Ukie’s free one-day conference will take place on Wed 21^st October and will take over the University’s games campus. The conference will bring together over 200 students to hear from leading games industry professionals, to give advice and support to those wanting to enter different professions in the sector.

The conference includes more content this year, with Staffordshire using their Epic Games Centre for one-to-one career and CV advice in addition to two lecture theatre talk spaces.

Ukie has also extended the conference to include more expert talks from industry insiders. Students and speakers will attend a networking drinks reception following the day’s activity.

Talks will cover all areas of the industry, including development, marketing, PR, production, art and design, community management, start-ups, and game audio. Announcements of further content will be made as the conference approaches.

Games companies confirmed to speak on the day already include:

Altered Gene
Arch Creatives
The Chinese Room
Coatsink Software
Dlala Studios
Flix Interactive
Indigo Pearl
Jagex
Kumotion
Microsoft
Mobile Mavericks
NextGen Skills Academy
Pixel Blast
Playstation Access
Polystream
Prospect Games
Purewal & Partners
State of Play
Team Junkfish
Toxic Games
Travellers’ Tales
Virtual Umbrella

CEO of Ukie, Dr Jo Twist, said, “Last year’s conference was a huge success and it is great to be returning to Staffordshire University with an even bigger line up of experts this year. The UK games industry is a competitive sector to break into and Ukie is committed to helping the next generation of games talent by connecting them with people who can help them understand the opportunities and options they have as they graduate, as well as what they should be doing to stand out from the crowd.”

David Edwards, Senior Lecturer in game design at Staffordshire University, added, “It’s great to be working with Ukie to bring the second Ukie Student Conference to Staffordshire University. Last year’s conference was a great success, with 20 speakers giving first hand advice to games students. The conference we’re planning this year should be even better. Students will get the chance to see some of the UK’s best known developers discuss how they can enhance their prospects for a career in the games industry. The free conference at our Stafford Campus will also allow students to talk with speakers at the evening’s networking drinks.”

European Territory Manager at Epic Games, Mike Gamble, said, “Supporting the Staffordshire University and Ukie Student Conference is one way we’re helping students gain instrumental knowledge and make connections. Raising up the next generation of developers is critical to the long-term health of our industry.”

John Tearle, Founder of Flix Interactive, added, “Supporting educational facilities in producing quality course content ensures a positive future for new talent in the UK industry. The key benefit of the conference is that expertise and advice is on-hand for students, lecturers and graduates to talk directly with the people providing the career opportunities. It is great to be working once again with Ukie and Staffs University to help support the conference and build the talent of the future.”