Leveling Up Neurodiverse Talent: UC San Diego’s NDTech Interns Debut Serious Games
Leveling Up Neurodiverse Talent: UC San Diego’s NDTech Interns Debut Serious Games
Leveling Up Neurodiverse Talent: UC San Diego’s NDTech Interns Debut Serious Games
Mika Ono
September, 05, 2025
Summary
The Neurodiversity in Tech (NDTech) summer internship at UC San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute empowers young adults on the autism spectrum by building technical and professional skills for careers in video game development. Over nine weeks, 19 interns collaborated in teams to create serious games addressing topics such as paleontology, species conservation, wildfire management, and cancer awareness. Guided by coaches and clients from academia and industry, participants gained hands-on experience with tools like Unity, Unreal Engine, C++, and Maya. The program fostered teamwork, confidence, and career readiness, supported by multiple sponsors including Northrop Grumman and the State of California.
Reference
Ono, M. (2025, September 5). Leveling up neurodiverse talent: UC San Diego’s NDTech interns debut serious games. UC San Diego Today. https://today.ucsd.edu/story/leveling-up-neurodiverse-talent