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TUS student Wins Gold Medal at Digital Media Awards

Fifth consecutive win for the university at Ireland’s premier digital media event

DMA 2025 301
  • 15th October 2025

A student representing Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) has won Gold at the Irish Digital Media Awards – for the fifth year in a row.

Lisa Castro was named Digital Marketing Student of the Year (Gold) .at the awards ceremony which took place on Friday, October 10th, at the Radisson Blue Royal Hotel, Dublin, hosted by broadcaster Anton Savage and attended by more than 600 guests from across Ireland’s media and marketing industries.

In all, eight students from TUS made it to the final – highlighting the University’s continued leadership in digital marketing education and applied learning.

Lisa, who lives in Athlone and is originally from Brazil, completed her final-year Digital Marketing degree with the Faculty of Business and Hospitality before progressing to a Master’s programme at TUS.

The sold-out event celebrated excellence across multiple categories — from Small Agency of the Year to Best Brand to Best Use of Video. Havas Media was named Best Agency on the night.

Lisa’s award-winning project involved collaborating with Aserve Investigators Limited, an Irish company providing specialist services to the legal and financial sectors.

Louise Murray, Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing; Lisa Castro, Digital Marketing Student of the Year, and Seadna Ryan, Dean of Faculty of Business and Hospitality, celebrating at the awards night.   

Her work focused on enhancing the company’s online presence and demonstrating how digital communication can build awareness, engagement, and trust within traditionally non-marketing-focused industries.

Lisa Castro, Digital Marketing Student of the Year, Gold Medal Winner, said:Winning this award was such an honour and a moment of immense gratitude.  It reflects not only my own work but also the incredible strength of our Digital Marketing programme and the supportive community we’ve built at TUS. I’m so proud of my classmates who were also nominated this year — seeing so much talent recognised was truly inspiring.

“I’m especially thankful to my lecturers, Louise Murray and Thomas O’Donoghue, for their constant guidance, thoughtful feedback, and encouragement throughout the project. Having the chance to gain real industry experience, supported by professionals with decades of expertise, made all the difference and turned this project into something truly special.”

This marks the fifth consecutive year that a TUS student has won Gold in the Student of the Year category.

The other TUS finalists – who are all based at the Athlone campus –  were: Avril Donegan (Croi Laighean Credit Union), Dearbhla Kelly (deDANÚ), Ecaterina Bespalco (Sealore), Eimear Walsh (Donegal GAA), Molly Carleton (DNG McGill), Natalia Ziabek (Artessa Coffee), and Stuart May (Mersus Technologies).

We are beyond proud of all eight students who were nominated for Digital Marketing Student of the Year. They were rightly nominated for really exciting and impactful projects that have greatly benefited so many companies in the region.,” said Louise Murray, Senior Lecturer and lead of the live digital capstone projects — an industry-focused module in the final year of the Level 8 Digital Marketing programme where each student develops and implements a comprehensive digital marketing strategy for a real company.

“We are especially proud of Lisa for taking home the gold medal.  She has always been an exceptional student of digital marketing and now leading experts in industry recognise it too with this incredible accolade.”

The Digital Media Awards, now in their 21st year, celebrate creativity, innovation, and excellence across Ireland’s digital industry — recognising agencies, brands, students, and organisations driving progress in digital media and marketing.

 Lisa Castro, Digital Marketing Student of the Year; Natalia Ziabek; Molly Carleton; Dearbhla Kelly; Eimear Walsh; Ecaterina Bespalco; Avril Donegan; Stuart May and Louise Murray, Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing, at the awards event.