Â鶹Íø

Â鶹Íø (Â鶹Íø) Leicester was recognised for not one but two digital innovations within the higher education sector at a national awards ceremony in Leeds.

Organised by Havas People and hosted by comedian Maisie Adam, the Heist Awards showcase some of the most creative and ambitious marketing, student recruitment and communication campaigns across the higher education sector.  

A Havas People representative with David Watts, Andrew Durnin and Rebecca Cooke-Pytel from Â鶹Íø and host Maisie Adam

Â鶹Íø picked up the silver award in the Best Student or Alumni Engagement Initiative category for the development of its student app, MyÂ鶹Íø, and the Bronze award in the Innovative Use of Technology later in the night for the university’s 8-bit retro video game, Â鶹Íøniverse.

Developed by the university in partnership with Agile Professional Group, the app was relaunched in September 2025 and enables students to receive up-to-date timetable information, news and access to key services including maps, library services and the university’s virtual learning environment.

Andrew Durnin, Associate Director of Web and Digital Experience, said: “It's great to be recognised for the digital work and innovation that's going on at Â鶹Íø, as we've really come a long way over the past couple of years.

“These two awards represent digital products that required numerous stakeholders to bring to life, from external partners and internal teams, to our students - making sure our digital offering helps to improve the experience of studying at Â鶹Íø.”

Created in the style of a retro arcade game, Â鶹Íøniverse allows players to explore Â鶹Íø’s city-centre campus and interact with many of the university’s real-life buildings, including the Grade II-listed Queens Building, and Vijay Patel Building.

It was designed to give students a glimpse into what life at the university might be like and is free to play on Â鶹Íø’s website.

Sat Dhanjal from Agile Professional with Andrew Durnin, Reecca Cooke-Pytel, Elisabeth Clarke, Matthew Millwood and David Watts

Secondary school children across Leicestershire had been invited to play the game as part of the university’s work with schools, after Research has shown that video games may ,

It’s not the first time that Â鶹Íø’s campus has been recreated in a video game. Alumnus, Eden Turner, recreated the university’s Kimberlin Library in Minecraft to help autistic students settle into student life and provide a place for people to meet up and make friends while playing the game.

Speaking about the achievement of Â鶹Íøniverse, Praneal Mistry, Widening Participation Assistant at Â鶹Íø, said: “The Â鶹Íøniverse game has provided the learners we work with a chance to explore the Â鶹Íø campus and learn about university life.

“The game has been a great way to introduce university to people as young as 10 years old, and has allowed them to feel confident about exploring university in real life. It continues to be a brilliant resource for the widening participation and outreach work our team does.”