Bolton Uni

superjohnmcginlay · Post by **superjohnmcginlay** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 3:54 pm

William the White wrote:Computer Game Design at Bolton has a good rep, and is technically up to date, and getting some investment. It isn't that narrow a degree these days - I'm told there are multiple outlets and, in any case, the creative and taechnical skills involved will be very useful and transferable to other careers. Graduates in history rarely become historians, those in English rarely professional critics.

My son just graduated in the same subject from Bradford (with a first - yeah!) so I've had conversations about the subject.

And I teach (not Computers of any kind!) at Bolton Uni. It obtained Uni status only about 5 years ago, but has a long and venerable history, reaching back to Victorian times when one of its antecedents was Bolton Mechanics Institute.

It's just opened a new campus in the Emirates, following on from others in Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore. It also validates degrees in partnership with universities in nigeria and S Africa.

It's pretty much in the same league as Teeside and Coventry which were also former polis.

You let your son go near Bradford? You musnt like him very much.

Montreal Wanderer · Post by **Montreal Wanderer** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 4:23 pm

William the White wrote:Computer Game Design at Bolton has a good rep, and is technically up to date, and getting some investment. It isn't that narrow a degree these days - I'm told there are multiple outlets and, in any case, the creative and taechnical skills involved will be very useful and transferable to other careers. Graduates in history rarely become historians, those in English rarely professional critics.

My son just graduated in the same subject from Bradford (with a first - yeah!) so I've had conversations about the subject.

And I teach (not Computers of any kind!) at Bolton Uni. It obtained Uni status only about 5 years ago, but has a long and venerable history, reaching back to Victorian times when one of its antecedents was Bolton Mechanics Institute.

It's just opened a new campus in the Emirates, following on from others in Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore. It also validates degrees in partnership with universities in nigeria and S Africa.

It's pretty much in the same league as Teeside and Coventry which were also former polis.

Ah, a good first hand view. In investigating computer game design and Bolton I game across a websiteby someone named Bolton.

However, it has some interesting information and, alas, the following caution: "Breaking into computer game design and programming is as easy as becoming a fulltime commercial game programmer- i.e. its not!"

Bruce Rioja · Post by **Bruce Rioja** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 4:33 pm

William the White wrote: And I teach at Bolton Uni.

Oh, bleedin' hell. Well that's the end of that then.

Montreal Wanderer · Post by **Montreal Wanderer** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 5:18 pm

Bruce Rioja wrote:
William the White wrote: And I teach at Bolton Uni.
Oh, bleedin' hell. Well that's the end of that then.

He's probably the Dean of Admissions too.

Puskas · Post by **Puskas** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 5:34 pm

Montreal Wanderer wrote:
Bruce Rioja wrote:
William the White wrote: And I teach at Bolton Uni.
Oh, bleedin' hell. Well that's the end of that then.
He's probably the Dean of Admissions too.

I aspire to being Dean.

It would be a job which, whoever holds it, proves their worth.

Possibly.

thebish · Post by **thebish** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 6:07 pm

Puskas wrote: I aspire to being Dean.

yeah, Matt's a poofy name... not as manly as "Dean" - like Dean Holdsworth... errr....

kagni · Post by **kagni** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 6:27 pm

In the late 80's Bolton Institute seemed to be struggling to attract students to their Engineering courses and they began recruiting in Ireland.
I ended up there doing an Engineering degree and had a great time.
Although for a 18 yr old coming from rural Ireland in the mid 80's, Bolton didn't have a lot to compete with.
The quality of the courses was decent but the college had a fairly poor reputation.
Since it got University status that seems to have improved.

Bruce Rioja · Post by **Bruce Rioja** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 6:53 pm

Montreal Wanderer wrote:
Bruce Rioja wrote:
William the White wrote: And I teach at Bolton Uni.
Oh, bleedin' hell. Well that's the end of that then.
He's probably the Dean of Admissions too.

Ah, but I'm paying to watch his play.

William the White · Post by **William the White** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 7:25 pm

Bruce Rioja wrote:
Montreal Wanderer wrote:
Bruce Rioja wrote:
William the White wrote: And I teach at Bolton Uni.
Oh, bleedin' hell. Well that's the end of that then.
He's probably the Dean of Admissions too.
Ah, but I'm paying to watch his play.

Yer in...

wovlad · Post by **wovlad** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:58 pm

Bolton Institute as it was ruined my life & I'm still suffering as result of doing a business degree there. If there is one decision I regret making in my life it was returning to Bolton Institute. I'm not going to go into details as it would take me hours but in a nutshell hard work & ability may not be enough, if they choose to they can & will deliberately fail you even before you've handed in a single paper or sat an exam.

Things I hope have changed since my days there but I would'nt bank on it.

thebish · Post by **thebish** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:00 pm

quick update - thanks for all the advice..

went to Bolton Uni Open day this week...

