The University

Lord Drayson, Minister for Science and Innovation, came to Coventry University today to see the Serious Games Institute’s (SGI) ground-breaking work in educational gaming technology.

Since it opened in 2007 the £3m Institute has become a showcase for the latest serious gaming technology which advances the traditional use of electronic games beyond entertainment. Now home to over eight fledging enterprises the SGI also boasts an international body of knowledge on gaming methodology underpinned by its own state-of-the-art applied research centre.

As part of his visit Lord Drayson joined Coventry University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Madeleine Atkins, to take a tour of the facility and see the pioneering work undertaken by the entrepreneurial team. One company, Concept Design and Visualisation demonstrated how this technology can be used to explore what Coventry would be like under current plans for a new eco-friendly city centre.

The virtual community that they are creating will allow real local residents to travel around it before it is even built. During his visit Lord Drayson also learnt about the use of virtual worlds and simulation games to train doctors and clinicians in a variety of applications including triage and serious injury trauma.

Lord Drayson said: “The Serious Games Institute is leading the way in this exciting emerging technology. The projects here are truly inspirational and crucially, underpinned by excellent research. They will have real impact in our everyday lives over the next few years.

“This work goes to show that science and technology is all around us. By studying science subjects at school young people could have access to all sorts of cool and interesting jobs.

“There are exciting new businesses in this field. Here is a sector that is growing fast despite the downturn and offers great job opportunities for physics and maths graduates.”

David Wortley, Director of the Serious Games Institute, said: “Games have always been used throughout history as an education tool; the only difference today is the emerging technologies used in delivering these learning experiences. There is a perception that computer games and virtual worlds have negative social implications, but as Lord Drayson has seen today there are many positive applications that can deliver genuine solutions to real social and economic issues.

“Every organisation can benefit from serious games, whether it is for e-learning, social networking or team building. And feedback from our early projects show there are also many cost and time savings to be had, as games can help people share knowledge across the company, reduce strain on resources and can allow users flexibility and convenience of use.

“Although there is still a long way to go, this concept is really taking off, and I’m confident that the UK – and the West Midlands in particular – will follow Japan in leading development in this area. In fact, individuals and companies working in innovation and enterprise will actually be the ones who help the UK work its way out of the recession.”

The Serious Games Institute is based on Coventry University Technology Park and is funded by Advantage West Midlands and Coventry University Enterprises.