GRADUATES who have set up their own businesses on a North-East university campus received the Royal seal of approval yesterday.

And a fleet-footed Prince Andrew even tried out a game-playing version of a computer dance mat when he met the entrepreneurs at the University of Teesside.

The mat was adapted by Onisoft, which was set up by two Canadians who came to study computer graphics and stayed on to set up their own computer games company.

Doug Wolff and Paul Dolhai came to the university after graduating with BSc degrees in computer science from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

When the Duke of York asked what had made them stay on Teesside, Mr Wolff said: "We have ready-made access to highly-skilled graduates, and we can bring in people as and when we need them. Staying on the campus allows us that unlimited access."

The three companies the Duke met are all based in the newly-renovated Victoria Building, which was redeveloped with cash from the European Regional Development Fund and One NorthEast.

Fake Believe Studios was created by Sara Waters, from Middlesbrough, Matt Sibley, from Stockton, and Richard Hemsworth, from east Cleveland.

The business was started during their placement year and is continuing while they complete their final year of study.

The last company, Strange Agency, was the idea of Clive Fencott, a PhD graduate and senior lecturer in computer games design at the university.

He founded it as a spin-out company from the university with co-directors Oliver Davies, Jo Clay and Paul van Schaik.