05.02.2021
Categories: people

MDEC’S CREATIVITY @ SCHOOLS AWARD HIGHLIGHTS PROMISING YOUNG TALENTS IN ANIMATION AND GAMES DEVELOPMENT

  • The Creativity @ Schools program lays the foundation among school students to gain interest and skills related to the digital creative content field.
  • Over 700 participants showcased the skills and knowledge obtained during the Creativity @ Schools program, with 2 secondary school students winning the main prizes.
  • MDEC ramps up its efforts in skilling opportunities, resources, and financial assistance through PENJANA’s Digital Content Grant.

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 FEBRUARY 2021 – Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has recently concluded its Creativity @ Schools Awards, marking an end of the Creativity @ Schools program conducted in 2020, aimed at developing skills and talent in the digital creative content field amongst school students.

This year’s competition saw over 700 registered participants from 40 schools in Malaysia competing to showcase their talents in both animation and game development.

The competition was split into two categories – animation and games. The animation category, also known as the Kre8tif! @ Schools Animation Awards saw Adam Auza’i Bin Mohamad Zaper of SMK Syed Saffi, Perlis grabbing first place while Airil Hariz bin Zolkefli of SMK Seksyen 5 Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur was the winner of the games category also known as the LEVEL UP @ Schools Game Awards.

Both winners walked away with RM3,000 in prize money as well as winners’ certificate, while their schools received 5 Wacom tablets each.

“I’m honoured to have won the champion’s spot for the LEVEL UP @ Schools Award, and as much as I’m delighted to win, I’m happier that I got to utilise the skills and knowledge I have learnt during the LEVEL UP @ Schools programs. The program taught me various skills such as User Interface, User Experience, and sound design while giving me a good idea of what game design development is like. It is something that I might want to pursue in the future,” said Airil Hariz bin Zolkefli, the champion of the LEVEL UP @ Schools Game Awards.

“The knowledge and skills in animation production that I learnt during the Kre8tif! @ Schools program has been extremely helpful. It has enabled me to learn what is exactly needed in the animation production field like 3D animation, rendering and character building, increasing my interest in animation design more. Having won first place in the competition is just a bonus to what I have learned from the program,” said Adam Auza’i Bin Mohamad Zaper, the winner of the Kre8tif! @ Schools Animation Awards.

The Creativity @ Schools competition is a yearly competition organised by MDEC, which is part of their overall Creativity @ Schools program. This program was introduced to inspire & nurture creativity among young Malaysians and foster interest in animation, visual effects and game design leading towards encouraging enrolment in creative content courses at tertiary levels while also planting seeds for new IP generation. Creativity @ Schools introduces two main programs; LEVEL UP @ Schools & Kre8tif! @ Schools.

  • LEVEL UP @ Schools: A program to create awareness & interest in the game development ecosystem. Introduced in 2016 to nurture future talents and encourage enrollment in game development fields at the tertiary level.
  • Kre8tif! @ Schools: An animation program to inspire & nurture creativity among young Malaysians. Introduced in 2019, it educates & foster interests in animation while encouraging enrollment in creative content courses at the tertiary levels.

This initiative is focused on enabling digital adoption amongst students, which is a central part of MDEC’s three strategic framework pillars: Digital Jobs, Digital Businesses and Digital Investments. To achieve its vision of enabling a people first society, the agency continues to set the foundation for our young leaders to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), further supporting the nation’s efforts to realise the Malaysia 5.0 vision, leading to shared prosperity for all.

“MDEC’s Creativity @ Schools program is crucial in our effort to develop talent and interest in the digital creative field among students. It is important that we lay the foundations from the ground up to ensure that Malaysia has the relevant talents to support the digital creative content industry. This together with initiatives like our Digital Content Grant, are crucial in the development of Malaysia’s digital content industry, a key component of our digital economy,” said Gopi Ganesalingam, MDEC’s Vice President for Digitally Powered Businesses.

“By cultivating interest for the digital creative content field among students in the early phase, we’ll be able to build a sustainable talent pool to further enhance and grow the industry, which will help in making Malaysia a digital creative content hub and further help position the country as the Heart of Digital ASEAN,” Gopi added.

To further nurture and develop Malaysia’s Digital Creative Content industry, MDEC is ramping up its efforts in providing skilling opportunities, tools and resources as well as financial assistance to help businesses within this industry thrive and be competitive industry leaders. One of the initiatives includes the Digital Content Grant, a Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara (PENJANA) initiative to support local digital creative companies in developing, producing, co-producing and marketing their digital content in animation.

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About Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is a government agency under the purview of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia entrusted to lead Malaysia’s digital economy forward. Incorporated in 1996 to oversee the development of the MSC Malaysia initiative, MDEC’s primary mandate today is to accelerate the growth of digitally-skilled Malaysians, digitally-powered businesses and digital investments in Malaysia. MDEC is focused on creating inclusive, high-quality growth through the nationwide digitalisation initiatives that are in line with the Government’s Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 and firmly establishing Malaysia as the Heart of Digital ASEAN.

#MYMDEC #HeartofDigitalASEAN #SayaDigital

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Dashika Gnaneswaran
Brand & Strategic Partnerships
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
Email: [email protected]

Nigel Yap
Brand & Strategic Partnerships
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
Email: [email protected]
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