Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest developers and publishers of computer and video games, has announced the creation of a new Ubisoft Campus in Casablanca, Morocco. The campus is being developed in partnership with Sigma Technologies, a leading Moroccan audiovisual-media company. When it opens in October, the campus will teach promising candidates the knowledge required for video games and animated films, from programming and 3D animation to game and level design and project management.
Last year, Ubisoft, which has operated in Casablanca since 1998, announced plans to expand production continuously at its Moroccan studio by creating 150 new jobs by 2010. This expansion was made possible by a government program supporting skilled employment.
The Ubisoft Campus will place Casablanca at the center of video-game and animated-film training. It will also broaden Morocco’s academic activities through partnerships with institutions in France and Canada. The new facility will be modeled on the successful Ubisoft Campus in Montreal. Ubisoft is placing the new Moroccan campus under the management of Cégep de Matane, in cooperation with the École nationale du jeu et des médias interactifs numériques, or ENJMIN, in Angoulême, France. The Casablanca Polytechnic Institute and Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, are also involved in the project.
Through the different training opportunities offered by its educational partners and a distinctive mix of technical and theoretical instruction, the Ubisoft Campus will provide programs created specifically for the video-game and animated-film industries. Cégep de Matane, which is responsible for management, is open to additional partnerships that could strengthen training at the Ubisoft Campus.
“Establishing such a campus is an important and motivating project for Morocco,” says Cyril Vermeil, Managing Director of Ubisoft Casablanca. “The Ubisoft Campus intends to attract, train and retain the country’s best creators of video games and animated films, all in a rapidly growing industry in which Moroccans will play an important role. The campus clearly demonstrates Ubisoft’s intention to train the talent of tomorrow, wherever it may be.”
