ITI Techmedia signs first commercialisation deal

ITI Techmedia today announced that it has reached its first commercial milestone with the signing of a commercialisation licence for its Games-Based Learning (GBL) RandD programme. ITI Techmedia and TPLD (Team Play Learning Dynamics), the Scottish Games-Based Learning specialists, have signed a license agreement allowing TPLD to utilise the new technology.

Games-Based Learning is an emerging part of the wider e-learning market. It aims to combine the most powerful features of computer games technology into a learning tool that will help players to acquire new knowledge and skills. ITI Techmedia invested 1.9m in the two year programme to develop an authoring platform that will greatly simplify the process of developing Games-Based Learning content for training and educational purposes. Research commissioned by ITI Techmedia estimates that the European market alone will be worth approximately US$125 million by 2015.

David Creed, CEO of ITI Techmedia, said: ìIn 2004 we identified a market opportunity to create new technology that could help to propel an emerging market into the mainstream. In the two years we have been developing this technology the ëserious gamesí movement has moved on apace and Games-Based Learning is becoming widely recognised as the future of learning technology. This commercialisation deal will enable TPLD to create Games-Based Learning applications quickly and efficiently and offer tools to third parties to help them create content for their own Games-Based Learning applications. It has the potential to place TPLD and Scotland at the forefront of this market.î

Jim Piggot, CEO of TPLD also said, ìThis was ITI Techmediaís first RandD programme and we have been involved since its beginnings in September 2004. We are delighted that we now have access to world-class technology that we are in a prime position to exploit from our base in Dundee. We have been working hard over the past four years with key individuals and companies to help create a Games-Based Learning market and we anticipate significant growth in our business over the next three years as we roll out and further develop this technologyî.

Deputy First Minister, Nicol Stephen, said: ìThis is exactly what the ITIís were set up to achieve. It is great to see RandD programmes begin to reach commercialisation and provide Scottish companies with the opportunity to combine their skills and knowledge with cutting-edge technology to become market leaders. This is a clear example of how we can capitalise on the expertise that already exists in Scotland to develop a market leading solution.î

Accompanying this announcement is a document that provides an insight into the RandD Programme entitled ìGames-Based Learning ñ The Serious Side of Digital Gamesî. This insight, which includes commentary from Ben Sawyer, co-director of the Serious Games Initiative, looks at the concept of Games-Based Learning, the market opportunity and how technology can address it.

ITI Techmedia is currently investing a total of 34 million across a further five RandD programmes in technology areas as diverse as biosensing technology, online gaming, ultra-wideband wireless communications, machine-readable secure tagging and condition-based monitoring.

For further information on the programme or copies of the RandD programme insight document, please contact: Jamie Henderson at Firefly.