CODE, the New Zealand-based funding and support body for the local game development industry, has announced a tweak to funding grants that builds in mandatory opportunities for mentorship within studios. Going forward, all recipients of the Kickstart and StartUp Grant funds will take part in a Pay-It-Forward Mentorship, to aid other developers as they work on their own projects.
“As CODE’s programmes and systems of support have grown and developed over time, the CODE team has seen huge benefits when teams help each other through sharing their learnings and experiences,” the organisation shared.
As it noted, many teams with existing grants already provide mentorship to other teams, of their own volition. With the considerable results of this knowledge sharing, CODE has now opted to include this as a requirement of existing funds, ensuring that teams are making time to elevate others.
The Pay-It-Forward Mentorship will specifically require teams with the KickStart Grant to donate up to two hours of time to mentorship, and teams with the StartUp Grant to donate up to 8 hours of mentorship. These hours can cover a range of topics, including business development, marketing, technical skills (programming, design, art, QA), or CODE grant application advice. Teams can offer this mentorship during their grant milestones, or up to two years after the grant has concluded.
Read: New Zealand’s CODE is forging a new future for local game developers
To ensure fairness, CODE has pledged to find times that aren’t “too intrusive” for grant recipients, outlining that it would be counter-productive to eat into critical times that are allowed by the grant in the first place. Rather, teams will be consulted, to ensure the process is valuable for folks on all sides, and that exact, useful knowledge can be shared when appropriate.
As CODE makes clear, mentorship is incredibly valuable, and requiring it in the granting of funds will allow for a stronger network of video game developers within New Zealand, buoyed by a shared knowledge that benefits everyone.
Frankly, mentorship being built into grand requirements feels like a very thoughtful idea, particularly given the considerations shared. Mentorship is a small ask for the support that CODE grants, and with a loop of knowledge shared, developers of all skill levels may gain new knowledge, and be able to share the knowledge they already have, building confidence.
Those keen to learn more about the work of CODE, and how new mentorship opportunities will be applied, can visit the organisation’s website.
