On April 17th, the closing ceremony and award ceremony of the 3rd Global Digital Skills Championships (referred to as GDSC2024) took place at Ningbo Second Technician College.
This event was jointly organized by the International Alliance for Digital Game Education (IADGE) and the Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau, with guidance from the Ningbo Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, and hosted by Ningbo Second Technician College. Attendees included Wang Fei, member of the Ningbo Municipal Education Commission and Deputy Director of the Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau; Lou Xiaodong, member of the party committee and vice president of Zhejiang Gongshang Vocational and Technical College; Shao Jiankai, director of vocational education at the Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau; Wang Yingjie, deputy director of the management department of vocational schools at the Ningbo Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau; Chen Shudong, party branch secretary and dean of Ningbo Vocational and Adult Education College; and Felix Yip, chairman of the Shanghai Chapter of the International Association for Computer Graphics and Image Processing (Shanghai ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter) and head of the Chinese expert group for the 3D Digital Game Art project at the World Skills Competition.
According to Felix Yip, the final competition of GDSC2024 involved two projects: 3D Digital Game Art and Animation Technology. The 3D Digital Game Art module synchronized with the standards of the World Skills Competition, comprehensively assessing participants’ professional technical abilities in concept design, 3D modeling and material production, and animation interaction. The Animation Technology project, on the other hand, was a new competition requiring teams of two to collaboratively use motion capture equipment to design and produce a small animation film, testing not only individual technical skills but also teamwork abilities.
In the intense competition on the 15th and 16th, 24 contestants from nine countries and regions including China, Canada, Hong Kong, Finland, France, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Kazakhstan showcased their outstanding digital skills in the virtual world. Ultimately, Wu Yanting from China won the gold medal, while Xie Yuting and Huang Wen from China won silver medals, and Zhang Haoxian from Hong Kong, GOH JIA HUI from Singapore, and Xie Lianghao from China won bronze medals.
Unlike previous editions, this year’s GDSC final competition was held offline for the first time, inviting experts and judges from the global digital skills field to gather together for face-to-face communication and competition. This not only strengthened communication and friendship among participants from various countries but also provided a live interactive platform for global digital skills exchange.
It is worth mentioning that, to showcase China’s intangible cultural heritage and promote cultural interaction at home and abroad, Ningbo Second Technician College set up a special area for experiencing traditional Chinese culture. Visitors were attracted to traditional Chinese arts and crafts such as clay sculpture, tea art, intangible cultural heritage bean painting, clay molding, Chinese knot bracelets, Yue kiln celadon, and blue calico printing and dyeing, where they not only appreciated exquisite artistic skills but also experienced the production process firsthand.
The landing of this grand event in the field of digital skills in Ningbo demonstrates high recognition of Ningbo’s achievements in digital skills education and digital industry development. Xu Ying, vice president of Ningbo Second Technician College, stated that this competition “promotes learning through competition, promotes teaching through competition, promotes improvement through competition, and promotes innovation through competition,” providing a platform for top talents in the fields of 3D digital game art and animation technology at home and abroad to exchange and learn, thereby propelling Ningbo to the forefront of talent cultivation in the field of digital skills and contributing significantly to Ningbo’s digital transformation and creative economic development.
(Ifeng.com Ningbo Comprehensive Report Correspondent Bao Jingfei)