BAFTA-winning Coleg Llandrillo Tutor Appointed as Director for Esports Wales

A BAFTA-winning Coleg Llandrillo Games Development tutor who was presented with this year’s prestigious ‘Further Education Academic Award’ for his ground-breaking initiatives In the world of games development and computing, has been appointed as a non-Executive director for Esports Wales, the national body for esports in Wales.

Rob Griffiths, whose creations have sold in their millions, has been lecturing at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhos-on-Sea campus since 2017. He now leads the department and utilises his own industry connections to ensure his students benefit and reach their full potential.

Rob sat his A-levels at Ysgol y Creuddyn in Penrhyn Bay before going on to study for a three-year degree in Games Development. After leaving university, Rob got his first job with Sony, working on the mega-game - and industry blockbuster - Minecraft. Within two weeks of starting work with Sony, Rob was offered a position at TT Games. Within a few months, he went from a quality assurance position to a games designer on multi-award winning games.

Rob, who lives in Old Colwyn but is originally from Rhos-on-Sea, was part of the design team that scooped the BAFTA award, ‘Best Children’s Game 2016’, for Lego Dimensions. During his time at TT Games, Rob was also involved in creating Lego Star Wars – The Force Awakens; The Lego Ninjago Movie Game; Lego Dimensions - Years 1 & 2; Lego Batman and Lego Marvel’s Avengers!

Rob said: “My aims are to inspire the students and to promote the gaming industry within Wales. During the relatively short time I have been at the college, I have been really impressed with the students and their innovative ideas for games development.”

John Jackson, Esports Wales CEO / director, commented on Rob’s appointment: “It’s great to have Rob join the board. Rob’s experience in industry and education speaks for itself. Having someone situated within North Wales means that Esports Wales can now look to support and develop the scene throughout the whole of Wales.”

Coleg Llandrillo’s Games Development department has had an unbelievable few years after securing partnerships with some of the world’s most successful electronics and gaming brands.

It has been registered as both Xbox and Nintendo developers, which is a possible first for any college or university in the UK! Further to this, it is now part of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s global academic programme - PlayStation®First. Run by Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe (SIEE), it provides access to professional development hardware and software tools for both staff and students. This means that students get to use the same hardware that games studios around the world are using, thus enabling them to create ground-breaking, innovative games on PlayStation…in their own classrooms!

Coleg Llandrillo has shown that it is continually developing its practice to teach the most up-to-date content possible and keep up with the changes in the games industry. It has become a Tranzfuser hub and has also recently opened a £120,000 VR (virtual reality) suite specifically for students to develop their own VR projects. It has even set up a guided Esports team within the college.

For more information on the college’s courses in Games Development, or Computing courses in general starting in September, please call the college’s Learner Services team on 01492 542 338.

Email: enquiries.llandrillo@gllm.ac.uk

Web: www.gllm.ac.uk