ICT Academy mulls host of AVGC initiatives to tap into T.N. students’ potential in gaming sector

The ICT Academy has partnered with Keywords Studios, an Irish video game industry services company, to impart training in the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) sector to the students in the State.

The not-for-profit organisation, in association with the Department of Information Technology and Digital Services, Government of Tamil Nadu, has also been planning to establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) on AVGC, ESDM, and Advanced IT domains in the major cities of Tamil Nadu.

“The faculty development programmes and students’ skills development programmes on AVGC will be delivered at the premises of academic institutions, while the advanced certification programmes on AVGC will be conducted through the CoE,” said Hari Balachandran, Chief Executive Officer of ICT Academy.

The AVGC-XR sector, which has been witnessing a steady growth in the recent past, holds the potential to attract direct investments from within the country and across the globe.

“Tamil Nadu is emerging as a hub for virtual production, post-production, visual effects and graphics. Various factors, including the growing number of smartphone users, internet subscribers, a robust skilling ecosystem, along with incentives provided by the State government, have encouraged Animation and VFX companies, studios, and startups to invest in the State,” Sameer Jain, Managing Director, Primus Partners, said. Mr. Jain also highlighted how the AVGC sector could nurture growth in tourism and allied industries.

Primus Partners has been assisting the Government of Tamil Nadu in framing the ‘State AVGC-XR Policy 2023’, and in preparing a concept report for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for AVGC-XR in the State. The firm recently facilitated the State-Level Stakeholder Consultation Workshop for TN AVGC-XR Policy 2023 that saw the participation of over 100 delegates spanning companies, industry bodies and associations working in the Media and Entertainment, and the AVGC-XR sector.

According to government officials, the policy will be readied soon.

At present, States like Karnataka and Telangana have a dedicated AVGC Policy, while States Maharashtra, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have included provisions for the AVGC sector as part of their respective IT policy. Kerala and Uttar Pradesh have also announced their plan to chalk out a dedicated policy for the sector.

“The Telangana government is making great strides to promote the sector; it has announced the creation of an IMAGE (Innovation in Multimedia, Animation, Gaming and Entertainment) tower in the HITEC city of Hyderabad with the objective of making it a landmark place in this new media segments,” Mr.Jain pointed out.

Mr. Jain also said Tamil Nadu could mull establishing dedicated media and entertainment studios and labs at schools to meet the practical skill and creative thinking requirements of the AVGC-XR sector. “AVGC-related subjects may be inculcated at the school-level to give students an introduction to the sector,” Mr. Jain said.