UNDP and Al Ghurair Game Development Bootcamp

Founded: 2025

Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (programme runs virtually)

Type: Game development training programme

Parent: Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation, a Dubai-based educational philanthropy founded in 2015

Delivery partners: HP, which provides its Gaming Garage initiative, and the UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development

Lead: TBC. Mona Ghander, the foundation's Vice President of Partnerships and Programs, spoke for the foundation at launch.

Funding: Fully funded by the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation. Participants pay no fees.

Website: https://www.alghurairfoundation.org/program/undp-and-al-ghurair-game-development-bootcamp/

About: The UNDP and Al Ghurair Game Development Bootcamp is a free, 12 week virtual programme that trains Emirati youth for junior roles in game development and esports. It launched in Dubai in April 2025 alongside the Dubai Esports and Games Festival and is described as the UAE's first game development bootcamp.

Track 1 covers coding foundations, Unity and game design, and ends with a playable 2D prototype. Track 2 covers 3D workflows, optimisation and balancing, and is listed as coming soon. Both tracks include CV and interview preparation, mentoring and entrepreneurship content. Sessions are live, with an estimated 5 to 9 hours of self study each week, and some in person networking events. Graduates receive course completion certificates and join an alumni community.

Teams present their projects at a Demo Day and are encouraged to publish their games on itch.io. The programme is tied to the UAE Digital Economy Strategy and the Dubai Program for Gaming 2033.

Eligibility: Open to Emirati students and recent graduates aged 18 to 35, preferably from STEM fields. Track 1 needs no game development experience, though basic C# is an advantage. Applications for cohort 4 closed on October 30th, 2026.

Cohort track record: Cohort 1 launched in April 2025 with more than 150 participants. Nearly 80% were Emirati and 75% were women. The programme's target is to train 500 Emirati youth.

Cohort 2: TBC.

Cohort 3 showed its games at Demo Day, and teams published their projects on itch.io. Cohort 3 numbers: TBC.

Cohort 4 applications closed on October 30th, 2026. Start date and cohort size: TBC.

Partner network: Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation, HP and UNDP. The Dubai Future Foundation hosted the foundation and HP's December 2025 agreement to bring HP Gaming Garage and HP LIFE into the foundation's Innovation Hubs.

Example projects: The Final Chime, HeritageQuest, Puzzle Portals, Endless Escape, JELLOJELLO, Wenana by Manara Studios, Escape Day and TimeCone.

Other programmes: In December 2025, the foundation and HP signed an agreement to integrate HP Gaming Garage and HP LIFE into the foundation's Innovation Hubs, building on the bootcamp. Track 2, advanced game development, is listed as coming soon.