Amid the unstoppable growth of the multibillion-dollar gaming industry around the world, the state government of Massachusetts joined forces with schools and businesses to establish the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (MassDiGI) four years ago.
Based in Becker College in Worcester, the statewide center takes in leading students, entrepreneurs and professionals and fosters an environment that produces innovation and hopes to build thriving business across the globe.
“In the gaming space, you cannot miss out on Asia. We’ve brought Asian games into the United States and Western Europe. The element of marketing and localizing into Asia is much more complex than getting into Europe,” said Managing Director Monty Sharma.
Since 2011, MassDiGi’s has launched several industry-boosting initiatives, including the Summer Innovation Program and the Game Challenge, which brings together teams of student-interns and entrepreneur-mentors in a competitive environment with the aim of producing marketable products.
Its other initiatives include Live Code, Mentoring on Demand, Education Working Group and Data Gathering/Benchmarking Working Group.
“We run the largest gaming development for internship program of its kind in the country. Each summer, students from around the world apply. Japanese students are welcome to apply whether they’re attending U.S. institutions, at home or anywhere else,” said Tim Loew, Executive Director and member of the MA Creative Economy Council.
MassDiGI is a U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) University Center and a member of the Massachusetts Creative Economy Network.
