Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW), the largest games event in the Asia-Pacific region, will host its inaugural educational symposium on October 3-4, 2024. Developed by the Victorian Government as a collaboration between MIGW and the Department of Education, the ‘Games Education Symposium: Careers and Frontiers’ is an exciting new addition to Asia-Pacific’s largest digital games Celebration.

MIGW 2024 promises a bigger and better celebration of games than ever before for its 10th anniversary edition. The Games Education Symposium is the natural extension of MIGW’s continued goal to foster connections between games enthusiasts and developers, and between the games industry and a wide range of other sectors.

Recognizing the incredible potential of games in educational outcomes and the diverse career opportunities the digital games industry offers, this free-to-attend symposium will build strong pathways between secondary and tertiary students, educators and the local Industry.

Day One of the symposium will connect secondary students and teachers with industry professionals to showcase the incredible array of career opportunities in the digital games industry. George Osborn, a leading expert in the intersection between video games and the wider world, will deliver a keynote on the use of games for social good and the unseen ways that video games influence the modern world: from US presidential elections to competition law to the fight against the climate crisis. A roundtable mentoring session will see game designers and developers at various stages of their careers share their professional journeys and the ‘things they wish they knew in high school’ with those looking to enter the industry.

The Day Two program will connect games studios and developers with tertiary institutes to look to the future of games. The Great Debate: Working in Games is Not a Real Job will see industry speakers in a healthy debate and a live feed link-up with a parallel conference in Denmark will address global trends in games education. International keynote speaker Dries Deryckere, from Howest University (Belgium), will delve into creating the developer of the future: How do you train for a job that doesn’t exist? A key highlight of day two is the Tertiary Hackathon, where tertiary students will harness the spirit of ‘games for good’ to develop positive solutions to real world challenges.

Both days will be jam-packed with talks and panels featuring local and international experts and will be a chance to network with local studios, tertiary providers and games leaders.

Minister for Creative Industries, the Hon. Colin Brooks MP, said: “Victoria is Australia’s digital games leader and as the global digital games industry continues to expand this symposium will ensure we remain at the forefront as a place that trains, fosters and retains the next generation of highly skilled, industry-ready games leaders.”

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, Ben Carroll said: “We are thrilled to back this symposium and we encourage students, educators and anyone curious about a career in the games industry to take advantage of this free and inspiring event.”

The Games Education Symposium is an initiative of the Victorian Government, made in collaboration with Melbourne International Games Week and the Department of Education.

The free, two-day ‘Games Education Symposium: Careers and Frontiers’ will take place on 3-4 October as part of Melbourne International Games Week.

Click here for more information and registrations, or find out more about MIGW at gamesweek.melbourne