Students offered the chance to work with games’ developers
UAE students are making a French connection in an effort to win the chance to work with video games developer Ubisoft.
In a competition across at least seven third-level institutions, including Khalifa and Zayed universities, rival teams will try to develop a video game.
It is game-on for entrants as the winner will get a sixmonth internship with Ubisoft, known for publishing best-sellers such as Assassin’s Creed and the Tom Clancy’s franchise.
It’s all part of gamelab, a new project from the French Embassy in the UAE and Ubisoft Abu Dhabi which aims to train talented students here.
Starting in September, students will be asked to develop a video game concept, helped by mentors from Ubisoft through a series of workshops at the universities. The winner will be selected towards the end of the next academic year. The deal was signed yesterday by Ludovic Pouille, French Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, and Yannick Theler, managing director of Ubisoft studios in Abu Dhabi. France is perhaps better known for its cultural collaboration such as Louvre Abu Dhabi, but now it is demonstrating its technology expertise.
“Louvre Abu Dhabi has brought a lot of interest into what France could do outside its borders,” Mr Pouille said.
“France was mostly known for gastronomy, museums and history but not really for technology, so now we are ready to connect in what is not so well known. We look to the past but also to the future. This is the place to do so.”
Ubisoft is a French company that started operations here in 2011. From just 10 people then, it has grown to 55 staff across all areas of video game development. Mr Theler said the UAE was chosen because more young developers were needed and the region had a significant percentage of people below the age of 25.
“We thought it would be a good idea to come here and try to develop the studio, programmes for schools and get young people interested in these jobs. That was the vision,” Mr Theler said.
The gaming industry is growing rapidly here, and more companies are now localising content and offering customer support in Arabic.