← Toutes les nouvelles
Founded in 1992 in Montréal, the École des arts numériques, de l’animation et du design of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (NAD-UQAC) is an institution dedicated to training, research, and creation in digital creativity. It trains and supports the next generation in the fields of video games, visual effects, animated film, and immersive experiences.
An internationally recognized higher education institution, the NAD-UQAC School combines teaching, research, and creation to provide its student community with cutting-edge equipment, guidance from industry specialists, and an environment conducive to exploring new artistic and technological frontiers. Over 3,000 graduates now work in renowned studios and companies worldwide.
Our mission: to train the next generation of digital creators while actively contributing to the advancement of research and to the cultural and economic vitality of Quebec and beyond.
Thriving Research Axes
Extended Reality (XR)
The training offered at the NAD-UQAC School focuses on three fundamental skills: 3D modeling and animation, visual effects for film, and interactivity. These skills are intrinsically linked to spatial arts, live arts, interactive arts, and experiential arts.
Since 2025, the NAD-UQAC School has been equipped with a dome for prototyping digital immersive experiences, thereby consolidating its strategic position within a sector of high economic and cultural value: that of research, innovation, and digital creation, including 3D creation, video games, and immersive experiences.
Video Games, Cultural Citizenship, and Heritage Valorization
The NAD-UQAC School’s video game research explores technosocial mediation and expression to promote digital and cultural citizenship. These initiatives encourage the co-creation of games and video game environments, sometimes combined with immersion.
Some of these projects highlight tangible, intangible, and natural heritage, including the cultures, artifacts, and territories of First Nations communities. Other projects use interactivity to raise awareness of issues such as biases related to artificial intelligence, transforming serious games into vectors for learning, accessibility, and dialogue.
Creation Processes and Technologies
In synergy with the digital creative industries, the NAD-UQAC School is at the forefront of research as well as the development of technologies and specialized software for synthetic image creation.
The integration of cutting-edge technologies from the earliest stages of student training—whether for modeling, animation, or lighting of characters and environments—enriches the learning experience. The student community is quickly introduced to collaborative work methods inspired by the professional practices of film and animation studios.
The integration of generative artificial intelligence into ideation and creation processes is also a core part of the training programs, supported by an advanced technological infrastructure and a forward-thinking faculty.