The Howest University of Applied Sciences Digital Arts and Entertainment (DAE) programme team was in Malaysia on a 10-day fact-finding mission to explore potential collaboration with local universities and industry players with the aim to elevate game development education and the broader ecosystem holistically.
The DAE is currently ranked first in the world by The Rookies as the best game design & development school in 2021 and its team has expressed its formal interest to establish a faculty in Kuala Lumpur as a hub for the Digital Arts & Entertainment programme.
The 10-day mission organised by MDEC gathered Rik Donald Leenknegt, Academic Director, DAE to meet with academic institutions as well as digital studios in Malaysia to discuss strategic areas of opportunities and partnerships. According to Mohan Low from MDEC the mission ended on a high note with the team from DAE being very impressed with the level of offerings by the academic fraternity in Malaysia
Rik Donald Leenknegt, Academic Director, DAE said, the possibility to be part of the rise of a new game ecosystem is extremely appealing.
“As an institution, we understand the needs of the industry and we know how to get people ready for the industry. We have also noticed that there is a lot of support from the government, in particular from MDEC, to help push the Malaysian game industry forward. This is a very important element. Further, the expansion planning in Malaysia gives us a perfect gateway to the South Asian market,” he added.
The visit provided the DAE team exposure and familiarisation to Malaysia’s gaming industry network and focused on bridging shared practice on industry-academia partnerships. The delegation also met with representatives from Multimedia University (MMU), UOW Malaysia KDU University College, National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (ASWARA), Asia Pacific University (APU), The One Academy (TOA), UNDO Academy and Claz’Room College. DAE also visited PlayStation Studios Malaysia, Virtuos Studios, LemonSky Studios and Ten Ten Studios to obtain a better understanding of the talent needs and distribution in Malaysia.
