New Simulation Science, Games and Animation Program Makes Career Placement Top Priority with Total Employment of Inaugural Graduates
with invaluable industry exposure and essential opportunities to meet with major studios, developers, technology companies and other students. SSGA plans to send more students in 2023 to present their capstone projects and other work at the Embry-Riddle SSGA play booth. SSGA looks forward to seeing our students represent themselves, the university and the program in career pavilions, expo spaces and developer sessions as they demonstrate their abilities. An Exposure: The Augmented Reality Experience As a result of our students’ ability to skillfully integrate virtual and physical worlds into sophisticated interactive tools, SSGA’s inaugural alumni group is fully employed. This first group of graduates now works at Blizzard Entertainment, Mass Virtual, Boeing, Win Reality, Super League Gaming, ForgeFX Simulation and Apex Officer. With a critical and creative approach to various applications around the gaming industry, our students are developing projects using innovative technology such as HoloLens, Faceware and Vicon motion capture systems. For example, a team of SSGA students completed an Undergraduate Research Institute ( URI) project with faculty mentors. An interactive holographic simulation was designed in mixed reality using Microsoft HoloLens2. The team created a prototype as an educational training tool for students taking Aeronautical Science 411: Jet Transport Systems course. It is a head-to-toe systems class on the Bombardier CRJ-700/900. The Augmented Reality (AR) experience focused on computer-generated jet interaction while also providing opportunities for collaboration in the classroom. The emergence of interactive media into traditional and new growth industries allows students to have many career opportunities. Interactive media and games have gained cultural significance, becoming more relevant and establishing a primary economic and social force for new generations through entertainment, aviation, business, scientific and engineering applications.
Like all Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) programs, the Simulation Science, Games and Animation (SSGA) Program sees career placement as a top priority. To help make our graduates desirable to employers, SSGA aims to offer a competitive program with a game development and production space that closely resembles industry standards. SSGA also focuses on providing a rigorous curriculum and educating students in critical design for both the development (the “why”) and the production (the “how”) of interactive, immersive experiences. The program offers project-based learning and the application of industry standards to satisfy employers’ eagerness to hire workforce-ready candidates. The program accomplishes this through course design that harmoniously contributes to the experiences needed for successful research and capstone projects. SSGA plans to expand its program further by building relationships with companies via co-ops, internships and capstone projects. When participating in these opportunities, students will be immersed in the soft- skills culture that is necessary to prepare them for future high-level collaborative environments. SSGA also seeks to build strong industry partnerships to provide students with opportunities to network with professionals and demonstrate their portfolio of work at conferences and expos. A Journey: Career Placement Improvement SSGA is only beginning its journey and hopes to significantly improve student career placement opportunities while building on its established strengths. The faculty appreciate the support and guidance Embry-Riddle has provided to the program thus far. As part of SSGA’s objective to provide students with career networking opportunities and chances to demonstrate their work portfolios, the program sent 10 students to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in 2022. This opportunity was met with great enthusiasm by those who attended. The 2022 trip was made possible through the combined efforts of student club fundraising, support from Career Services and the College of Arts and Sciences. Participation at the conference provided students
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