Computer Games Development

This morning Angela and I met with Joanna McGillvray of Forth Valley College and Tony Gurney of Ayr College to discuss possible developments in the Computer Games area.

There is currently an HNC Computer Games Development available to centres (developed by Stow College in 2005) and this is now offered by a number of colleges. There has been regular requests for a corresponding HND award but we've not taken this forward due to doubts about student numbers.

What was clear from this morning's meeting was that there is a need for something at HND level - this could be a stand-alone award (HND Computer Games Development) or part of an existing award (HND Computing: Software Development). We also discussed possible changes to the existing HNC award.

We have a National Progression Award in Computer Games planned and it would make sense (if we decide to do anything) to take forward the development as a whole (NPA, HNC and HND).

With so many options, we decided to consult with the field. I plan to organise a questionnaire to get the views of Heads of Computing on these questions. This will take place sometime in January.

I appreciate that consultation takes time and slows down developments but it gives me confidence that whatever we decide to do has the support of the field. Look out for more information soon.

In the meantime, contact Angela if you have any queries about the existing qualification. But right now, I'm off somewhere nice for the next week.