios and recruiters want from universities;
• what universities want from games development studios;
• how to get the HR basics right;
• how universities are innovating now, and;
• how industry, education and government are working together.

Key insights included in the report and exemplified with relevant university case studies, are as follows:

• above all else, studios value students that have made and launched a game;
• studios ideally want 'T-shape' graduates, with a breadth of skills and depth in a particular specialism;
• to stand out students must show evidence of commitment and networking beyond their degree;
• teamwork and project management skills are regarded as essential;
• removing the silos between different courses and subjects could help raise the quality of students' creative output;
• developers would like to see a more holistic approach that includes some business training commercial sense instilled from day one;
• universities and students benefit greatly from industry practitioner guest lecturers;
• a slick portfolio and online presence is an absolute necessity for students;
• studios want students with a specific passion for their specialism, rather than a jack-of-all trades who just wants to work in games;
• key initiatives developers and universities can get involved with include BUGS, The Next Gen Skills Academy, and TIGA University and College Accreditation;
• taking a proactive approach to encouraging diversity makes good business sense for educators and employers alike; and;
• taking a 'startup year out' and setting up and running an actual business can be a transformative experience for students.

You can access TIGA's free Leap 2014 report via this link.

Ashok Ranchhod, Reader in Marketing Communications at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, said:

"A continual challenge facing educators today is how to make our courses as relevant as possible, which is especially challenging in an industry as fast-paced and high-tech as videogames.

"Part of the reason we joined TIGA is because of this challenge and because we too now offer a videogames degree - Game Design & Art. As such, we are also focused on becoming a hub of brilliant games design in our own right and building stronger links with industry, and events like Leap provide an excellent opportunity for us to discuss and learn how to do so.

"I would like to encourage games students and anyone working in higher education related to videogames to take a look at this excellent free report, which I hope will help them take their course and their career to the next level."

Dr Richard Wilson, CEO, TIGA, comments:

"Supporting the higher education sector is a key goal for TIGA given the sector's great importance to the UK's economy and society. It is vital that the UK Government does all it can to support and invest in this hugely valuable sector.

"This report contains a great deal of excellent advice for universities and colleges that arose from the discussion at Leap 2014, and should prove equally useful for students hoping to secure a job in the highly competitive UK videogames industry.

"It was enormously encouraging to see the shared commitment to continual improvement and innovation from educators and employers alike. I hope the initiatives we discussed, such as BUGS and the TIGA Accreditation System will continue to bring the worlds of academia and industry ever closer together."

About TIGA   

TIGA is 90% funded by independent UK businesses. 80% of our board members are developers and/or from UK owned businesses, and 50% of our board are UK business owners themselves. Since 2010, TIGA has won 22 business awards.

TIGA focuses on three sets of activities:

• Political representation
• Media representation
• Business services

This enhances the competitiveness of our members by providing benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities. It also means our members' voices are heard in the corridors of power and positively represented in national, broadcast and UK video game trade media.

Get in touch:

• Tel: +44-(0)845-468-2330
• Email: info@tiga.org
• Web: http://www.tiga.org
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tigamovement
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TIGAMovement
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/tiga

For further information, you can also contact:

Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: +44-(0)7875-939-643, or email: richard.wilson@tiga.org
Drew Field, TIGA Communications Director on: +44-(0)7720-643-344, or email drew.field@tiga.org