Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has recently concluded its Creativity @ Schools Awards, which began back in 2020. The programme aims to develop skills and talent in the digital creative content field amongst school students, and this year’s competition saw over 700 registered participants from 40 schools in  Malaysia showcasing their talents in both animation and games development. 

The competition was split into two categories – animation and games. Adam Auza’i Bin Mohamad Zaper of SMK Syed Saffi, Perlis, grabbed first place in the animation category (Kre8tif! @ Schools Animation Awards) while Airil Hariz bin Zolkefli of SMK Seksyen 5 Wangsa Maju, Kuala  Lumpur, was the winner of the games category (LEVEL UP @  Schools Game Awards).

Both winners walked away with RM3,000 in prize money and a winners’ certificate, while their schools received five Wacom tablets each. 

LEVEL UP @ Schools  Game Awards champion Airil Hariz bin Zolkefli said:

“I’m honoured to have won the champion’s spot for the LEVEL UP @ Schools  Award, and as much as I’m delighted to win, I’m happier that I got to utilise the skills and knowledge I have learnt during the LEVEL UP @ Schools programs.

The program taught me various skills such as User Interface, User Experience, and sound design while giving me a good idea of what game design development is like.

It is something that I might want to pursue in the future.”

Kre8tif! @ Schools Animation Awards winner Adam Auza’i Bin  Mohamad Zaper said:

“The knowledge and skills in animation production that I learnt during the Kre8tif! @ Schools program has been extremely helpful.

It has enabled me to  learn what is exactly needed in the animation production field like 3D animation, rendering and character building, increasing my interest in animation design more.

Having won first place in the competition is just a  bonus to what I have learned from the program.”

The Creativity @ Schools competition is a yearly competition organised by MDEC, which is part of their overall Creativity @ Schools program. This program was introduced to inspire & nurture creativity among young  Malaysians and foster interest in animation, visual effects and game design leading towards encouraging enrolment in creative content courses at tertiary levels while also planting seeds for new IP generation.

Creativity @  Schools introduces two main programs; LEVEL UP @ Schools & Kre8tif! @ Schools. 

• LEVEL UP @ Schools: A program to create awareness & interest in the game development ecosystem. Introduced in 2016 to nurture future talents and encourage enrollment in game development fields at the tertiary level.
• Kre8tif! @ Schools: An animation program to inspire & nurture creativity among young Malaysians. Introduced in 2019, it educates & foster interests in animation while encouraging enrollment in creative content courses at the tertiary levels.

To further nurture and develop Malaysia’s Digital Creative Content industry, MDEC is ramping up its efforts in providing skilling opportunities, tools and resources as well as financial assistance to help businesses within this industry thrive and be competitive industry leaders.

One of the initiatives includes the  Digital Content Grant, a Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara (PENJANA) initiative to support local digital creative companies in developing,  producing, co-producing and marketing their digital content in animation. You can learn more about all that by heading over here.

Check out the full list of winners for MDEC’s Creativity @ Schools Awards below:

KRE8TIF! @ SCHOOLS ANIMATION AWARDS

LEVEL UP @ SCHOOLS GAME AWARDS