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Oct 10, 2008, 12:10:17 AM10/10/08
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Dare to be Digital 2008


The winners of the UK’s premier computer games design competition,
who
are also nominees for a unique BAFTA for new talent, have been
announced at an awards ceremony in Edinburgh.


Dare to be Digital, praised by BAFTA as the ‘perfect pathway’ for
young talent in the games industry, held its 2008 Awards Ceremony at
the Edinburgh International Exhibition Centre at the culmination of
the Edinburgh Interactive Festival.


The three prizes went to: Blue Skies (Abertay University Dundee) for
their game ‘Origamee’, Ctrl_D (Peking University) for ‘VegeMe’ and
Dark Matter Design (Wolverhampton University) for ‘Boro-Toro’.


Each team takes home £2,500 and a BAFTA nomination for the BAFTA
‘Ones
to Watch’ award which will be awarded in March next year.


Origamee is set in a 3D pop-up story book themed world incorporating
traditional adventure style puzzle solving. Environmental issues such
as recycling and pollution are raised subtlety throughout the game.


Boro-Toro is a side scrolling platform puzzle game which uses an
innovative control system using Wii technology.


VegeMe allows the player to grow and style their own world in a race
against their opponent


Organised and promoted by the University of Abertay Dundee in
association with Channel 4, Dare to be Digital this year saw 17 five-
strong teams of students haling from Birmingham to Beijing spending
the last 10 weeks in host centres across the United Kingdom.


Six teams were based at Abertay University (including teams from
India
and China), four were based at Brighton, three at London, two in
Birmingham, and two in Dublin. In conditions as close to real
commercial games production as possible, they have been working
around
the clock to develop fully-functioning prototypes of their game
ideas.


Earlier this week, the teams went head to head in a unique public
showcase, Dare ProtoPlay, staged as part of the Edinburgh Interactive
Festival. Over three days around 3000 visitors attended the event,
trying out the new games and voting for their favourite.


In addition to the public vote, the teams were also put under the
unforgiving scrutiny of a panel of junior judges – aged 6-13 years
old.


Contrived (Edinburgh University) were the team to receive the most
public votes, for their game Grav, they won the Audience Award
sponsored by Microsoft and a prize of £1500. Grav is set in a ‘retro-
futuristic’ environment where robots are your enemies and your
surroundings are your best friend.


A panel of seventeen judges, made up of representatives from fifteen
different companies including Sony, Babel Media, Channel 4 and Sport
Interactive, then had the task of picking the three winners based on
creativity and innovation, use of technology and market potential.


This is the ninth year of Dare to be Digital, which originated at
Abertay University.


Professor Bernard King CBE, Principal of Abertay said: “As the
originators and organisers of Dare to be Digital, Abertay University
is extremely proud to be working with all the sponsors and supporters
of Dare in promoting the talents, skills and creativity that
contribute directly to the success of the computer games sector both
in Scotland and across the UK and Ireland. This includes the other
universities who joined with Abertay this year to run hosting centres
across the UK and Ireland. They are: Birmingham City University,
Brighton University, Goldsmiths, University of London and Trinity
College Dublin.


“It’s success is demonstrated by the very high proportion of previous
contestants who have been hired by a whole range of companies such as
Electronic Arts, Rare, Denki, Realtime Worlds and Lionhead; others
have even set up their own games development companies, and during
this year’s contest we were delighted to note the first commercial
launch of a game developed in Dare to be Digital.”


Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture Linda Fabiani said:
“The Scottish Government is delighted to provide support of £56,800
to
Dare to be Digital which brings the world’s leading games design
competition to Scotland showcasing our top class academic
institutions
and successful games industry. Through Fresh Talent we are committed
to attracting and retaining talented international students and Dare
provides a great opportunity for these cutting edge experts to see
the
benefits of studying and living in Scotland”.


Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Fiona Hyslop
said: “I’m delighted to see young Scots competing at an international
level and collaborating with students from around the world. Dare to
be Digital demonstrates the excellent learning environment that
Scotland offers to the growing number of international students
choosing to come and study in Dundee and throughout Scotland.”


Richard Leinfellner CEO of BabelMedia who chaired the judging panel
said: “As chairman of the judging panel it is my pleasure to relay
that the panel of game industry experts felt the overall standard of
this year’s entries exceeded all their expectation both in terms of
breadth of subject matter and overall game quality.


“In a climate of spiralling costs and product slippages Dare
consistently manages to highlight what is achievable by the best new
talent looking to enter the games business in just 10 weeks.”