(incidentally William-the-white - the PR guy with the film about Bolton and what a fab place it is to live - bigged up the Octagon and its links with the University)

anyway - I was pleasantly surprised by Bolton Uni - has the advantage of a small-uni feel (11,000 students in total?) - cheap accomodation (£65pwk) - and what seems to be quite a clued-up, well connected and well equipped computer games programming/design/art dept. - quite a bit of new building - the most UN studentlike student bar I have ever seen! - and a nice compact campus feel (basically all in 2 buildings either side of the road)

we now have to look at Teeside, Coventry and Abertay (with grateful thanks to the Benevolent One for pointing me in their direction!)

all scary stuff - I don't feel old enough for any of this!

Prufrock · Post by **Prufrock** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:35 pm

thebish wrote:quick update - thanks for all the advice..

went to Bolton Uni Open day this week...

(incidentally William-the-white - the PR guy with the film about Bolton and what a fab place it is to live - bigged up the Octagon and its links with the University)

anyway - I was pleasantly surprised by Bolton Uni - has the advantage of a small-uni feel (11,000 students in total?) - cheap accomodation (£65pwk) - and what seems to be quite a clued-up, well connected and well equipped computer games programming/design/art dept. - quite a bit of new building - the most UN studentlike student bar I have ever seen! - and a nice compact campus feel (basically all in 2 buildings either side of the road)

we now have to look at Teeside, Coventry and Abertay (with grateful thanks to the Benevolent One for pointing me in their direction!)

all scary stuff - I don't feel old enough for any of this!

I'd completely forgotten about this, my next door neighbour is going to Bolton Uni to do Computer Games Programming! Small world.

Dan.M · Post by **Dan.M** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 9:18 pm

I think Staffordshire also do it.

officer_dibble · Post by **officer_dibble** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 9:59 pm

I know they do the course (at least I think its the same course) at Leeds Met, and its a decent rep there as well - well done on getting your son to look early! They probably have links with the company that make the GTA series amongst others...Rockstar games...who are based in Leeds. Supposed to be tough to get a job in the industry though? Anyway your lad sounds like he has his head screwed on and will make the right choice.

My Auntie did a specialism type course at BI recently and fitted it round her job and stuff, and has nowt but praise, which is more than I can say about the traditional red brick uni I went too!

mummywhycantieatcrayons · Post by **mummywhycantieatcrayons** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:30 pm

Not much to add other than to say I had a cracking night out in Dundee on a free return bus from St Andrews in the summer.

Thanks.

ratbert · Post by **ratbert** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:37 am

Dan.M wrote:I think Staffordshire also do it.

Staffordshire has a first rate computer studies department; not sure it does game design though.

Dan.M · Post by **Dan.M** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:43 am

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/study_here/courses/?starts=C

There are quite a few on there to look at

Might have been a newish addition.

William the White · Post by **William the White** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:51 pm

thebish wrote:quick update - thanks for all the advice..

went to Bolton Uni Open day this week...

(incidentally William-the-white - the PR guy with the film about Bolton and what a fab place it is to live - bigged up the Octagon and its links with the University)

anyway - I was pleasantly surprised by Bolton Uni - has the advantage of a small-uni feel (11,000 students in total?) - cheap accomodation (£65pwk) - and what seems to be quite a clued-up, well connected and well equipped computer games programming/design/art dept. - quite a bit of new building - the most UN studentlike student bar I have ever seen! - and a nice compact campus feel (basically all in 2 buildings either side of the road)

we now have to look at Teeside, Coventry and Abertay (with grateful thanks to the Benevolent One for pointing me in their direction!)

all scary stuff - I don't feel old enough for any of this!

It's a unique partnership. Will really pay dividends for students as well. We're doing a new module on shakesoeare in Production which will be taughht half at the theatre and half at the uni. Among other things.

Hoboh · Post by **Hoboh** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:55 pm

William the White wrote:
thebish wrote:quick update - thanks for all the advice..

went to Bolton Uni Open day this week...

(incidentally William-the-white - the PR guy with the film about Bolton and what a fab place it is to live - bigged up the Octagon and its links with the University)

anyway - I was pleasantly surprised by Bolton Uni - has the advantage of a small-uni feel (11,000 students in total?) - cheap accomodation (£65pwk) - and what seems to be quite a clued-up, well connected and well equipped computer games programming/design/art dept. - quite a bit of new building - the most UN studentlike student bar I have ever seen! - and a nice compact campus feel (basically all in 2 buildings either side of the road)

we now have to look at Teeside, Coventry and Abertay (with grateful thanks to the Benevolent One for pointing me in their direction!)

all scary stuff - I don't feel old enough for any of this!
It's a unique partnership. Will really pay dividends for students as well. We're doing a new module on shakesoeare in Production which will be taughht half at the theatre and half at the uni. Among other things.

I had no idea I was dealing with a proffessor here!!! Respect man.
(Have you fixed that car yet so it goes back to the right year?)

Connect with your social network account

Bolton Uni

Who is online