Make Games SA raises bursary for underprivileged game dev students

Non-profit association Makes Games SA has announced they raised over R25,000 required to send two underprivileged students to study game development at WITS within 4 days.

On Thursday, 13 February 2014, Hanli Geyser (WITS lecturer and PhD candidate) posted an urgent appeal to the Make Games SA forum explaining the situation.

“Two students with great potential had been denied the funding they needed – R 22,728 to be exact – to be able to study Game Design at the university in 2014. By Sunday, February 16, over R25,000 had been raised through donations from individuals and game development studios alike. The two students in question, Thsetso Gift Radebe, and Tumelo Thabane, will no doubt be delighted with the news that they their hard work has been rewarded and they will be able to pursue their dreams at WITS university this year.”

“I want to study game design because I am passionate about the career and it’s what I’ve been dreaming to study since childhood. I hope my presence will change the gaming industry when I get a chance to finish the degree,” said Radebe.

“I want to study game design because I always wanted to know how games interact with people. I have always dreamed of having my own touch on the game industry and developing some of the best games in South Africa after finishing the degree,” said Thabane.

“Make Games SA is a non-profit association that is focused on developing the game development industry in South Africa,” Nick Hall, MGSA committee chairperson explained. “The community has been looking at the possibility of creating our own bursary to help get more enthusiastic students studying game design but this was our first opportunity to really show our support in this way.”