London, United Kingdom, March 31, 2020 – Imagination Technologies announces that its revitalized Imagination University Project (IUP) now offers a complete mobile graphics course designed to teach undergraduate students how to create graphics capabilities for mobile devices. The 2020 version of the course now supports OpenGL ES 2.0 and 3.2, Vulkan, and new hardware platforms like Chromebook and BeagleBone Black.

One of the course developers, Dr Darren McKie, Lecturer at the School of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Hull and Fellow of the Faculty of Higher Education, said: “Designing graphics capabilities for mobile devices is challenging but essential. Yes, as more and more content is accessed and consumed through smartphones and tablets. Students must understand the intricacies of working with mobile technology, from dealing with multiple resolutions and relative pixel sizes to using streaming layouts.”

McKie continued: “Introduction to Mobile Graphics 2020 Edition includes everything teachers need, even sample exam questions, to support them in teaching a high-quality, hands-on graphics course from a mobile device perspective. In addition, the BeagleBone The support of the Black development board, which costs around £40, or $50, means it’s easier for students to learn – they can buy the board and complete the course at home.”

The exercises in the 2020 edition of the course have also been expanded to allow students to expand their knowledge of a range of hardware including PCs, Android and BeagleBone embedded devices. These exercises use the latest Imagination PowerVR software development kit (SDK), which contains many useful tools, such as it allows the development of graphics code outside the application, and the simulation of mobile devices on a PC.

Important dates:

31 March 2020 – The 2020 edition of the course is available for download from the Imagination University Programme website. Students and teachers can register on the website https://university.imgtec.com and request to download the full course package.

· September 2020 (exact date to be confirmed) – A one-day workshop will be held in London, UK for teachers to learn about the course. This workshop will be moderated by one of the course developers, Darren McKie, who will explain the teaching practices behind the course, provide an overview of the course content, and provide hands-on experience for all attendees with selected exercises. Ports using the BeagleBone’s “Pocket Lab” will also be demonstrated. Admission is free for teachers, please click here to register.

The main additions to the 2020 edition of the course are as follows:

Multiple platforms – PVR SDK emulator (Mac/PC), Acer Chromebook and BeagleBone Black (a low-cost portable platform for hobbyists and students)

· Updated from OpenGL ES 2.0 to OpenGL ES 3.2

Introducing Vulkan – the latest application programming interface (API) for advanced graphics development

Extended exercise to start debugging and optimizing power consumption with the PVRTune tool

·Online video tutorial

A variety of teaching materials can form a complete semester course: teaching courseware, practical exercises and sample exam questions, giving your faculty a flexible choice between practical and exam-oriented course structures.