The centre requires an investment of €4.5 million, partly financed by Flanders and Europe, and should be ready by the beginning of next year.

Since 2006, DAE has been training students to become active in the gaming industry and interactive 3D sector. “They learn to create games, movies, commercials and simulations,” says Yves Pauwels, a lecturer in 3D techniques. “But it’s not just for the entertainment sector; the technology can, for example, help to prepare people to fight fires by simulating a fire in a virtual environment.”

About 450 students are following the courses at Howest. Among them are many international students, as it is possible to take the lessons in English. Next year, students will be able to work at the centre’s green key studios, where a green screen and special effects technique allow actors to enter imaginary situations in a virtual world. With motion-capture technology, they can adapt the movements of people to create realistic animations. Students will also have access to the newest audio and montage technology.

Howest plans to hang an LED display, often used to project adverts, on one of the centre’s walls, to show the students’ projects to passers-by. (Its ambitious idea of providing a landing pad for helicopters has been dropped, however.)

The centre will also function as an incubator where graduates can start their own companies. “This support is essential to help the sector to grow in Flanders,” says Pauwels. Belgium currently has only a dozen companies active in the 3D and gaming industry. “Most of our graduates try their luck abroad, where they often end up in prominent firms. But hopefully they will return after gathering experience to boost the Flemish industry and make it as famous as its comic art.”

www.howest.be