Dare 2011 – Design  Build  Play

The Digital Hub Development Agency, on behalf of the Department of Education and Science, in association with Belfast City Council and the University of Abertay, Dundee, Scotland are inviting Irish students to enter Dare to Be Digital 2011.

Dare to be Digital is an internationally renowned games development competition for talented computer science and art students to develop a prototype video game. Teams of 5 students, usually a mix of artists, programmers and audio, assemble in a development hothouse in Scotland for 9 weeks during June to August 2011. Here they receive daily support and weekly training sessions from industry specialists to create their games. This year teams applying from the Island of Ireland will need to have a mix of students from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Each team will need to have at least 2 members from each region. 

• 9 weeks based in Dundee
• Weekly stipend of £150 per student
• £200 team budget

 This unique competition is open to students enrolled in Irish further education and 3^rd Level colleges interested in developing a new innovative product in the games sector.

Dare to be Digital presents a unique opportunity for students.  Many of the contestants from previous years have been hired by games companies on completion of the competition.

“It was an amazing experience being part of the Dare to be Digital competition. The experience of working on your own game and bringing it from an idea to an actual playable game is second to none. The fact that we also had access to mentors from industry that would come in play our game give us feedback on what was good and what was not so good, just can’t be got anywhere else other than industry. The kind of experience that Dare provides to students can’t be got anywhere else apart from within the industry and that can be quite difficult to get when you come straight out of college”.  (Quote from NeverMind Games, Irish Winners 2010)

 Deadline for entries is Sunday 3rd April 2011

 Please encourage your students to get involved by passing on the attached flyer

 Students may apply online at:  http://www.daretobedigital.com

 Please email any queries to: enquiries@daretobedigital.com

 Find team members on: http://www.daretobedigital.co.uk/applications/2011-vacancies.php

As the preferred location for the gaming sector in Ireland, The Digital Hub is delighted to support the Dare to be Digital competition, in which Irish students have been participating in since 2004.

www.daretobedigital.com