Chengdu NIIT Embraces Chengdu Training Center for Digital Entertainment Professionals - China Torch Program

Training Professionals for the Chinese Digital Entertainment Industry

[China-Chengdu, 21 April 2005] A signboard raising ceremony for Chengdu Training Center for Digital Entertainment Professionals for the China Torch Program was held at the Chengdu International Exhibition Center on April 21st. The Center is the second of its kind in China.

The Digital entertainment industry is one of the most promising industries for the future. In recent years, the development of new technologies has spawned a number of new industries that many thought would never survive, yet they have managed to gain sizeable market share in a few years and are now enjoying equal or even more popularity then more traditional industries. Currently, there are fewer than 10,000 people working in the cartoon industry, with one third of those being in Korea. This number is far from enough. Lack of talent and outdated training modes are major roadblocks to the development of technology and the cartoon digital entertainment industry.

To date, there has been no systematic training of a digital entertainment workforce. Due to small size and slow speed of change, the educational institutions of China have not been able to produce a large enough number of professionals to meet the great demand in the digital entertainment industry. The current study programs and short-term training programs offered are not able to effectively combine culture, art, education and entertainment and are not well organized. Therefore, the demand cannot be met solely by relying on short-term training. A mature system of digital entertainment education cannot be built without a complete program of college courses in that field.

Against this backdrop, the Torch Program under the Ministry of Science and Technology together with the Chengdu Municipality decided to establish a training center for Digital Entertainment Professionals in Chengdu based in Chengdu NIIT (Chengdu Neusoft Institute of Information Technology).

Chengdu NIIT has been a pioneer in digital entertainment education. Zhang Yinghui, President of Chengdu NIIT, says that digital entertainment education requires cross-discipline study, covering disciplines such as computing, graphic design and management. This year, with the approval of administrative authority in charge of education, Chengdu NIIT has started to offer majors related to digital entertainment including game programming, animation design & engineering and multimedia. It is also offering some professional courses in multimedia applications, game software programming and art appreciation courses. More majors and courses will gradually be added in the future in line with the development of this industry as well as the construction of this training center. The emphasis of this Institute is on producing professionals for the digital entertainment industry and to also cultivate its students’ taste for art. In 2005, the Institute plans to produce 200 professionals with skills in artistic digital games and it is estimated that that number will be somewhere between 800 and 1,000 by 2008.

Zhang Yinghui points out that the advantages of Chengdu NIIT lie in the existing core study program which provides basic theory for digital artists. It also has the ability to offer its trainees hands-on experience via the Students Office, Venture Office (SOVO). The NIIT will construct a platform for the development of the digital entertainment industry by sharing the resources of the training base. It will make Chengdu an important contributor in the digital entertainment industry.

Dr. Liu Jiren, Chairman and CEO of the Neusoft Group, indicates that this is a brand-new start for the IT education and training cause of Neusoft as the NIIT becomes the training base for Digital Entertainment Professionals under the nation’s Torch Program. Neusoft hopes that this base will consistently produce professionals for China’s digital entertainment industry with the support of the State, Sichuan Provincial Government, Chengdu Municipality and people from all walks of life.

About Chengdu NIIT (Chengdu Neusoft Institute of Information Technology):

Chengdu NIIT was established and funded by the Neusoft Group. It is a college approved by Sichuan Provincial Government specializing in information technology. It is one of the first state-level pilot professional institutes and a training center for professionals in the digital entertainment industry. The Institute is intended to provide professional degree education and liberal arts education for individuals and organizations. It is committed to constructing a “virtual college” of enterprises and the government and becoming a good education service provider combining degree education with liberal arts education to better prepare students for life.

The Institute is located at Qingchengshan, in scenic Dujiang Weirs, a world heritage site in Chengdu’s suburbs. It offers the perfect combination of technology, nature and a culture that provides a good environment for both Chinese and foreign students. There are 2,400 students on campus at present. With a modern educational perspective, Chengdu NIIT dedicates itself to becoming an exceptional IT professional college.