More than 270 research papers published, more than 22,000 citations listed, 20 games released, an M.Sc. programme placed within the top 25 Game Design Schools worldwide, and continually hosting some of the most active researchers on the island - these are but a few of the achievements the Institute of Digital Games (IDG) celebrated at its tenth anniversary event held at Valletta Campus on Friday 27 October 2023.
The event was attended by Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation, Hon. Keith Azzopardi Tanti, University Rector, Prof. Alfred J. Vella, former IDG Director, Prof. Georgios N. Yannakakis, current IDG Director, Dr Daniel Vella, as well as distinguished alumni of the Institute, who have gone on to become extremely successful and prolific in their respective careers.
Prof. Yannakakis spoke highly of the Institute’s alumni, saying IDG contributed 6.8% of Malta’s new doctorate graduates in STEM, and 69% of new foreign doctorate students. This has been in part thanks to a well thought-out teaching programme, with the M.Sc. in Digital Games having been featured within the Princeton Review, and partly thanks to the indubitable grit of the students and researchers, with one of the culminations being modl.ai, a start-up empowering the next generation of game creators.
Dr Vella, who joined the Institute in 2015 and took the helm as Director at the start of the current academic year, expressed his satisfaction with the “creatively active” members of the Institute, meaning that they weren’t just scholars and game designers, but also musicians, DJs and literary writers, making IDG an inspiring venue for collaboration, enabling many to learn, connect and grow. He highlighted the IDG’s plans to continue building on its achievements over the coming years, including the aim of hosting the Digital Games Research Associaton (DiGRA) International Conference, the largest and highest-profile annual conference in the field of game studies.
University Rector, Prof. Alfred J. Vella, said IDG’s achievements should be celebrated by the whole University community, saying investment into IDG “is bearing considerable fruit and the Institute today is renowned worldwide for the high quality of its training provision and research performance.”
Hon. Azzopardi Tanti also spoke highly about IDG’s achievements, putting into perspective the funding that it has attracted and it continues to attract. In the period 2014 - 2020, the Institute managed to attract no less than 9.3% of the country’s research funding, something which has most certainly contributed to the country’s Research & Innovation growth and sustainability, and which has clearly established the role of the Institute towards improving the country’s research intensity. Over €6 million of funds have also been allocated through FP7/H2020/Horizon Europe projects.
The Institute has, over this last decade, widened its research focus to include artificial intelligence, machine learning, procedural content generation, philosophy and games, game narrative and writing, board game design, as well as music and sound in games. It has successfully managed to combine technical and design research in the arts and humanities by looking at games through a multidisciplinary perspective rooted in the belief that games are one of the most significant media in the contemporary landscape.
A special edition of THINK, the University’s research magazine, was officially launched during the festivities, with a focus on the volume of work amassed by members of the Institute. The publication includes a timeline of the IDG’s achievements, a number of testimonials from distinguished guests that have worked in collaboration with the Institute, and some important mentions in local and international media.
The University of Malta’s Pro-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer, Prof. Ing. Simon G. Fabri, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of THINK, called the Institute “a unique hub for cutting-edge research, innovation and education in the field.”
Here’s to many more, IDG!
