SETU wins national road safety awareness competition

South East Technological University (SETU) in Waterford has emerged victorious recently in the national Road Safety Reimagined campaign.

Second year Business students from the university won the overall top prize at this year’s event which was 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 crowned the winners. 

The students beat serious competition from six universities (UL, ATU, DCU, Maynooth University, TUS, UCC) and Moyross Youth Academy.

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. 

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 devastated 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," said Ms Gunne.

Sergeant Miniter highly commended the winning group’s approach, stating that it was “road safety advertising at its best”.

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, Padrig Hunt, Kostiantyn Siryi, created an emotive campaign centred around ‘Speeding breaks more than limits’.

SETU lecturers Marie O'Dwyer, Sinead O’Keeffe and Dr Anne-Marie Ivers helped the students develop their concepts through 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," said Ms Ivers.

"Congratulations to all participants, finalists and winners, especially the winning SETU concept, ‘Speeding Breaks More Than Limits’, and the overall national winner, ‘Dear Brother’," she added.

The shortlisted SETU posters and the two winning posters are now on display in the School of Business Atrium on SETU's Cork Road Campus in Waterford