Abertay signs exciting agreement with Perfect World
Abertay University has signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with Perfect World Education, a subsidiary of China’s leading entertainment and creative enterprise Perfect World Investment & Holding Group, at the UK-China Creative Innovators Forum, in Shanghai, providing a platform for collaboration and cultural exchange in computer game education.
Aimed at fostering new talent and further promoting games education on a global scale, Abertay has developed, and will support the delivery of a bespoke orientation course, the Master of Professional Practice in Games Development Orientation Programme (MPPOP), which will be taught in Perfect World’s new digital arts school in, Beijing, China.
The five-month programme prepares Chinese students for entering the MProf Games Development programme on campus in Dundee.
The agreement has resulted in Abertay being the only academic institution to be highlighted as part of this year’s UK-China High Level People to People Dialogue achievements – annual, ministerial-level talks held between the two countries.
Professor Nigel Seaton, Abertay’s Principal, was in Shanghai today to formally sign the cooperation agreement with senior members of Perfect World Education, including president, Wang Yuyun.
Professor Nigel Seaton said, ‘I am delighted that Abertay University and Perfect World Education have agreed a strategic partnership to develop and nurture new talent to meet the demands of the international computer games industry.
‘China has a rapidly expanding games development sector, and is now the second largest market for UK game exports.
‘As Europe’s leading university for computer games education, we are ideally placed to foster university-business links in this area, and we are confident it will prove to be a great success for both the UK and Chinese creative industries.’
Wang Yuyun, President of Perfect World Education, said, ‘We are very pleased to have reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Abertay University and are looking forward to the mutual benefits in the fields of design and development.
‘We believe Abertay is the ideal partner for a project like this. It is the top ranked games university in Europe, and its staff have over 75 years combined experience in developing some of the most iconic games the world has seen, including Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings.
‘Dundee is also the birthplace of these, and many more games. It has a thriving games development industry, and these links will prove very valuable to the education of students undertaking the MPPOP and MProf programmes.’
The signing took place at the UK-China Creative Innovators Forum, an event held by the UK Department for International Trade and the Chinese State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
It was witnessed by Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, who attended the forum, along with senior creative executives from both countries and stars of the gaming world, including Dominic Cooper, who appears in the big screen adaptation of Warcraft.
For further information, please contact Abertay’s PR Manager, Graeme Bletcher – (01382) 308142, g.bletcher@abertay.ac.uk.
