Animation, Games Design & VFX students at Sunderland College are to benefit from a £30,000 technology donation by a leading games developer.
Through Creative Assembly’s award-winning industry outreach programme, the Legacy Project, 50 students from across the UK will be given high-performance laptops to support their education through COVID-19 and beyond.
To help combat the additional barriers the global pandemic has caused, especially for students from lower-income families, Creative Assembly has donated over £30,000 of brand-new laptops that can run specialised games industry software applications.
Sunderland College and Hartlepool Sixth Form will receive 10 of the devices, which will be distributed to first and second-year students who are most in need.
Matt Hall, NextGen Course Leader, said: “Access to technology is sometimes assumed when not everyone is as fortunate to have technology powerful enough to explore and learn Animation, Games Design and VFX skills.
“Just having that access is giving students the freedom to develop their skills and push them to achieve their potential.”
NextGen Skills Academy estimate that around 25% of Level 3 Extended Diploma students at colleges in the North East, Merseyside, Leicestershire and Greater London, do not have access to a laptop or suitable hardware at home, which is in line with the growing UK child poverty figures.
Marcia Deakin, Games Partnership Director at NextGen Skills Academy, added: “I, and all members of NextGen, would like to thank Creative Assembly for their generous donation.
“The global pandemic and lockdown highlighted the vital need for students to have access to quality technology to be able to engage with and continue their learning. This donation will make a massive positive difference in the wellbeing and studies of our students without access to appropriate technology.
It will allow them to develop their creative skills and complete their studies, without the stress of not being able to access all the hardware and software needed to fulfil their potential.“
In addition to the donation, as part of a long-term partnership, Creative Assembly – the multi-award– winning BAFTA UK games studio behind Total War, Alien: Isolation and Halo Wars 2 – is a member of the strategic Employer Steering Group and supports delivery of the NextGen AIM Qualifications Level 3 Extended Diploma in Games, Animation and VFX.
Through this, Creative Assembly provides masterclasses and sets project tasks for students, offering real industry guidance, feedback and mentorship.
Emma Smith, Head of Talent at Creative Assembly said: “One of the goals of the Legacy Project is to break down the barriers to education and enable more diverse talent to pursue a game development career.
“There are so many young talented students who are disadvantaged due to the lack of access to quality technology, and this has been amplified during the global pandemic. We want to play our part in addressing these inequalities through providing technology and expert mentorship.“
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98% of our students progress to a positive destination
(*Destination data for Sunderland College students aged 16-18, academic year 2017/18).
Our achievement rates are well above the national average.
We are the College of the Year.
(*Top college nationally for BTECs, Pearson 2019)
100% of our HND and HNC students progressed to employment or further study.
(*Destination data, academic year 2016/17, HNC 19+)
We have recently invested £50 million in our facilities.
