Universities Pick Up Hansoft Educational Licenses : Universities Pick Up Hansoft Educational Licenses

UPPSALA, SWEDEN - October 30, 2009 - Hansoft, the leading vendor of tools for project management and QA for large software development teams, has experienced a kick start in the academic world with the launch of Hansoft’s educational license.

Several universities and game development schools have signed up for educational licenses and Hansoft is now being used in a number of student projects around the world. One of them is the Scottish Centre for Excellence in Computer Games Education, at University of Abertay Dundee.

“We expect our students to work on computer games development projects in a professional studio environment, and in a professional manner. Hansoft enables the students to work together across courses and disciplines with improved communications, project management and reporting practices. With Hansoft’s educational license, we get the opportunity to use a professional tool at undergraduate level, something that makes our students better equipped to create high quality media and develop professional practices that will get them that dream job after graduation”, said Gregor White, Director of Academic Enterprise, University of Abertay Dundee.

The idea behind the educational license is to fill the need for universities to be in tune with the latest tools in the industry, for studios to be able to recruit graduates already proficient in using Hansoft and for students to increase their chances on the highly competitive job market.

“This initiative actually came directly from the industry. Several of our clients independently approached us about the idea of an educational license to make student more ready for the everyday work at their studios. The response from lecturers and students has been overwhelming and we are really glad to be able to support the talent of the future with Hansoft”, said Hansoft CEO Patric Palm.

Another example is Image Campus in Argentina.

“At Image Campus, we have identified that one of the major problems within many Digital Media Development Studios, and particularly Games Development Studios, is the lack of use of good project management methodologies and tools. In the process we tried many project management tools, from off-the-shelf products to open source solutions, until we found and chose to use Hansoft. One of the greatest advantages of Hansoft is the ability to integrate agile development methodologies with collaborative scheduling in one view. This speeds up production cycles and puts data in the hands of Project Managers with real time reporting. Also, by having an integrated tool deployed across the studio, artists, developers and project managers all know exactly where they are in the production cycle and what is left to tackle in each hierarchical level. We consider project management skills key factors of success and we truly believe that teaching them is an obligation for serious schools who care about the quality of their graduates and about their future in a competitive industry. Hansofts educational license allows us to do so and we expect that Hansoft will keep addressing studios needs and to provide top quality software in the future”, says Aníbal Menezes, Institutional Relations Manager, Image Campus.