Mirella Glowinska, a second year software development student from SETU was the winner of the top award for Best Game in a SETU celebration of women. Photo: Alan Place

SOUTH East Technological University (SETU) students from the Kilkenny Road Campus, Carlow took the 20th annual Games Fleadh at the TUS Thurles Campus by storm, winning six awards for their projects. The event took place on Wednesday, International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate women from all over the world for their various achievements. It was the contribution of one such woman to computer science that proved to be the inspiration behind SETU’s winning submissions.

In formulating their projects, SETU students honoured the work of computer scientist and mathematician Kathleen Booth, creator of the assembly language that is used in every electronic device on the planet today. Students’ projects showcased the principles that Booth devised. A popular example of one such principle is that of neural networks, the system applied to allow self-driving cars recognise road patterns and obstacles.

Mirella Glowinska, a second-year software development student from SETU, was certainly inspired by Booth. Using a compute limited microprocessor, she created an exceptional game called ‘Midnight Wheels’ based on this year’s Games Fleadh theme ‘Endless Runner’. Competing alongside seven other teams from SETU, Mirella won two awards, including the top award for Best Game built using Software Libraries and was commended by games industry experts Brenda Romero, who co-founded Romero Games with her husband John Romero.

Receiving her awards, Mirella expressed her enthusiasm for the work of Kathleen Booth and her studies at SETU.

“When I started my degree in computer science at SETU and discovered the importance of Booth’s contribution to every device we use today, I knew I wanted to know more, and working on this project has helped me to really understand the extent of her influence on computer science today. I am delighted to complete my degree in SETU and I’m so excited about the rest of my studies and working with the enthusiastic lecturers and students on my course.”

The Games Fleadh projects will be displayed at the annual showcase event taking place on Thursday 27 April at SETU’s Kilkenny Road Campus, Carlow.