Global gaming hardware manufacturers Cooler Master and Gigabyte visited Ayrshire College's Kilmarnock Campus in a bespoke gaming bus named the MasterRide.
The MasterRide had travelled through Europe visiting gaming destinations and retailers, ending its tour in snowy Kilmarnock on Friday 19 January. Students and visitors were given the chance to test their gaming skills. The event was organised by Ayrshire College and Utopia Computers, their STEM ambassadors, in an effort to give students and the public a chance to have some fun, demo the latest gaming technology such as Virtual Reality, and try out the high performance computers needed to make it work. Mark Laurie, Marketing Director at Utopia, said "The obvious location for the event may have been our retail store, but we felt it was more fitting to have it at the cutting-edge Ayrshire College campus. We wanted to really showcase how Utopia and the College are working together, alongside our global technology partners, to bring unique events like this to Kilmarnock and deliver value to students, local businesses and the public. "Our goal was to get more young people engaged with the latest technology and try it out first hand, and I can safely say the event was a huge win for everyone involved." Ged Freel, Head of Business and Computing at Ayrshire College, said "The MasterRide has been a great source of excitement throughout the day, giving our students the opportunity to interact with the latest video games, and experience virtual reality. "Ayrshire College is now utilising virtual and augmented reality in the classroom and this event has allowed students to see another side of this technology through the gaming industry. We would like to thank Utopia for working with us to provide such a fun experience to our students." Ronil Bhimjiani, Channel Marketing Specialist at Cooler Master UK, said "Ayrshire College provided the perfect base to showcase both Utopia and Cooler Master's commitment within the gaming and VR community. We were thrilled with the response from both students and teachers at the College who were able to immerse themselves in the latest technology."