London – 23rd April: Microsoft Store is pleased to announce Xbox Academy in partnership with BAFTA award-winning Rare, creators of Sea of Thieves, Microsoft Education and East London Arts and Music (ELAM).
Designed to inspire the next generation of games creators, and to give them an insight into games industry careers, Xbox Academy will be a part of Microsoft’s Work Experience Week, May 10-13, aimed at year 9 and 10 pupils in schools across the UK.
The first livestreamed Xbox Academy session will feature four representatives from Rare, the Xbox Game Studio behind Sea of Thieves and the upcoming Everwild. Each will discuss their roles and offer insights into games industry career paths across areas including production, design, engineering and quality assurance. Attendees will then hear from representatives of ELAM, who will provide an academic context to entering the world of games development.
A further session will feature the team at Into Games delivering insights and practical advice on how young people can set about finding a rewarding career in the games industry.
“We’re so excited that our Rare team is going to be delivering a session for the Xbox Academy,” said Craig Duncan, Studio Head, Rare. “The future is so bright for games and we’re passionate about helping educate and inspire the next generation of games professionals, giving them insights to help them choose a career within our industry.”
Hosted online, Microsoft’s Work Experience Week will offer students in years 9 and 10 valuable insights into working life at Microsoft and what early-in-career looks like within the company. Attendees will have the chance to hear from senior executives and their inspiring career stories, including Microsoft UK CEO Clare Barclay and Microsoft Director of Education Chris Rothwell. Attending the 4-day event will help schools meet the 6th Gatsby Benchmark of “experiencing workplaces”.
Curtis Le Blanc, Director of Games at East London Arts and Music said: “We’re very proud to be teaming up with Microsoft Store and Rare to deliver an invaluable perspective on working in games once again, following our first partnership last year. Rare is at the forefront of the UK gaming industry, so attendees will be getting a wealth of knowledge and advice to set them up for a potential future career in gaming.”
Xbox Academy takes place on the afternoon of Monday, May 10 and is one of many virtual sessions during Microsoft’s Work Experience Week. To sign up to take part and find out more about other workshops and training sessions being offered by Microsoft Store tailored to the needs of students and teachers across the UK, head to https://aka.ms/MicrosoftWEWRegistration.
ENDS
About Microsoft:
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.