A successful games company founder has been honoured with De Montfort University Leicester’s (DMU) first ever Pride of DMU award.
David Banner MBE was recognised for his 25-year career at the forefront of videogame design, having been a part of the team which created the classic Tomb Raider franchise and started his own award-winning company, Wales Interactive.
At the launch of DMU’s new Alumni service, #DMUforLife, David was presented with the first Pride of DMU award, which recognises and celebrates the success of Alumni around the world.
David was nominated for the prize for his success throughout his career, picking up awards from BAFTA and being honoured with an MBE for services to the video game industry.
Following his three years studying a BA (hons) in Graphic Design, David has developed over 40 titles for a wide variety of gaming platforms including PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide.
As a successful video games entrepreneur, he has been instrumental in the growth of the games industry in Wales and has helped establish the region as a recognised digital creative UK hub.
Pro-Vice Chancellor, Strategic and International Partnerships, James Gardner presented the award to David.
David said: “Any time I receive any recognition, I’m always humbled.
“I do a job I love and I make games that entertain people around the world but the industry can sometimes be looked upon as not being a very serious vocation. So any award I get adds to the weight that I do have a proper job.
“It was also an honour to be invited back at this launch event and it’s incredible to see how the campus has changed and grown over the years.”
Addressing the guests at the launch event, David said achieving a first class honours in 1995 from DMU gave him the confidence to springboard into an exciting career even though his degree was not directly related to his dream job.
He said: “My lecturers were so supportive and allowed me to create a portfolio and create work that would get me into the games industry so I’ll always be grateful to them for being forward thinking. This is a characteristic of the whole university.”
David also had words of advice for recent graduates, saying, “the first year after graduation is the most important.
“The reality is many will not get the job they want straight away but it’s about resilience.
“I wanted to make video games for a living which seemed very unattainable and although my course got me nearer to it, it was my added drive and ambition to network, meet new people and to improve my skills that made all the difference.
“It’s about perseverance and never giving up on your dreams.”
David also urged all DMU graduates to tap into the power of the university’s 177,000 strong global alumni network.
He said: “Networking in any walk of life is an incredibly valuable way to meet people … If you want an adventure, you got to leave the house. Events like this are a great way to do that because you never know who you’ll meet and what you’ll learn that could open doors for you.”
The launch event also saw speeches from Bijna Dasani, Head of Architecture and Innovation for Lloyd’s Banking Group and Prasant Sudhakaran, Partner and Director of Corporate Development at AiNGEL Corp in New York
If you want to find out more about our new Alumni brand and the benefits and services DMU offers all graduates visit dmu.ac.uk/dmuforlife.
Posted on Tuesday 24 July 2018