The Mind Behind the Computer Games Boot Camp

Andrew at the Monash University IT Awards Night

It's about doing what other's aren't prepared to do, and taking everything as a learning lesson, says Andrew Owen of Monash University's wildly successful Computer Games Boot Camp. Since its conception in 2009, the event has grown from a five day event with a turnout of around 300 high school students, to a seven day even with presentations and exhibitions from the biggest and most popular gaming and I.T related companies existent on the planet.

When asked about the success of his creation, founder and organizer Andrew Owen notes the importance of initiative, the idea that there's no failure, only feedback and the vitality of persistence. An example that he speaks about is the story behind one of America's greatest politicians of all time, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln suffered from a vast multitudes of failures before ever succeeding in his presidency, such as losing political elections, failing business ventures and having his sweetheart die, but his determination to succeed overcame this failure. Andrew describes how many of the successful people throughout history have had to overcome failure after failure, rejection after rejection before finding the success, and this idea is one that helped the creation of the Computer Games Boot Camp.


A mindset that Andrew employs is that the results you get help you to improve for next time. He is constantly thinking ahead - during the 2011 Boot Camp, he is already thinking of ways to improve and evolve the 2012 event. Every time something goes wrong, it's a lesson for next time and a catalyst for constant improvement. This cycle of utilizing feedback will have been evident for past members of the Computer Games Boot Camp, as a common response from students of the 2010 event was the length and inflexibility of presentations. This has been addressed in this year's event by allowing students to choose the presenter they are most interested in and attend that specific seminar. As a attendee myself, I'm glad to say that this works brilliantly - a testimony to the truth in Andrew's thinking.

Finally, there's the element of "Just doing it'. Owen talks about a celebrity who goes out and just does things for the sake of doing them with the reason that 'no-one else has done it, and now I have'. It was this type of initiative that enabled Andrew to found the Boot Camp. When asked the reason behind starting the event, his response was a hearty "there was nothing else like it". He wanted to give high-school students opportunities that he never had as a student, and present the I.T industry in an environment that didn't include the typical propaganda and promotional material that most I.T related events are full of.

The Computer Games Boot Camp is an annual seven day event showcasing many facades of the Information Technology industry, with presentations from both international companies and passionate students. High school students in years 9-12 will have the opportunity to listen to presenters working in about every aspect of the IT industry. And the sweet thing? It's 100% free.

Check out the website at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/promotion/games-boot-camp/
and the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/97161739747?ap=1