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Dare Academy 2023
The Dare Academy games design competition enables students to gain significant industry exposure and international experience.
Dare Academy Terms & Conditions
Dare Academy is a games design competition open to Abertay University students in teams of up to 8. It takes place over 4 weeks in the summer...
DARE Timeline
31/03/23 (Friday) — Applications Open
31/05/23 (Wednesday) — Applications Close at 5pm
05/06/23 (Monday) — Teams Invited to Interview
15/06/23 (Thursday) — Judging/Pitch
16/06/23 (Friday) — Finalists Announced
03/07/23 (Monday) — Hot-Housing Starts
27/07/23 (Thursday) — Hot-Housing Industry Networking Event
28/07/23 (Friday) — Hot-Housing Ends
12/10/23 - 15/10/23 — EGX Showcase
Dare Academy FAQs
Do I have to be on-site for all of the hot housing or can I join remotely?
We appreciate that you may have other commitments or due to financial constraints, may have to return home over the summer so it is possible for some members of a team to participate remotely in the competition. It is necessary, however, for teams to be represented in person at all hot housing events. The schedule for hot housing will be made available with plenty of time to allow participants to plan attendance.
Can I have a job and do DARE Academy?
Participants can work part-time and participate in Dare Academy. We would like you to attend as much of the hot housing as possible but appreciate that work commitments may mean some events are missed. All teams should have representation at all events.
I’ve suspended, can I participate in DARE Academy?
If you were registered as a student on an Abertay Undergraduate degree programme as of the 1st April 2023, you can participate in DARE Academy.
I’m an exchange student, can I participate in DARE Academy?
If you were registered as a student on Abertay Undergraduate modules of study as of the 1st April 2023, you can participate in DARE Academy.
We have a game idea that we worked on before – can we pitch it for DARE Academy?
Yes. So long as the game has potential and a clear plan for its development during DARE Academy, it can be pitched for the competition.
What are the selection interviews like?
Teams are invited to present their concept to a panel of industry and academic judges. They will have 15 minutes to pitch their ideas and then the panel will ask a series of questions for 15 minutes. There will also be an opportunity for teams to ask questions of the panel. The process is somewhat formal and will be hosted in person, on-site at Abertay University. It is appreciated if the whole team attend the interviews in person unless in exceptional circumstances.
Does the University have the version of the software that we need?
Hot housing makes use of the standard PCs in labs within the university. Teams will only be able to access the versions of software currently available on university computers. Additional software and drivers can be installed as requested by teams, but these should be free to use.
Will the University provide us with equipment that we need for development?
The university will provide standard computers as are available within university labs. Additional equipment such as mobile devices for testing, can be provided if they are within the university’s current stock. Teams can purchase additional equipment using the budget provided to teams via DARE Academy.
