Fall 2022 Event

Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Time: 4:30–6:00 p.m.

How do you take a passion for playing games and turn that into a career making games? During this two hour FREE event, Jim Whitehead will introduce students (grades 7-12), educators, SCWorks members, etc., to the educational programs and career options in computer games and interactive media. California is home to some of the largest and most successful games companies including Electronic Arts, Blizzard, Roblex, Zynga, Sony Playstation, Cryptic Studios and many more. Several colleges offer degree programs focused on the major elements of game creation, including game and level design, game programming, 2D and 3D artwork, visual effects, sound effects and music, and more. Landing a job in the games industry is challenging and highly competitive. The event will also cover adjacent careers, such as web development, mobile app development, and virtual reality modeling, which are also open to students who study games in college.

In the last hour of the event, a panel of current and former game design students from UC Santa Cruz will describe their current experiences studying games, and how they successfully made the transition from college to games industry.

Jim Whitehead is a Professor of Computational Media and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs in the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His research combines insights from artificial intelligence, software engineering and computer games to explore topics such as automatic generation of test scenarios for autonomous vehicles and procedural level design for games.

This hybrid event will take place in collaboration with Digital NEST in Watsonville and Cruzio Internet in Santa Cruz. Food will be provided for In-person participants. Space will be limited for the in-person format so register early! * All registered participants will have direct access to the live streaming event link.

About Think Big!

The Santa Cruz County Office of Education and Santa Cruz Works have partnered to provide Santa Cruz County educators and students the opportunity to participate in a series of exciting events that revolve around connecting your passions with the possibilities of the technology industry. These events are aimed at inspiring individuals to Think Big! when reaching for your dreams. We encourage everyone looking to expand their awareness of the possibilities that exist in Santa Cruz County by joining these events.