Monday, 23 March 2020
The ever-evolving story of computer gaming will be under the spotlight in a significant new collaboration between the University of Nottingham and the national gaming heritage, culture and education charity, the BGI.
The partnership is being established as the University welcomes the BGI to its new Research and Development offices at Lakeside Arts on University Park.
The BGI was established to run the National Videogame Museum and its collection (previously the National Videogame Arcade in Hockley, Nottingham). The Museum is now in Sheffield, but the Technical and Collections team will be working out of the Lakeside campus at the University of Nottingham.
The BGI’s new footprint on campus will allow its R&D team to collaborate closely with university researchers from many disciplines including the arts, social sciences, education, engineering, psychology and computer science.
Among the plans for new activities are a programme of engagement with schools, internships for students at the University and funding bids for new research projects in the field of digital and games culture.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Arts, Professor Jeremy Gregory
Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the University of Nottingham’s Faculty of Arts, Professor Jeremy Gregory, said: “We are delighted to announce our new partnership with the BGI. The collaboration is particularly timely as Nottingham has recently been awarded Immersive Hub status as part of the UK’s Digital Catapult programme. Our collaboration will help to create the country’s No.1 space for videogame memorabilia, gaming technology and videogame research, and will feed directly into the public-facing museum and exhibition space at the National Videogame Museum in Sheffield.”
Rick Gibson © BGI
CEO of the BGI, Rick Gibson, said: “Partnering with University of Nottingham is an important and strategic step for our new charity. We’re thrilled to find a permanent home for our Collection, to work alongside the University’s team of expert researchers and to base our new education and curation office here. We have a long and successful history of working with the University, especially the Mixed Reality Lab, and we expect our Nottingham-based team of curators, archivists and educators will grow substantially over the coming years.”
Professor of Creative and Cultural Industries at the University of Nottingham, Helen Kennedy, has been appointed a trustee of the BGI. Helen said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for BGI and the university community to co-create an historically astute future-oriented vision for gaming and games culture. Together we have the opportunity to shape an approach to gaming, games making and games culture that recognises the critical challenges and the incredible opportunities facing the liveliest of our contemporary art forms.”
Professor Helen Kennedy, Department of Cultural, Media and Visual Studies
The University and the BGI have signed a collaboration agreement giving the Institute access to office space at Lakeside Arts and space for the housing of its collection of gaming memorabilia including design documents, original concept art, hard and software prototypes and British-made video games dating back to the early 1970s. These precious archives will be housed at the University and used to regenerate the popular exhibition at the National Videogame Museum in Sheffield. The archives include material from Rebellion in Oxford, Rare in Leicestershire and Games Workshop in Nottingham.
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For more information please contact Emma Rayner, Media Relations Manager for the Faculty of Arts on +44 (0)115 951 5793 or email emma.rayner@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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