Ray Maguire, UK Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment and
judging panel member said: "Once again, Dare has revealed some true
talent. The quality is the best we have ever seen and it is possible
to see some of these prototypes becoming commercial. We are delighted
to be involved again this year and look forward to revealing the
winner of the BAFTA Ones to Watch Award at the British Academy Video
Games Awards on in March 2009"


London sweeps awards and emerges clear winner as 'European city of
the
future'


London has swept the board and emerged as this year’s number one
European location in fDi magazine’s 2008 Cities of the Future
shortlist, published by the Financial Times.
Cities and regions were asked to provide information in areas such as
economic potential, volume and number of investment projects.


London scored top marks in the following categories:


Top 50 European cities overall: London
Top 25 Most attractive for FDI: London
Top 10 Major European Cities: London
Top 10 Most Business Friendly: London
Top 10 Best quality of life: London and
Top 10 Best Infrastructure: London.
Commenting on the results, Michael Charlton, Chief Executive of Think
London, the foreign direct investment agency for London said: “ This
is fantastic news for London. We continue to be the number one
European destination for foreign direct investment for businesses
looking to globalise and this is thanks to key strengths including
our
top ranking infrastructure and business environment. On top of these
individual achievements, we have claimed the biggest prize too - top
European City overall - something we can be truly proud of.”


Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone said: "London is the international
city of the world not only in terms of the business it conducts but
also with more nationalities in the capital than any other place on
the planet. It is a city that has moved ahead of all others because
it
has embraced globalisation and is again now opening itself up to the
rapidly growing market economies of China and India. It is a city
that
is on the cutting edge of international technology, finance and
business with the greatest choice and life styles available to its
citizens of anywhere on earth. At the same time its Climate Change
Action Plan is internationally recognised as one of the most advanced
in any city in the world.


“In short London is leading the world in terms of the key trends at
the beginning of the 21st century. This is reflected by this and
other
surveys that show why internationally London is held in such high
regard.”


Think London has a proven track record of helping overseas businesses
set up, succeed and grow in the capital, and has helped more than
1,000 companies from 43 countries since 1994.


MORE AUSTRALIAN STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS BOUND FOR EUROPE


More Australian students and scholars are enjoying study, teaching
and
research opportunities in the European Union thanks to the European
Commission's Erasmus Mundus program.


For the 2008/2009 academic year, 24 Australian students and 25
Australian scholars have been selected to participate in the Erasmus
Mundus Scheme.


Erasmus Mundus is a global scheme which aims to enhance the quality
of
European higher education through continuous worldwide dialogue and
cooperation with third countries. It supports the international
mobility of scholars and students, through offering scholarships to
students to study, and scholars to teach in, selected European
Masters
Programs. Currently there are 103 Masters Courses to choose from,
ranging across all academic disciplines. Australian Institutions are
partners in 13 of these courses.


Students have been awarded more than A$34,500 per academic year for a
maximum of two years, and scholars have been awarded more than A
$21,300 for a maximum period of three months


Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Commission to
Australia and New Zealand, Bruno Julien, congratulated all
scholarship
recipients and said Erasmus Mundus is the opportunity of a lifetime
for students and scholars alike to lean more about European cultures,
languages and academic systems .


“Last year Australia and the European Commission signed a Declaration
of Intent to further improve collaboration on education. Initiatives
such as the Joint Mobility Projects, co-funded with the Department of
Education Employment & Workplace Relations, the Europe Centres and
Erasmus Mundus will continue to build and foster relationships in
order to uphold strong bonds between the EU and Australia for many
years to come,” Ambassador Julien said.


He was also pleased to learn that among the many talented recipients
this year there are some whose Universities are part of the Europe
Centres Network including Macquarie University, Griffith University,
Monash University, University of Melbourne, James Cook University,
Australian National University, La Trobe University, Murdoch
University and University of Newcastle.


For the 2008-2009 academic year, 1957 students and 459 scholars were
selected for Erasmus Mundus scholarships worldwide. To date, more
than
6000 students and more than 1000 teaching staff from across the globe
have received an Erasmus Mundus scholarship.


This latest selection completes the first phase of Erasmus Mundus.
The
second phase of Erasmus Mundus (2009-13) is expected to start in
2009.
The new phase will include doctoral programmes, increased
scholarships
for European students and promote further cooperation with higher
education institutions worldwide. In addition, the new phase will
integrate a mobility scheme for all levels of higher education.


For more information on Erasmus Mundus and EU education initiatives,
visit our education pages


Contacts:


Lynne Hunter
Adviser
Tel +61 2 6271 2742
Email: lynne.hun...@ec.europa.eu


Roger Camilleri
Senior Adviser - Media & Public Affairs
Tel +61 2 6271 2744; mob: 0412 14 21 28
Email: roger.camill...@ec.europa.eu


Official information of the European Commission is available at any
time at http://europa.eu/rapid/


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