IICT and GDAI Sign MOU to Align Game Education With Industry Needs

The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Game Developers Association of India (GDAI) to collaborate on strengthening game development education and industry engagement in India. 

The agreement creates a structured framework for cooperation between academia and the domestic video games and interactive entertainment sector, as reported by AnimationXpress.

The MoU aims to better align academic programs with real-world game development needs through knowledge exchange, curriculum dialogue, and industry-linked initiatives focused on building production-ready talent.

Industry-linked Framework Targets Talent Gaps in Gaming

The partnership comes as the gaming industry in India continues to scale in users, revenue, and economic impact. The digital gaming market is projected to reach about $4.3 billion USD by 2030, growing at an 18% CAGR, with overall gaming and interactive media revenues expected to rise from roughly $2.4B in FY25 (fiscal year) to $7.8B by FY30, driven by mobile-first growth and in-game monetization.

Reports also suggest the sector could contribute around 1% of India’s GDP by 2030, and could support about 250K new jobs by 2025, highlighting the growing need for production-ready talent. Under the agreement, both organizations will pursue ecosystem-oriented initiatives that link education more closely with real-world workflows and emerging game development technologies.

Commenting on the collaboration, GDAI chairman, Shridhar Muppidi, said India’s gaming industry has “scaled rapidly” in users and content, but production-ready talent remains uneven, a gap the partnership aims to address by aligning education with real-world development needs.

Meanwhile, IICT founding director, Ashish Kulkarni, said education must “evolve in step with industry workflows and global standards,” stressing that industry-linked collaborations are essential to keep curriculum, tools, and pedagogy relevant.

IICT was launched in May 2025 by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in association with FICCI and CII. It began its inaugural academic batch in August 2025 with 18 courses at its Phase-I campus on Pedder Road, Mumbai, positioning the institute as a foundational platform for building India’s future AVGC-XR talent across students and working professionals.

Together, the partnership positions IICT and GDAI to play a coordinating role in shaping industry-aligned game education in India at a peak moment for India’s gaming sector, as the industry enters its next phase of growth and talent demand.