In service of their self-declared goal of “empowering and supporting under-represented genders”, Ubisoft will soon begin accepting applications for the 2024 edition of their ‘Develop at Ubisoft’ mentorship program.
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Launched in 2020 and originally titled ‘The Womxn Develop at Ubisoft’ before eventually having its name shortened to its current form, the program aims to provide “mentorship opportunities for women and non-binary individuals (students or fresh graduates with less than 2 years of experience), interested in video games to develop their skill set in Game Design and Programming.”
“We want to empower you to learn, grow, and become the very best developer that you can be,” the Star Wars Outlaw developer invites potential applicants on the program’s official website. “Join us at Develop at Ubisoft and embark on a transformative journey toward a more diverse and inclusive future for the gaming industry.”
Further elaborating on the program’s purpose in its programming briefs, Ubisoft adds, “With more people playing games than ever before, we have an exciting opportunity to create inclusive entertainment that is truly reflective of our diverse world. The industry continues to benefit from different backgrounds, fresh perspectives, and new ideas. Develop at Ubisoft supports this evolution by highlighting emerging talent – when they thrive, so does the industry.”
Open to individuals 18 years or older who “currently attend [university] ad have graduated in or after Spring 2023” and “have less than 2 years of professional experience” in their desired topic of study, the program offers applicants the potential to study on one of two specialized course tracks: Game Design or Programming.
For those who choose the Game Design track, their workload will see them both “pitch a design concept outlining your intentions and its impact on player experience” and “follow the production journey of a Game Designer at Ubisoft, working towards developing a prototype plan.”
Meanwhile, their counterparts on the Programming tack will “will develop and submit a game using either C++ or C# with a freely available development tool.”
To apply, applicants must submit their resumes and portfolios to Ubisoft at some point between September 16th and September 27th.
Should one meet the company’s full eligibility criteria, they will then meet with a Ubisoft mentor to go through an interview process, after which they will be notified in mid-October regarding their acceptance or denial into the program.
Once being selected, “candidates will create a project based on a predetermined theme and will be mentored by a Ubisoft expert over a fixed period, from November 2024 to March 2025. During this time, they will receive feedback to help build their project.”
To this end, despite working closely with their own employees, Ubisoft explicitly clarifies that the program “is not an internship or employment opportunity” and that “participants will not be working on Ubisoft projects or receiving any form of compensation.”
Notably, the Develop at Ubisoft program appears to be a product of the studio’s previously revealed Project Rise, described by their VP of Global Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility Raashi Sikka as “a multi-year strategy to ensure that Ubisoft better reflects the diversity of our players, with a focus on racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity.”
“[This strategy] will focus on three key areas: talent acquisition, internal talent development, and external talent pipeline development,” detailed the exec in 2022. “We know that different people experience life and the workplace differently – there are different opportunities and barriers that we all face. In the workplace, addressing barriers requires us to be specific, targeted, and focused in our actions. At Ubisoft, we will be focusing on four key dimensions: gender equality, race and ethnicity, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and disability inclusion.”
The full details regarding Develop at Ubisoft, as well as the specific application requirements for each international studio that has chosen to participate in the program, can be found on its official website.