hybridmedium

In More Details

I am a trans-disciplinary Innovation Design Specialist, Project Manager, Human Computer Interaction Researcher and Media Artist. Most recently, I was Lead Researcher in the Creative Interactions Lab at Carleton University for principal investigator Dr. Girouard, as part of an academic and industrial collaboration with the company Maker Junior. This collaboration was part of an NSERC grant researching opportunities for Bendable Interaction for young tinker makers. Previous to this, I was selected as a Marie Curie Fellow as part of a competitive EU funded project in computing department at Lancaster University where I am also completing my PhD. Professionally I have worked Internationally in fields from media arts, research, media development, social software and E-commerce. My work spans across disciplines and it is the intersections between these knowledge spaces that I find most rewarding.

My teaching philosophy is rooted in the value of experiential learning and reflection. Coming from a Media Arts and Interaction Design background I value the process of learning through making. Given my background in Creativity research methods and processes, I identify myself as a facilitator, and mentor focused on helping students identify where their strengths lie and how to cultivate these into tangible outcomes.  I see value in one-to-one feedback as well as peer review and presentation. For example, in the form of Crits often used in formal studio arts and design education. Learning for me is a bidirectional activity and often an iterative process. I encourage students to view their topics of interest, from different angles through the use of various research methods, or innovation tools that encourage reframing and reflecting on one’s ideas. Some of these techniques are traditional qualitative approaches while others are more open- ended and experimental. For example, my work with combining Improv Theater and design-thinking focuses in part on participants being out of their comfort zone and creating a shared language that bridges across their various disciplinary backgrounds and avoids the pitfalls of discipline specific jargon. My academic workshops have facilitated designers, artists, computer scientists as well as other practitioners to communicate and combine ideas collaboratively.

I value collaboration and how this nurtures creative outcomes. Due to this I encourage students to gain interdisciplinary perspectives from different fields, cultures, as well as experimenting with different formats, media and materials. My work with architects, designers, urban planners and the housing community illustrates my belief in interdisciplinarity and the value this brings to one’s work. I believe that integral to any type of learning process is the art of reflection, be this through planning, brainstorming, receiving feedback or as a skills learned by deepening one’s relationship to materials, processes and practice.  As an educator this type of engagement is most rewarding and even though sometimes very painful, it can result in growth and inspired learning. Reflection plays an important role in my research in the fields of tangible computing and service design. Having worked in the intersections of fields of media arts, design, computer science and innovation studies, I can appreciate the struggles a student faces when working in a cross-disciplinary and sometimes even cross-cultural fashion. I believe in the educational value of fostering unique collaborations between different educational, artistic, non-profit and industrial communities both locally and internationally with students and academic community.