In 2024, the "School Internship Games" offers students in the 9th grade in Hamburg the opportunity to learn more about the variety of jobs at companies in the games industry as part of their mandatory school internship.

In the game studios InnoGames and Fishlabs, as well as at the University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg), professional game developers will give them hands-on insights into the processes and development steps of digital games with practical tasks in game design, programming, audio, art, and many other areas. During the three-week internship, the students will be supervised by media and educational professionals from the Creative Gaming Initiative, which also organizes the annual PLAY Festival in Hamburg. The internship will take place twice in 2024, once from January 8 until 26, for which students can apply until September 29 2023. The second internship will run from June 24 until July 12, interested students can send in their application for this edition until November 10. More information on the application process can be found at https://schulpraktikum-games.de/.

The school internship Games answers questions regarding the required skills and abilities of young professionals. It shows the range of jobs and training opportunities in the development and marketing of digital games. Sixteen young people can take part in the program each time, eight girls and eight boys, with a mix of students from district and high schools. 

Visits to game studios and hands-on experience over three weeks 

The internship will give students an insight into the work of professional game developers for three weeks from June 19 to July 7, 2023. During this time, the young people will get to know the city's game landscape on site and meet in the premises of the participating companies and HAW Hamburg in turn. In the studios, various industry experts provide practical insights into their day-to-day work, talk about their individual careers and answer the students' questions.  

The participants get to understand the various professional fields through practical exercises and the exploration of game mechanics. The internship ends with a presentation of the concepts and content developed by the students. The unique summer offer is financed by the games companies InnoGames and Fishlabs. Further partners for funding are being sought. The program is organized and carried out by the Creative Gaming Initiative in close cooperation with all partners involved. 

Applications for participation in the school internship Games 

Hamburg students of the 9th grade of all school types are invited to apply for participation in the School Internship Games from now until September 29 or November 10. Applications can be sent by email with the subject „Bewerbung Januar 2024” oder “Bewerbung Sommer 2024“ to hamburg@schulpraktikum-games.de. In addition to a cover letter and a resume as a PDF file, the following question should be answered: "In the development of which game title would you have liked to be involved and which task would you have taken on?" The application may also be submitted as a video with a maximum length of 45 seconds. The internship is recognized by schools as the company internship provided for in the curriculum. 

School Internship Games: Joint Project of the Hamburg Games Industry 

The "Internship Games" program is a unique offer from Hamburg and was already conducted four times at this point. It is jointly organized by players from the games industry, educators, and the university sector and is a good example of a strong collaboration to jointly bring the next generation of developers for the game's stronghold Hamburg on the way. Together, the players have been creating a varied and extensive range of supervision and internship opportunities with insights from more than one games company since 2021.   

Further information events by Gamecity Hamburg

In addition to the joint school internship in games, the Gamecity Hamburg initiative, which is supported by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, offers other opportunities to introduce students to the games industry as a career option. In the "Gamecity@School" program, students meet experts from the games industry for two school hours, who share insights and experiences from their everyday working lives. Schools and teachers interested in hosting a "Gamecity@School" event can contact Helen Krüger, Project Manager at Gamecity Hamburg, via e-mail: