A bolstered DADIU: New faculty team will lead and develop the education program moving forward

A four-person faculty team with extensive experience from the gaming industry has been charged with improving and expanding the professional and artistic scope of DADIU (The National Academy for Digital Interactive Entertainment).

As of May 1st, Thomas Vigild, Camilla Lyngbo Wolden-Ræthinge, Anders Antoft, and Maurizio De Pascale have taken over the network education program at DADIU. They all bring extensive experience from the international gaming industry to the table, and their expertise is sure to improve and expand the professional scope of DADIU (The National Academy for Digital Interactive Entertainment). Parallel to their employment at DADIU, all four will keep their active ties to the industry.

As head of the academy, Thomas Vigild is in charge of the daily operations while also running point on the overall strategic direction, educational development and organizational aspects of DADIU. Camilla Lyngbo Wolden-Ræthinge and Anders Antoft will share the educational responsibilities and take part in ongoing development efforts, offering counsel to students and their productions. Maurizio di Pascale will primarily serve as a consultant with a focus on strategy, internationalization, and technological advancements.

Thomas Vigild

Game critic, speaker, teacher, designer and consultant, and he has been writing game reviews since 1991. Chief sphinx in HV?M, which specializes in educational puzzle hunts for museums and municipalities. Chairman of the jury for the Danish board game award Guldbrikken (www.guldbrikken.dk) and Secretary General in The Board Game Bureau (www.brætspilsbureauet.dk). Founder of the Game Design track at Vallekilde Højskole, and holds a Master in Musicology, Computer Science and Digital Games from The University of Copenhagen / IT-University of Copenhagen.

Anders Antoft

After graduating from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture in 2004, Anders Antoft began his career at Media Mobsters as a graphic designer. Since then, he has been involved in everything from early visual development and prototypes for Inside, to serving as Lead Developer and Designer for Subway Surfers. Most recently, he served as Art Director for Void Crew until the launch of Early Access in the summer of 2023. Additionally, he has taught at ITU's Master Program in Games and served as an external consultant at DADIU.

Camilla Lyngbo Wolden-Ræthinge

For several years, Camilla Lyngbo Wolden-Ræthinge has been developing concepts and gameplay for computer games in her own company. As director and producer, she is the architect behind the social 3D gaming platform ‘Fight Like a Girl’, targeted against preteen girls, and she also created ‘PowerBabe’ in her first start-up Pinkfloor, which she then went on to sell to Nordisk Film/Egmont. She is the former Head of Children’s Brands at DR Sales, where she was charged with expanding DR’s child formats across platforms. As an external expert for Creative Europe’s Video Games and Immersive Content Development, she holds valuable insights into entrepreneurship within gaming. Camilla holds a Master’s Degree in Arts and Cultural Studies, specializing in target audience research, she has achieved certifications within applied management, and she has taught at Design School Kolding and the University of Copenhagen.

Maurizio De Pascale

Maurizio is a game developer and C-level executive with 15 years of experience in creating AAA games. He served a 5-year stint as Chief Technology Officer at IO Interactive, where he oversaw tech development of all internal and external projects including the HITMAN franchise and the Glacier Engine. During his time with the company he served as Technical Director on HITMAN2 and HITMAN3, Architect and Infrastructure Lead on the Glacier Engine, and Animation Programmer on Hitman Absolution. He also spent a couple of years at Ubisoft Montreal as Technical Architect on Rainbow Six|Siege. Maurizio De Pascale also holds a Ph.D. in Robotics from the University of Siena.

About DADIU

DADIU was founded in 2005 by the National Film School of Denmark and several other university programs and art schools across the country. Today, the collaboration consists of 10 educational institutions, including the National Film School of Denmark, the Royal Academy, the IT University of Copenhagen, the Copenhagen Academy of Digital Arts, Aalborg University, the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University, and the Danish National Academy of Music.

Over the course of one semester, students get to activate their different skill-sets and expertise and develop a common language through practical experience in developing and producing computer games.