TU Dublin Creative Digital Media Students’ Success at Smarter Travel Student Awards

TU Dublin Contributors: Niamh O’Hora, Mark Shiels

Students from TU Dublin’s Creative Digital Media programme at the Blanchardstown campus have been recognised at the National Transport Authority’s Smarter Travel Student Awards, celebrating projects that promote sustainable and active travel.

Thai Lai, Darja Gubenko, Niamh O’Hora, and Sam Chapple – Smarter Travel Student Awards 2025

Design Thinking for Sustainable Travel

As part of their final-year Creative Practice module, fourth-year Creative Digital Media students at TU Dublin spent 12 weeks developing innovative ways to improve how people travel to, from, and around campus.  They began by researching the real-world challenges faced by the campus community – through interviews, surveys, and observation – to uncover key issues with current transport options. From there, students identified specific problems to solve and brainstormed a wide range of creative solutions.

Lincoln Ero – 1st Place, ScootWorkz

After narrowing down their ideas, they built early mockups and tested them, refining their concepts based on feedback. The final outcomes included polished product designs, digital tools, and awareness campaigns that promote sustainable and active travel.

Their work ranged from gamified reward apps and scooter-sharing services to bold marketing campaigns aimed at shifting campus culture toward greener choices. Their creativity and problem-solving impressed Smarter Travel Student Award  judges, leading to several TU Dublin Creative Digital Media finalists.

Impressive Student Achievements

The competition featured an excellent standard of work across all categories, with finalists showcasing their innovation and talent. We are delighted that our Creative Digital Media students were recognised:

Category 1: Engineering & Innovation – Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship

  • First Place: Lincoln Ero – ScootWorkz
  • Third Place: Emma O’Connor – Active More Often
  • Finalist: Darja Gubenko – Leap Rewards

Category 2: Social Marketing – Marketing & Communications

  • Finalist: Sam Chapple – Leap Into Rewards
  • Finalist: Thai Lai – Loyalty Student Leap

Third Place – Emma O’Connor, Active More Often

Finalist: Thai Lai – Loyalty Student Leap

Congratulations Finalists

Congratulations to all the finalists, and a special well done to our Creative Digital Media students!

Thanks to the NTA for providing this fantastic platform for students to address sustainability challenges and share their ideas nationally. Learn more about the Smarter Travel Student Awards on the National Transport Authority website.