Shahneila Saeed
Director of Digital Schoolhouse, Ukie
From coding challenges to creative storytelling, video games offer a hands-on way for young minds to pursue careers in STEAM.
Games spark curiosity
Video games are often the first creative medium that young people engage with as makers, not just consumers. Designing and coding games nurtures core STEM skills: logic, systems thinking and storytelling. These transferable skills underpin careers in computer science, engineering and data analysis.
Creativity meets computation
Game development mirrors the scientific method, hypothesis, testing and iteration. It fosters resilience and experimentation in digital environments. This blend of creativity and computation makes games a compelling gateway to STEM pathways.
Game development mirrors the scientific method,
hypothesis, testing and iteration. It fosters resilience
and experimentation in digital environments.
Beyond entertainment
The impact of game technologies now reaches far beyond entertainment. From powering simulations in surgical training to supporting climate modelling and AI research, the sector is already fuelling innovation in other industries.
A call to reframe
It’s time to move past outdated narratives and recognise games as a powerful route into future-proof careers. With the UK’s games industry growing rapidly, investing in digital creativity, including proposals for a Digital Creativity GCSE, could unlock new talent pipelines. A young person building a game today could well be the biomedical engineer or ethical technologist of tomorrow.
