An Abertay student will spend his summer in the heartland of the multi-billion-pound global video games industry in Japan after winning a prestigious scholarship.
Second-year games design and production student Daniel Goldie-Furlong was named as the 2020 Thomas Blake Glover ASI Scholarship winner after showing his interest in Japan, which has seen him learn to speak the language and promote Japanese culture and games through his YouTube channel.
Daniel, 19, said: “I feel honoured to have been chosen out of the many applicants for the Thomas Blake Glover ASI Scholarship this year.
“The opportunities this scholarship affords me cannot be understated.
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“It will allow me to further my Japanese language skills and immerse myself in Japanese culture first-hand.
“It will also allow me to advance my chosen career path by setting up meetings with people who work within the Japanese games industry.
“Though it is still a while before I go, I am already preparing myself and really looking forward to it.”
Given Abertay’s status as one of Europe’s top games design institutes, Daniel hopes his time in Japan will allow time to explore opportunities to develop educational links that could lead to new and useful connections in the future.
Daniel added: “While this is an incredible opportunity for me personally, I hope there can also be opportunities for the university, as a centre of excellence in the computer game industry, and Japan, which is one of the largest computer game producers in the world.
“I’d like to try to explore the possibility of establishing links between Abertay and a Japanese institution, which offers game design as a course which could lead to future partnerships, perhaps through exchange programmes or internships.”
Callum Farquhar, of the Japan Society of Scotland, which runs the Thomas Blake Glover award, said: “With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and the Thomas Blake Glover ASI Scholarship, it seems that Japan is the place to be this summer.
“The scholarship attracted an excellent field of candidates, but Daniel stood out.
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“Not only did he demonstrate his interest in immersing himself in the language and culture of Japan, but his very focused approach to attaining his career goals was impressive.
“We are delighted, thanks to Aberdeen Standard Investment’s sponsorship of this award, to be able to give Daniel this unique opportunity to spend his summer studying at university in Japan.
“We hope that it not only broadens his horizons but opens up the potential for him to fulfil his career aspirations.”
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