This year Sony is teaming up with educational and training group Girls Make Games to host their annual Summer Camp. This year’s Summer Camp, the fourth since Girls Make Games’ inception in 2014, will be held at the Sony Interactive America building in San Mateo, California. Full details are below:
Dates: July 10-28, 2017 (3 weeks, M-F)
Hours: 10am-4pm (early drop off and late pick up offered)
Tuition: $1,500 (Up to 100% financial aid available)
Venue: Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC
2207 Bridgepointe Parkway
San Mateo, CA 94404
Registration: http://girlsmakegames.com
“It’s important for all of us at PlayStation to maintain a diverse and inclusive community that brings people together through their shared love of gaming,” says Shawn Layden, Chairman of PlayStation’s Worldwide Studios. “We’re excited to team up with Girls Make Games to offer young women the opportunity to learn about game development and, hopefully, inspire the next generation of creators.”
The Sony PlayStation team will not only host the event, but also provide scholarships and on-site mentoring from female executives and developers.
“We’re thrilled about working with PlayStation to encourage and empower more young women to learn about and pursue careers in technology and game development,” says Laila Shabir, CEO and founder of Girls Make Games. Shabir notes that while the number of women gamers has grown significantly (current statistics puts them at around 50%), “less than 15 percent of the games industry workforce is women.”
The Summer Camp is a day camp based around teamwork. There’s no age requirement or restriction, but typical camp goers are around Middle School aged. During the three week course, attendees will learn programming, computer science and computer art design, as well as confidence, industry knowledge, and teamwork skills. At the end of the camp, attendees will create their own collaborative video game, some of which have gone on to find success via crowdfunding on Kickstarter.
