West College Scotland is set to host the Scottish Games Education Symposium 2026, bringing educators, industry professionals and creative practitioners together in Paisley for a national conversation on skills, creativity and collaboration.
The Scottish Games Education Symposium is delivered in partnership between the Scottish Games Education Network and the Scottish Games Network, with West College Scotland serving as both host and lead sponsor of the 2026 event.
Dr Amanda Ford, Computing Lecturer at West College Scotland and Founder of the Scottish Games Education Network, said it was a privilege to host the symposium at the college’s Paisley campus. She said the event would welcome colleagues not only from games education but from across the wider creative industries, creating space to explore new connections, fresh ideas and meaningful opportunities for students.
This year’s symposium will place a strong emphasis on the wider creative industries alongside games development. West College Scotland’s HN Games Development course reflects this interdisciplinary approach, covering the full creative process of interactive experiences, from planning and design through to programming, art and animation, storytelling and sound.
While games development is deeply creative, it is not always fully recognised within the broader creative industries landscape. The 2026 symposium aims to help bridge that gap by encouraging dialogue between games, art and animation, storytelling and sound production, and by promoting collaboration across disciplines that are often taught within the same institutions but rarely intersect in practice.
The event will bring together voices from education and industry to share perspectives on how games are viewed within the creative sector, explore opportunities for stronger collaboration between disciplines, and discuss how education can better equip students with the skills needed to meet the changing demands of the creative economy.
Organisers say the aim is to ensure graduates leave education not only with strong technical abilities, but also with the creative, collaborative and interdisciplinary skills required for a wide range of career pathways.
The Scottish Games Education Symposium 2026 will welcome educators and academics involved in games, computing and creative subjects, industry professionals and business leaders from games and the wider creative industries, and policymakers and sector organisations with an interest in skills development and creative education.
The event will take place on Tuesday 3rd March, from 9.30am to 4.00pm, at West College Scotland’s Paisley campus. Those wishing to attend the Scottish Games Education Symposium 2026 can sign up via the official event link.
West College Scotland is the lead sponsor of SGES 2026, with the Scottish Games Education Network and the Scottish Games Network also inviting expressions of interest from organisations looking to support the delivery of the event. Organisations interested in becoming partners or sponsors are encouraged to contact the organisers directly.
Headline Credit: West College Scotland