BOURNEMOUTH University students have taken part in a research project to help enhance the work done by the university's dementia institute.

Students of the Centre for Digital Entertainment were joined by academics and industry professionals for the centre's annual event.

Prof Jian Jun Zhang, deputy director of the centre, said: “This year we wanted to push our students a little harder and by using their expertise and teaming up with [dementia institute], we hope to have a societal impact through the work we are doing."

The two-day event included a talk from the BBC’s research and development department and Dementia Friends, before students were split into groups and asked to create an app, game or interface that would either raise awareness of, or help people with dementia.

Ian Stephenson, a senior lecturer in computer animation and part of the centre, added: “These postgraduate students have been working in companies like the BBC and Double Negative. Once a year we bring them together. This year we have partnered with [the dementia institute] to look at the topic of dementia. We want these young engineers to build something that addresses the issue of dementia in society – to put their technical skills to use for the benefit of society.”

Claire Cutler, a member of Bournemouth University's dementia institute said: “BUDI has a long history working with technology, and dementia is a massive issue in our culture at the moment. It is great to bring our understanding about dementia together with technology to develop something that could address real world problems.”