Dare to be Digital expands with government support
Iceland and Finland to send first teams to Scottish student design competition
Investment from the Scottish government will see this year's Dare to be Digital competition able to attract its first contestants from Finland and Iceland.
Students from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, China and India are already scheduled to take part in the University of Abertay's annual game design competition, which has received £85,700 towards its 2011 programme from the Scottish government.
As usual the three winners of the contest will be shortlisted for the BAFTA One to Watch award, with last year's grand prize winner having been announced last week at the gala awards ceremony.
"Scottish creativity and our great strengths in the computer games industry are internationally-renowned.Through our Creative Industries Strategy, we intend to build on that reputation and on the talent that already exists in Scotland in order to secure economic growth," said culture minister Fiona Hyslop.
"The world-class educational provision available at Abertay University and the international scope of Dare to be Digital are making an important contribution to Scotland's global reputation and the success of our creative industries sector," she added.
"Dare to be Digital is an incredible opportunity for game design professionals just starting out on their career to learn all about the industry, meet world-leading business people, and benefit from the internationally recognised games education offered at Abertay University," said Dr Louis Natanson, academic director of the Institute of Arts, Media and Computer Games at Abertay University.
Applications for the competition are open until April 3, with further information available at the official website.