Second year Business students celebrated winning the overall top prize at this year’s Road Safety Reimagined initiative, held at the University of Limerick (UL).
Over 1,000 students from across the university sector competed this year, with SETU students Harry Watkins, Patryk Pawlak, Kasey Mulhearne, Stephen Sokiri and Andrei Bors being crowned the winners. The students beat serious competition from six universities (UL, ATU, DCU, Maynooth University, TUS, UCC) and Moyross Youth Academy to become the overall winners of the competition.
Challenging behaviour
The challenge for students was to reimagine road safety through contemporary marketing concepts, and develop solutions to positively impact driving behaviour.
Now in its fourth year, the initiative is led by Associate Professor Christina O'Connor, UL, and Sergeant Tony Miniter, An Garda Síochána. Over 1,000 students from across the university sector competed this year.
The winning poster was commended for its powerful, yet simple, depiction of the grief felt by those left behind after fatal road accidents.
Catharina Gunne Assistant Commissioner for Roads Policing & Community Engagement
Powerful depiction
Speaking at the event, Assistant Commissioner for Roads Policing & Community Engagement, Catharina Gunne, praised SETU’s winning team: “The focus of this year’s competition was on the devastating consequences of speeding. The overall winning group’s campaign, created by SETU students Harry Watkins, Patryk Pawlak, Kasey Mulhearne, Stephen Sokiri, Andrei Bors focused on a handwritten note from a young child devasted by the loss of an older brother in a fatal road accident. The winning poster was commended for its powerful, yet simple, depiction of the grief felt by those left behind after fatal road accidents.”
Sergeant Miniter highly commended the winning group’s approach, stating that it was “road safety advertising at its best”.
Making real difference
Winning student Harry Watkins commented: “Having the opportunity to take part in this initiative has been a privilege from the beginning, giving us the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives.”
In total, six teams from SETU were shortlisted for the final poster showcase. In addition to winning the overall national prize, another group of SETU students from Year 2 of the BA (Hons) in International Business also received a prize for ‘Best Overall SETU poster’. The students from this group, Vitalii Myronshyn, Martin Huslik, Aaron O'Connor, Padraig Hunt, Kostiantyn Siryi, created an emotive campaign centred around ‘Speeding breaks more than limits’.
Creativity and commitment
SETU lecturers Marie O'Dwyer, Sinead O'Keeffe and Dr Anne-Marie Ivers helped the students develop their concepts via the Integrated Marketing Communications module.
Commenting on the University’s participation, Dr Ivers said: “It is a privilege to participate once again in the National Road Safety Reimagined initiative. It has provided our students with a valuable opportunity to engage with a real societal challenge and develop work that can make a meaningful impact on our roads. This year, students have demonstrated incredible creativity and commitment in producing concepts aimed at influencing their peers. Congratulations to all participants, finalists and winners, especially the winning SETU concept, ‘Speeding Breaks More Than Limits’, and the overall national winner, ‘Dear Brother’.”
The shortlisted SETU posters and the two winning posters are now on display in the School of Business Atrium on the Cork Road Campus.
