UWE Bristol wins TIGA award for diversity and inclusion in games tech education

The University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) has won the Diversity and Inclusion Award at the 2026 TIGA Games Education Awards.

The annual TIGA Games Education Awards recognise outstanding students, education providers and best practice across education settings.

UWE Bristol’s BSc Games Technology programme was presented the Diversity and Inclusion Award for demonstrating best practice in promoting diversity and inclusion in its course design and education provision. This includes embedding content addressing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the core Games Technology curriculum and outreach activities involving visits to schools and colleges to engage learners from diverse backgrounds.

The Games Technology programme supports the annual UWE Bristol Girls in Tech event, which brings together 20 schools and over 300 female students from secondary schools with university staff and industry partners to immerse young people in a spectrum of activities in the technology environment. Feedback from the interactive sessions have shown increases in student confidence, and students considering careers in game development for the first time.

As part of its commitment to diversity in games education and the games industry, members of the programme team have also become Women in Games ambassadors, a non-profit organisation advocating for an equitable playing field for women and girls in games and esports, while the university’s School of Computing and Creative Technologies is a Women in Games Education ambassador.

Dr Lindsey Macaulay-Lowe, Programme Leader for Games Technology at UWE Bristol said: “We're absolutely thrilled to have won this award. It’s an area that we are passionate about and that we have been working very hard to develop and progress. We are committed to challenging stereotypes in games development and for all students, graduates, and anyone interested in working in the games industry, to feel confident in their ability to achieve. I’m extremely happy for us to get this external recognition for the great work we are doing.” 

UWE Bristol’s Games Technology programme was also recently reaccredited by TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video games industry. TIGA said the programme had a 'clear vision for graduate attributes and is strongly focused on enabling students to secure employment in the games industry or apply their skills within adjacent sectors'.