Emphasis on the development of arts technology to cultivate talent for the creative industry
Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) is the first design institution in Hong Kong to sign Memorandum of Understanding with renowned blockchain game platform The Sandbox and its Agency Partner INDEX GAME
Emphasis on the development of arts technology to cultivate talent for the creative industry
(Hong Kong - 4 April 2023) Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) respectively with world-renowned blockchain game platform The Sandbox and its Agency Partner, INDEX GAME. The MOUs cover all-rounded cooperations in arts technology, including academic, internship, collaborative project, international competition, and industry exchange. As the first design institution in Hong Kong to sign the MOUs, HKDI will continue to work closely with industry leaders to cultivate talent.
Cooperate with international game brands in five areas
In line with the emerging innovation and arts technology trends, HKSAR Government has set out initiatives to actively advance cultural and creative industries and nurture talent in its latest Hong Kong Budget. HKDI, known for keeping up with industry developments, became the first design institution in Hong Kong last year to offer Higher Diploma in Arts Technology programme, emphasising Vocational Training Council (VTC)’s approach of “think and do”.
The signing of MOUs with The Sandbox, a leading blockchain game platform and its Agency Partner INDEX GAME is a new milestone, as HKDI looks to serve as an important channel that connects the industry and education. The MOUs will help widen students’ global vision and foster talent for the creative industry in Hong Kong, as well as boost the development of cultural and arts technology.
Dr ONG Lay-lian, Principal of HKDI and IVE (Lee Wai Lee), Mr Sebastien BORGET, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of The Sandbox, and Ms Becky WONG, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of INDEX GAME, signed the MOUs in the ceremony. The five areas covered in the MOUs include:
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Academic |
With their professional industrial experiences, The Sandbox and INDEX GAME will join hands with HKDI to develop new content for the courses of Higher Diploma in Arts Technology, enabling students to thoroughly understand the latest industry technology in theory and practice. |
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Internship |
Students will have the opportunity to intern at The Sandbox and INDEX GAME’s Hong Kong and overseas companies, working with industry elites to apply what they have learned. |
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Collaborative project |
Students will have the opportunity to participate in The Sandbox and INDEX GAME’s business projects, such as developing new games and joining concept design and exhibitions, to achieve a win-win situation with their new ideas and professional technology. |
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International competition |
The Sandbox and INDEX GAME plan to organise a series of international competitions for students, allowing them to stand out and compete with different talent from around the world. Winners will be able to realise their innovative concepts on the game platforms of The Sandbox for the public.
HKDI and INDEX GAME recently held the “Made in Hong Kong Voxel Art Contest 2022” to encourage students to create arts technology works. Awardees are supported to turn their designs into NFT. The award ceremony was held on the day of MOU signing.
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Industry exchange |
INDEX GAME and The Sandbox will hold industry exchange meetings to strengthen the connection between the industry and education sector. |
Dr ONG Lay-lian, Principal of HKDI and IVE (Lee Wai Lee), said, “It is our great honour to have been the first design institute to sign MOUs with the renowned game platform The Sandbox and its Agency Partner INDEX GAME. We look forward to seeing the fruitful results of this collaboration. Many of our students are users of The Sandbox and the metaverse. Not only the institute, our students are also very excited of it. We strongly believe that the collaboration will help enhance students’ learning interests and enable them to have a better understanding of the most advanced technology in the industry and to equip themselves with professional knowledge.”
Mr Sebastien BORGET, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of The Sandbox, said, “We are pleased to cooperate with HKDI, a top design institution in Hong Kong. Game creation requires a lot of fresh ideas and infinite creativity. We believe that the MOU will help the industry cultivate new forces and benefit our product development through exchanges with students from design discipline .”
Ms Becky WONG, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of INDEX GAME, said, "We are excited about the future cooperation! In the recently held game design competition, we could see the unlimited potential and creativity of HKDI students. We believe that our collaborative projects will add endless surprises to the entire metaverse.”
About Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI)
Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) is a member of VTC Group. HKDI was established in 2007 with the mission to be a leading provider of design education and lifelong learning, including architecture, interior and product design, communication design, digital media and fashion and image design. With a view to providing professional designers for the creative industries, it promotes the "think and do" approach and encourages interdisciplinary synergy in its broad range of design programmes that cultivate students' cultural sensitivities and sense of sustainability. HKDI maintains a strong network with industry and provides its students with essential practical experience. Overseas exchanges are actively arranged for students to broaden their horizons and international perspective.
Website: www.hkdi.edu.hk
About The Sandbox
The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is one of the decentralized virtual worlds that has been fueling the recent growth of virtual real estate demand, having partnered with major brands including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, The Rabbids, Cut the Rope, Tony Hawk, Gucci Vault, The Walking Dead, Invincible, Snoop Dogg, Adidas, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, SM Entertainment, The Smurfs, Care Bears, and Atari. Building on existing The Sandbox IP that has more than 40 million global installs on mobile, The Sandbox metaverse offers players and creators a decentralized and intuitive platform to create immersive 3D worlds and game experiences and to safely store, trade, and monetize their creations. For more information, please visit www.sandbox.game and follow the regular updates on Twitter, Medium, and Discord.
About INDEX GAME
INDEX GAME is officially appointed by The Sandbox to build experiences for The Sandbox decentralized metaverse. Featuring the unique flavours of Hong Kong, one of our focuses is on designing voxel-based NFT assets, building exclusive gaming experiences, creating LANDs social experiences by setting up hubs, galleries and more for The Sandbox. Bringing brands and IPs into the digital metaverse, we provide tailor-made one-stop-shop metaverse agency service to speed up their digital transformation, which results in an increased worldwide exposure through diving into the ecosystem of The Sandbox. Our team has over 20 years of experience on branding, and we provide advertising solutions in The Sandbox metaverse by promoting brand content on gaming and social experience. We do land acquisition for corporates to get access to the metaverse, and actualize the marketing ideas by building commercials/animations in voxel-style.
