Sector-Leading Employability Practice in Games: Conversations with UCAS

Our Head of Games, Professor Chris Headleand, was recently invited by UCAS to contribute as an academic expert to their national webinar: ‘Employability is a core driver in student choices – why employers and HE providers should work closer together?’

Bringing together voices from across higher education and industry, the session explored how universities can respond to changing student expectations and a rapidly evolving graduate landscape. Chris was asked to share insight from our Games department, where employability is embedded throughout course design rather than positioned as an add-on.

From sustained industry collaboration and authentic assessment, to flexible placement models and the development of entrepreneurial mindsets, our approach focuses on preparing students for dynamic careers... including roles that may not yet exist.

Below, Chris expands on the key themes discussed during the webinar and outlines how we’re designing Games courses around a careers-first lens:

In the webinar, I spoke about a simple but important truth: experience builds confidence. It shapes your professional identity and helps you see where you fit within the industry.

But there isn’t one single model that works for every student.

A traditional placement year can be incredibly valuable. For some, it’s the perfect way to immerse themselves in studio life. For others, shorter and more flexible opportunities, such as micro-placements, internships, live industry projects and collaborative briefs, can be more accessible and just as impactful.

What matters is that you have a range of ways to engage with industry, not one fixed pathway. We think in terms of a spectrum of opportunities, so you can build experience in a way that fits your circumstances, ambitions and learning style.

In the webinar, I spoke about a simple but important truth: experience builds confidence. It shapes your professional identity and helps you see where you fit within the industry.

But there isn’t one single model that works for every student.

A traditional placement year can be incredibly valuable. For some, it’s the perfect way to immerse themselves in studio life. For others, shorter and more flexible opportunities, such as micro-placements, internships, live industry projects and collaborative briefs, can be more accessible and just as impactful.

What matters is that you have a range of ways to engage with industry, not one fixed pathway. We think in terms of a spectrum of opportunities, so you can build experience in a way that fits your circumstances, ambitions and learning style.

Industry engagement works best when it’s designed into the course itself.

That means employers influencing assessment design. It means live briefs and real-world projects. It means guest speakers, entrepreneurial activities and professionals shaping conversations inside the classroom.

When collaboration with industry sits at the heart of a department’s culture, employability isn’t something you think about in your final year. It becomes a continuous thread running through your entire degree.

For us, that also means staying responsive. The games sector evolves rapidly. Technologies shift. Roles emerge that didn’t exist a few years ago. As a department, we adopt an entrepreneurial mindset so that our students develop one too.

Prospective students rightly have high expectations when they hear phrases like “strong industry links.”

Those words have to mean something.

Meaningful engagement isn’t a logo on a slide. It’s sustained relationships, authentic interaction and visible outcomes that benefit you as a learner. It’s assessment that mirrors industry practice. It’s opportunities that help you define what makes you distinctive in a competitive field.

If you’re weighing up whether to go straight into the industry or invest in a degree, it’s worth asking a key question:

Will you simply gain experience - or will you gain structured, supported, diverse experience that helps you understand where you want to go and how to get there?

A degree done well gives you time to explore, experiment, collaborate and build a professional identity - not just a portfolio. And in an industry that evolves as quickly as games, that adaptability can be your greatest asset.

If you’re ready to build experience that sets you apart, explore our undergraduate Games courses at our Stoke-on-Trent and London campuses. Discover how you can shape your skills, grow your network and define your own path into the industry.