XPark Games partners with University of Surrey

We’re thrilled to share that XPark Games is collaborating with the University of Surrey on the next phase of our research and development.

Last week marked our first meeting with a team of brilliant MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management students from the University of Surrey, who will be conducting product–market research for XPark Games over the coming weeks. Their work will help us deepen our understanding of how schools, careers leaders, students, parents, and employer partners use,  and want to use, gamified virtual work experience.

This collaboration is personal as well as professional. Just three years ago, our founder was on exactly the same MSc programme, working through the very same module under the guidance of Jim Sears. To come full circle and return as an industry partner, sharing the XPark Games journey with this year’s cohort, is genuinely moving. It’s also a powerful reminder of how university programmes can transform what an entrepreneur, an educator, or a STEM student goes on to do next.

Why this matters for our roadmap

XPark Games creates gamified experiences that help students explore digital careers: from cybersecurity and AI to software, data, and beyond: in interactive, hands-on ways. As the platform grows, we want our product decisions to be grounded in rigorous market understanding, not assumptions. The MSc team’s insights will help us refine our product strategy, sharpen our messaging to careers leaders and employer partners, and identify the next set of features and partnerships that will accelerate impact.

Why university–industry partnerships matter

For any EdTech business, collaboration with universities is one of the most powerful ways to combine academic rigour with real-world commercial focus. It also gives students a genuine taste of working with industry on a live, mission-driven project: a meaningful piece of experience that complements their formal STEM and business education and supports their own future career pathways.

A huge thank you to Jim Sears and the University of Surrey for fostering such meaningful collaborations between entrepreneurs and students. It’s a brilliant example of the kind of inspiring cycle of learning, applying, and giving back that we’d love to see become the norm across higher education.

Watch this space for what we learn together.