The Serious Games Institute at Coventry University and The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) have announced two initiatives to help create opportunities for game companies from Singapore and UK. The two organisations are seeking proposals for serious games and the set up a Games Solution Centre in Singapore.

Through the joint initiatives, companies seeking to work in this area can expect to receive mentorship from the Serious Games Institute (SGI) in terms of game design and research and development as well as market access to Europe for Singapore companies and access to Asia for UK companies.

To support this collaboration, MDA will commit SGD $5 million or GBP 2.5 million over two years to fund selected projects.

This initiative will be a great opportunity for Singapore companies to expand its current development of serious games beyond the education sector to other sectors of the economy like healthcare and corporate learning.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 30 April 2011.

The second initiative, the Games Solution Centre, will see Singapore game companies benefitting from the established R&D and training capabilities of the SGI.

More than 500 game developers are expected to benefit from the Games Solution Centre over the next three years. The serious games training provided will be comprehensive, from concept development, technology research to prototyping.

The SGI will also partner Nanyang Technological University of Singapore to identify up to five students over the next two years to work on specific serious games projects in Singapore and UK. 

The Games Solution Centre will be located at Mediapolis Phase Zero in Singapore.

Thomas Lim, Senior Director of Interactive Media and Games from MDA, said:

"We are excited to partner with the SGI at Coventry University to grow the serious games sector in Singapore. We hope that Singapore companies will make use of the opportunities that we have created to strengthen their expertise in creating serious games and explore new areas to further grow their business. Through this partnership, we also hope to work with UK game companies to hub their activities in Singapore, and to use Singapore as a launch pad for their ambitions in the Asian market. "

The establishment of the Serious Games Solutions Centre adds a feather to the cap of Singapore's media sector. Over the last two decades, Singapore's cultural diversity, pro-business environment and robust intellectual property regime has attracted global media brands to set up in Singapore. These include some 22 international cable and satellite broadcasters such as AXN, BBC and HBO. Joining these broadcasters are also top animation and games studios such as LucasFilm Animation, Electronic Arts and Rainbow S.p.A.

Tim Luft, Director of the  Serious Games Institute said:

"We are very pleased to partner MDA in these exciting initiatives which we hope will catalyse the development of new serious games products in Singapore. The Serious Games Institute recognises the need to establish a key hub in Asia as a way to progress research, widen partnerships and support the growth of serious games across South East Asia. We chose to establish a dedicated hub in Singapore as we believe Singapore has the necessary resources and potential in this area."

Games companies wishing to submit proposals for funding should contact The Serious Games Institute, Coventry University, on 024 7615 8201.

For more information about Coventry University, please visit their website here: www.coventry.ac.uk