SETU students excel at Games Fleadh in TU Shannon
Nigel Whyte, head of the Department of Computing at SETU, and Ramon Santamaria, Games Fleadh guest judge and creator of raylib library, pictured with the winning students from SETU Carlow
SETU students showed up and won big at the annual Games Fleadh in TU Shannon earlier this month.
The Games Fleadh, Ireland’s premier games development event, brings students together from universities across the country to showcase their incredible talent and creativity through their original game projects.
Students from SETU were nominated across multiple categories at this year’s competition, with original game projects surrounding the theme ‘Small World’. Students created projects around insect worlds, small planets and vast galaxies.
The first win at Games Fleadh 2025 was during Robocode by an outstanding team of artificial intelligence programmers, Kevin Michael, Marie-Elise Ghijsen, and Emma Brennan, studying Software Development and Interactive Digital Art Design in Carlow.
The awards for SETU students didn’t stop there, with ‘Starburst’ developed by gameplay programmer Ian Perez Bunuel and digital artist Riona Kelly named the best game at the awards, built with the winning game mechanics Raylib.
‘Ant-topia’, created by assembly programmers Adam Noonan and Oliwier Jakubiec, won the Best Game Trailer award.
The award for Best In Original Art Assets went to ‘Buzzz vs The Harvesters’, built by a team of six and captained by Rob McGregor.
Meanwhile, ‘Hivebreaker’, built by a team of five and captained by Leo Bolaks, won a highly commended award.
Nigel Whyte, head of the Department of Computing at SETU Carlow, congratulated the students on their respective wins, saying: “SETU’s students have truly excelled in digital arts, showcasing their exceptional skills in Visual Effects for Games (VFX).
“The collaboration between games development and interactive digital art and design students exemplifies the power of cross-disciplinary teamwork. VFX, including advanced 3D shader programming, plays a critical role across numerous industries, from medical diagnosis to film and gaming, proving its immense value in shaping the future of both entertainment and innovation.”
Philip Bourke, programme director of SETU’s BSc in Computing in Interactive Digital Art and Design, emphasised the bright future ahead for the students, whose talent and skill prepare them for thriving careers in the broader games and VFX industries.
