Why did you decide to study a Master of Human Interface Technology?
I had spent a year working as a software engineer and it didn鈥檛 quite turn out to be what I expected. I wanted to focus and shape my career in a way that I knew I would enjoy, while also opening more doors for myself. I had really enjoyed working at UC鈥檚 HIT Lab as an undergrad intern, so I wanted to keep following that path and see what choices were out there once I finished.
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What does your study entail?
I have a couple of taught courses focusing on designing virtual and augmented reality systems, as well as a thesis project. I鈥檓 looking into how we can use haptic (touch-related) feedback from games to improve data analysis and help people learn.
My work is done at UC鈥檚 HIT Lab 鈥 a human interface technology lab that focuses on bringing together people and technology. It's a pretty top research lab in this field and it has some really cool technology that you wouldn't find many other places in New Zealand, like the Nova Ball, which is a ball that can move 360 degrees while you're inside it in virtual reality, which helps to increase immersion and realism.
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What is your favourite thing about your programme so far?
I really enjoy the social aspect of my study. It's great having a group of master鈥檚, doctorate, and postdoctoral students around me. I also like being creative with ideas and bringing them to life in virtual reality to be able to see how that's going to affect things in the real world. It鈥檚 a rapidly growing field, and it's exciting to see what's coming.
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What do you like about studying in Christchurch?
I really like the atmosphere. For a bigger city, it feels a lot more relaxed than other places. There's lots of cool things to do here, so in your spare time you can go out and take advantage of all the things that Christchurch and Canterbury have to offer. As an added bonus, the cost of living is better compared to other cities, too.
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How did you feel about returning to study?
It was a bit daunting coming back to uni after some time off, but having had that experience in the workforce helped me with my confidence and a听lot of soft skills. I'm a lot more confident with things like presentations, and it鈥檚 helped me believe in myself more.
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What is your cohort like?
As a master鈥檚 cohort, we鈥檙e all pretty good mates, so we鈥檒l often hang out after lectures or go have lunch together. As a whole lab, it鈥檚 also a really social atmosphere, with things like weekly board game afternoons. I definitely think having this close group of people at the HIT Lab is helping me succeed. Everyone's really welcoming and it鈥檚 a very supportive environment.
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Do you have supervisors?
For my thesis project, I've got two supervisors at the HIT Lab. It鈥檚 great having them both because I can get a couple of different perspectives on things, and we all bring our own unique background and knowledge to the project.
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What are your classes and lecturers like?
Because it's a smaller cohort, my lectures are pretty relaxed and it's a comfortable environment. We actually hold them in a meeting room, and everyone's always happy to pitch in and keep it as a more informal discussion.
We get to know everyone at the HIT Lab really well, so we鈥檙e able to have more of a personal relationship with our lecturers. It鈥檚 great because we get a really good one-on-one experience with them.
What inspires you most about what you do?
I鈥檓 passionate about seeing where new technology can take us and all the different things that can be done with it. This is such a broad field and it's still growing all the time. I'm really excited to see where it's going to go next.
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Have you got any advice for others considering postgraduate study?
It can feel daunting when you go back to study, but it's a great way to get to know more people and further your own knowledge. It lets you dig deeper into what interests you the most so that you can make a career out of that and make sure that you really enjoy what you do.
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