UWE Bristol wins TIGA Games Industry Award

The University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) has won an award for Best Education Initiative at the 2024 TIGA Games Industry Awards.

The awards uniquely recognise excellence in game development, business and education, celebrating the achievements of both small and large studios, plus the companies who work with them.

Competing against 10 other nominees in the Best Education Initiative category, UWE Bristol was recognised for its innovative approach to preparing students for the gaming industry by developing student-led game studios as part of their study and assessment. This approach provides a supportive environment, guided by academic staff, where students can collaborate on commercial-style game projects, without the risks associated with the generation of a new IP or potential financial limitations.

Lloyd Savickas, Associate Director of (BSc) Digital Media and (BSc) Games Technology, said: “We are thrilled to win the TIGA award this year for Best Educational Initiative. This recognition reflects the hard work and dedication from the Games Technology team at UWE Bristol, providing the best educational experience for our students by using our industry knowledge and connections to make them ready and able to drive new innovations in this industry. The award motivates us to continue striving for excellence as we further develop the initiatives we have in place.”

Each year UWE Bristol is an official host of the Global Game Jam (GGJ). Similar to a hackathon, the GGJ is the world's largest game creation event taking place around the globe boasting tens of thousands of participants (jammers) at hundreds of physical and virtual sites around the world. At UWE Bristol students from multiple subject areas come together to create games over a 48-hour period, and on several occasions the university has been the largest GGJ site in the UK.

UWE Bristol is also the home of competitive Esports gaming, represented professionally on a national level by the student led society Sea Stags. In their first three years as a society, they have competed in local, national and European championships and dominated the university Counter Strike scene. The Sea Stags were chosen as UWE Bristol's Society of the Year and as the most improved university by the National Students Esports in 2020.or more information about the TIGA accredited UWE Bristol BSc(Hons) Games Technology course visit the UWE Bristol website.