Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU), founded in 2008 in Gaziantep, one of Türkiye’s largest metropolises, and celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, continues to attract attention in the higher education ecosystem with the departments and programmes it opens each year in line with the needs of the age. With this vision, the Department of Digital Game Design, which is interdisciplinary in nature and draws on fields such as information technologies, design, communication, engineering, cinema and art within the fast-growing digital game sector, is opening its doors at the HKU Faculty of Communication. The “Digital Game Design” undergraduate department, which will admit students for the first time in the 2023-2024 academic year, will say ‘hello’ to the new academic year with students who choose it and are placed after the 2023 Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS).
IT WILL ADMIT 30 STUDENTS IN ITS FIRST YEAR
HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli underlined that, considering digital media, digital games, the development of new communication technologies and the impact of new media, the Department of Digital Game Design offers an extremely attractive and wide range of employment opportunities for those aiming to have a strong and contemporary career, and said: “The game sector has become a rapidly growing and developing sector in recent years. Young people who want to take part in this sector and have a say in it need to master technology and design original games. As HKU, we are taking a step to meet this need and opening the “Digital Game Design” department. We expect it to attract great interest. Accordingly, the Digital Game Design undergraduate programme, which will be opened at HKU this year, is getting ready to admit its students. Our quota this year has been set at 30.”
WE WILL OFFER OPPORTUNITIES TO YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BUILD A CAREER IN THE GAME SECTOR
Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli noted that the game market in Türkiye has risen to 1.2 billion dollars and the number of digital gamers has reached 42 million, and stated: “The Department of Digital Game Design also aims to fill the gap in this sector. With its experienced academic staff, the Department of Digital Game Design will equip its students with theoretical knowledge in fields such as design, cinema, art, digital communication and engineering, and will train them as individuals who make use of informatics and new communication technologies, can think creatively and have the ability to use their imagination most effectively. It will also help students make a name for themselves in the digital game sector with their original projects even before they graduate. In this department, our students will specialise in advanced graphic design and programming knowledge as well as many subjects such as game mechanics, storytelling and user experience. They will not neglect artificial intelligence either. In this way, we will offer important opportunities to young people who want to pursue a career in the game sector.”
WE HAVE DRAWN UP A “ROADMAP” FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO CHOOSE THE DEPARTMENT, SO THAT THEY BECOME “SOUGHT-AFTER PEOPLE” IN THE SECTOR
HKU Vice Rector and Dean of the Faculty of Communication Prof. Dr. Gül Rengin Küçükerdoğan stated that digital game design is a “team effort” and that producing original and new content is the key to success in the new world of communication, and said: “We have drawn up a ‘roadmap’ for our students who choose the fields of game design or game development in our faculty, so that they become ‘sought-after people’ in the sector. The Department of Digital Game Design, established within our faculty and admitting students this year, aims to train students who can put knowledge into practice (those who know and apply), providing employment in fields such as game developer, game designer, visual designer, game programmer, 2D and 3D designer, game music designer, user interface designer and character designer.”
News: Çetin KARABIYIK /HKU
