Full scholarship winners will receive mentorship and a paid design contract with The Coalition or Blackbird Interactive.
Announcement Highlights:
- VFS will be awarding two full-tuition scholarships and up to $25,000 in partial scholarships for their award-winning Game Design program.
- Recipients of the full scholarships will receive monthly mentorship from design professionals at The Coalition and Blackbird Interactive, as well as six-month paid design contracts at their respective game studio upon graduation.
- Submission process is currently open and closes on May 25, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. PST.
(Vancouver, BC) April 26, 2021 - Vancouver Film School (VFS) is proud to announce a new scholarship fund, mentorship and paid work experience program aimed at women game designers. Game developers are starting to recognize that 44% of their customers are female and that equity in the gaming workspace should be a priority. The best way to bring about that change is by having more women build the games.
The Women in Game Design Scholarship is a collaborative initiative between VFS and Vancouver-based game studios The Coalition (Gears of War franchise) and Blackbird Interactive (Homeworld 3, Hardspace: Shipbreaker). Two full Game Design scholarships (each valued at over $32,000), as well up to $25,000 in partial scholarships will be awarded to the best qualified applicants for the August and October intakes in 2021.
In addition, recipients of the full scholarship will each receive private mentorship by a team of shared disciplines from top-tier AAA studios The Coalition and Blackbird Interactive, as well as by their instructors at VFS. Upon graduation, these two recipients will also receive a paid six-month work contract at their respective studio, resulting in a game credit.
“Video games tell stories that connect, entertain, and inspire us. More than ever, we need these stories to be told by, and for, people of all walks of life and perspectives. The Coalition is excited to partner with VFS and Blackbird Interactive to mentor, train and hire more women into creative roles so their voices, experiences and stories will better shape the games of tomorrow.” -Mike Crump – Studio Head, The Coalition
"More and more diverse profiles continue to join our industry, bringing in their unique viewpoints. However, true progress is to be measured not just at the industry level, but per role and discipline. With this scholarship focused specifically on game design, we want to stress the importance of making sure those design positions are as equally accessible to women as other roles. We want to hear their unique voices and see their touch on the design of our products. Diverse design makes our games, and our industry as a whole better.” -Rory McGuire – Chief Creative Officer, Blackbird Interactive
“Healthy classrooms and healthy companies reflect life. Our life is a distribution of genders and a distribution of ethnicities, so the ethical thing is to support that distribution. Working with Blackbird Interactive and The Coalition, this scholarship aims to bring more women specifically into the role of game designer at tech companies, so they can one day grow into design leads and shape the games of tomorrow. The industry doesn’t want tokens, it wants champions, the few that become many. This campaign seeks to find and support those champions.” -Christopher Mitchell – Head of the Game Design and Programming for Games, Web & Mobile, VFS
For more information about the 2021 Women in Game Design Scholarship, or to apply, visit vfs.edu/scholarships/women-in-games.
About Vancouver Film School
In 1987, Vancouver Film School introduced the world’s first true immersion film program. Today, VFS is Canada’s premier entertainment-arts centre, offering an immersive curriculum in film, animation, video game production, VR/AR development, motion and interactive design, programming, art/production foundation, and other related programs. VFS is known for providing high-quality education in accelerated timeframes. VFS alumni are consistently credited on the most successful products in the entertainment economies.
For more information, or to schedule interviews, please contact:
Evan Biswanger
Creative Director & Head of Marketing
Vancouver Film School
ebiswanger@vfs.com
vfs.edu
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