Epic Games collaborated with with Staffordshire University in England to open the Epic Games Centre, a fully equipped space for use by students in the university’s games design courses.

　　“There’s a lot of talk about the need for the industry to get more involved with the academic process and have a greater input into how games design is taught," European Territory Manager at Epic Games Mike Gamble said in press release. "This collaboration will enable Staffs students to have a direct link with Epic and a direct line to the heart of the industry. In turn, Epic and its developer partners will have access to these world-class facilities along with a new generation of game makers totally immersed within the world of Unreal Engine technology.”

　　The partnership is set for two years and will have Epic provide hardware, teaching time and access to software and key personnel. The Epic Games Centre will also host Epic Developer Days for professional Unreal Engine users, with the first events starting this spring.

　　"We've no doubt that this collaboration will make our courses more attractive to potential students and provide us all with a new dimension of awareness about how the industry works and evolves,” Dr Bobbie Fletcher of Staffordshire University said.