Elite Scholarship Win For Karl Burnett

Elite Scholarship Win For Karl Burnett

Former Shortland Street actor Karl Burnett has been chosen as the recipient of the 2011 Sidhe Elite financial scholarship.

The Sidhe Elite scholarship is awarded to a promising game development student who needs financial help for tertiary education, and is offered by New Zealand game development studio Sidhe, in partnership with Media Design School.

Burnett is thrilled with his win, and says that it will really help with the cost of tertiary education.

“I’m absolutely loving the course although it’s tough, perhaps even tougher than I had anticipated. I am finding the whole experience very humbling but extremely rewarding at the same time. It’s hard to believe that after a week, I was able to sit down and write a computer game! I am hugely thankful to Sidhe and Media Design School for this opportunity.”

Sidhe Managing Director Mario Wynands says that the scholarship selection process has been intense due to the quality of applicants involved.

“Karl shows a lot of natural talent and promise in game development, and we are very pleased to announce him as the recipient of the 2011 Sidhe Elite Scholarship. There were many worthy applicants, but Karl’s portfolio and his commitment to learning made him stand out. Karl has demonstrated great potential, and we hope that this scholarship is a springboard for him towards a great career in game development.”

Media Design School CEO Frances Valintine says that the Sidhe Elite scholarship is an important part of the Kiwi game development industry.

“Media Design School is the only tertiary provider in New Zealand offering specific NZQA-approved qualifications in game development. Former recipients of this scholarship have gone on to work for Sidhe and other leading game studios, so Karl is definitely following in the footpath of some of the best in the industry.”

The Sidhe Elite scholarship covers 50% of the course fees for the one-year undergraduate game development course at Media Design School, in either game art or programming. Media Design School will then cover 50% of the fees for the first year of the two-year Graduate Diploma of Game Development.

“I think Karl’s application for the Sidhe scholarship really stood out because he set out clear goals of where he would like to take his career. He showed passion for the subject in his portfolio by demonstrating previous games he had made using a drag-and-drop game editor,” says Media Design School Interactive Gaming tutor Steffan Hooper.

“Karl is now studying towards our Diploma of Interactive Gaming, a great foundation course for students with no experience in game programming. Previous graduates from our game development courses have gone on to work for Sidhe, Ninja Kiwi, Gameloft and Cerebral Fix, to name a few,” says Hooper.

ENDS