CARY, NC - Epic Games has announced the first round of academic and educational recipients of Unreal Dev Grants, a $5 million program Epic launched earlier this year to provide no-strings-attached funding to developers of promising early-stage projects. Today 10 contributors are being awarded more than $75,000 for their exemplary work on Unreal Engine learning resources.
Each of the hand-selected winners have a proven track record of building educational content for Unreal Engine 4 and are actively developing new material from which the community at large will benefit.
The talented educators and developers recognized today are receiving the first Unreal Dev Grants for education thanks to their tireless contributions to the UE4 community, said Luis Cataldi, education evangelist at Epic Games. Ive personally seen the fruits of their efforts and generosity of spirit make significant differences for those seeking to master our tools and technology. We are excited to recognize these leaders for helping to bring up the next generation of UE4 developers.
Unreal Dev Grant recipients are as follows:
Kyle Ackerman, University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts: With the top game design program in the country, according to Princeton Review rankings, Kyle is working with numerous educators at USC Cinematic Arts to expand the university's Unreal Engine curriculum.
James Butcher, Staffordshire University: Not only is James responsible for driving the partnership behind the Epic Games Centre at Staffordshire University, he is a prominent Unreal Engine educational leader across Europe. When he's not busy helping others, he contributes to the development of games, online training and books.
Aram Cookson, Savannah College of Art & Design: A game development professor at
SCAD, Ari is completing a new book that can be used for Unreal Engine university courses.
Christina Lee, Academy of Interactive Entertainment: Christina and her colleagues at AIE are working to publish key elements of their secondary education curriculum for Unreal Engine development to free online learning portals.
Dr. Cynthia Marcello, State University of New York, Sullivan: Cynthia has developed SUNY Sullivan's UE4 quest-based learning curriculum, which she presented at SIGGRAPH 2015 with Epic. Her completed QBL for UE4 curriculum will be hosted and freely available on unrealengine.com.
Elhoussine Mehnik: Elhoussine has released a wide variety of free UE4 templates to the community, and is working on new learning resources in collaboration with Epic.
Rama: One of the earliest UE4 advocates, Rama has been helping to empower the UE4 Community since the earliest days of UE4 with additional Blueprint nodes via his Victory BP Library plugin. This C++ based library makes over 100 nodes available to developers for use with Blueprints. Rama is also collaborating on UE4 books.
Marcos Romero: Marcos authors the Romero Blueprints blog and is building additional learning resources for Blueprint, UE4's visual scripting tool.
Ryan Shah, Kitatus Studios: Ryan has written and released numerous UE4 books and sample projects for free on the Kitatus website, with physical products available through Amazon.
Tesla Dev: Tesla (note: unrelated to the awesome electric car company) was the first trainer to take up teaching Unreal Engine 4 as a full-time career, a move propelled by his popular YouTube channel featuring high-quality UE4 tutorials. Tesla is also collaborating on UE4 books.
I'm honored to receive a grant from the Epic team, said James Butcher, senior lecturer at Staffordshire University and coordinator of their Epic Games Centre program. It is fantastic to be recognized by Epic for my efforts in Unreal Engine 4, and for being a steward of the community.
This grant empowers me to continue teaching others how to successfully implement their vision using the engine, and publish materials to help guide an even wider audience, said Dr. Cynthia Marcello, professor at SUNY Sullivan. I'm thrilled for the opportunity to continue working alongside Epic and expand our UE4-based curriculum.
I would like to thank Epic not only for this grant but also for the entirety of Unreal Engine 4, adds Rama, one of UE4's earliest supporters. Unreal has become a central part of my life, and I have fun helping others learn it every day!
Epic Games launched the $5 million Unreal Dev Grants program in February 2015 to support inspiring projects built in and around Unreal Engine 4. Recipients may use the money as desired, with no obligation to Epic. To date, Epic has awarded more than $450,000 to UE4 developers of all sizes and backgrounds to fund games across many platforms, as well as VR experiences, visualizations, film and learning materials.
Developed by Epic Games, the Unreal Engine brings high-fidelity experiences to PC, console, mobile, the Web and VR. Unreal Engine accelerates the creation of games, applications, visualizations and cinematic content. Download Unreal Engine for free at
unrealengine.com.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
How Chris Bolte Builds the Sound of PlayStation Games Chris Bolte '16 is a technical sound designer at Sucker Punch Productions, where he helps create the...
18/03/2026
Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4.
Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...
18/03/2026
SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...
18/03/2026
The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...
18/03/2026
(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...
18/03/2026
Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville
Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...
18/03/2026
Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded
Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...
18/03/2026
Mix-reference plug-in overhauled
iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...
18/03/2026
Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives
Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...
18/03/2026
Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture
18 March, 2026
Media releases
New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...
18/03/2026
Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...
18/03/2026
London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...
18/03/2026
SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations
Brie Clayton March 18, 2026
0 Comments
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...
18/03/2026
Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K
Brie Clayton March 18, 2026
0 Comments
LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...
18/03/2026
Brainstorm transforms productivity and sustainability with Suite 7 at NAB Show 2...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today unveiled its educational presentations for the 2026 NAB Show. This year SMPTE will ...
18/03/2026
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects, gaming, and more, today ann...
18/03/2026
Digital Alert Systems
Preview
2026 NAB Show
April 19 - 22
Booth C3452
At the 2026 NAB Show, Digital Alert Systems will showcase Version 6.0 of its DASDEC ...
18/03/2026
Setplex today announced that it will showcase its complete, fully integrated Zapflex platform for the first time at the 2026 NAB Show, introducing powerful new ...
18/03/2026
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE ...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking DP for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Director of Photography for Low Budget Dramedy Fe...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy Feature Film- I...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Location, Sound for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Location/Sound for Low Budget Dramed...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Film - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Dramedy Fe...
18/03/2026
Calrec Redefines Broadcast Workflows at NAB 2026 with its Most Powerful Hardware...
18/03/2026
Oscar Nominated Two People Exchanging Saliva Posted with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio handle...
18/03/2026
Boston Conservatory Presents Celebrated Musical Satire Urinetown Performances for this Center Stage production will take place at Boston Conservatory Theater ...
18/03/2026
Charlie Puth Joins Switched on Pop at Berklee NYC The Berklee alum spoke with host and Berklee NYC professor Charlie Harding for a live taping, answering audi...
18/03/2026
X-Rite Pantone Demonstrates Advanced Color Management Solutions to Support Smart...
18/03/2026
Wednesday 18 March 2026
BAFTA winner James McAvoy to star in Sky Original serie...
18/03/2026
Wednesday 18 March 2026
Sky Sports and Zuffa Boxing announce multi-year agreement for the UK and Ireland
Sky Sports and Zuffa Boxing have announced a new mult...
18/03/2026
Wednesday 18 March 2026
Sky Unveils Poster and Trailer for Original Feature Fil...
CARY, NC - Epic Games has announced the first round of academic and educational recipients of Unreal Dev Grants, a $5 million program Epic launched earlier this year to provide no-strings-attached funding to developers of promising early-stage projects. Today 10 contributors are being awarded more than $75,000 for their exemplary work on Unreal Engine learning resources. 
