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Interaction Design, Media Arts and Sciences, Digital Media and Multimedia I conducted my PhD research in the Interaction Design group in the Department of Information Systems at the University of Melbourne, Australia's most prestigious human-computer interaction program. I was also awarded a Master in Media Arts and Sciences from the MIT Media Lab. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is often rated to be the best engineering school in the world. I also
have a four-year degree in Digital
Media, or Medieninformatik
in German, from FH-Furtwangen, Germany. This 4-year degree was the first
one in Europe and has a high reputation worldwide. I got a scholarship from the German Government to study a Bachelor of Multimedia at Griffith Uni in Brisbane, Australia. This 3-year degree was the first of its kind in Australia. I was among the very first graduates, and finished the course in only one year.
PhD My PhD research was on Designing Sports: Exertion Games. It was supported by Microsoft, Nokia, Telstra, Distance Lab, University of London, London Knowledge Lab, University Technology Sydney, the Australian Government, the United States Government, the United Kingdom Goverment, and 14 individual grants and scholarships. The research resulted in an international patent application, an invite to collaborate with Microsoft Research Asia, where researchers were bringing out Xbox's Kinect, an honorary mention at the Nokia Ubimedia Award, and one of my games was shortlisted for the European Innovative Games Award, together with Nintendo WiiFit. This research is documented on
Master in Media Arts and Sciences I was awarded a Master in Media Arts and Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Media Lab. The MIT Media Lab is a worldwide renown research institute that delivers first-class research to corporate sponsors. My GPA at the MIT Media Lab was 4.7 out of 5.0. My thesis "Exertion Interfaces: Sports over a Distance for Social Bonding and Fun" was awarded an A+. I focused on
Additionally, I took a joint class between the MIT and Harvard Business School, entitled "Technology and Competitive Strategy". Again, it was the first class of its kind, closing the gap between the worlds of science and business. I also, voluntarily, enrolled in advanced workshops in "Intrapreneurship (Effectiveness in an Organization)" and "Venture Capital in High-Tech Start-Ups" to expand my management background from my Multimedia degrees.
Digital Media or Medieninformatik I was awarded a degree in Digital Media, or Medieninformatik in German, from Furtwangen University, Germany. This 4-year degree was the first one in Europe when it was established in 1990, being at the forefront of digital media. It provides its graduates with a perspective of new media from a project management, technical, marketing, conceptual, social and artistic point of view. My overall score in the Digital Media degree was 1.4 (1.0 best, 5.0 worst). I received high distinctions ("A") in 22 subjects. As part of the degree two internships are required, each 6 months long, to gain hands-on industry experience. To get an international point of view of Digital Media I decided to do my first industry placement at Virtual Artists, Adelaide, Australia. I was the first student who did the first internship in Australia. After I got back, I was the project manager of a group of 5 people who collaborated on "Conceptualising a 3-dimensional operating system". This was the first time a student proposed topic was accepted for this course, and we went on to achieve the highest score possible, 1.0 or 100%. My second internship I did with Xerox PARC, a place where no other student from my program was ever accepted before. I wrote my thesis in cooperation with FX Palo Alto Laboratory in California, USA, the joined research lab between Fuji and Xerox, next door to Xerox PARC. The title of my thesis was "Mediacaptain: User Interface Design for Video on the Web". It received the perfect score of 1.0 (100%).
Bachelor of Multimedia I was awarded a "Bachelor of Multimedia" from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. I was among the first graduates in this new degree. This course was the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere. It is a 3-year specialist degree course providing an interdisciplinary and comprehensive study of the principles and practices of multimedia creation, production and evaluation. I was supported by a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Program (DAAD). The biggest part of the Bachelor of Multimedia was the one-year project "Übermedia" were we designed and implemented an intranet based induction program for one of Australia's largest law firms. I also did an industry placement at Queensland Open Learning network. I did web development for this distance learning institute which provides e-learning for people in the Outback, where I used my knowledge from Teleakademie Furtwangen, Germany. I also worked on video production, resulting in a short movie and a webpage incorporating RealVideo. I also worked in teams that developed interactive applications for the "Graduate Certificate of Multimedia" and developed a neural network in Javascript and presented work on "Interactive games for large audiences".
Computer Science After my civil service in 1994, I started studying "Computer Science", or Diplom-Informatik in German, at the University of Saarland in Saarbrücken, or, if you prefer the international spelling, Saarbruck. My major was information science, which was one of the newest courses established in Germany. During this study, I learned coding in C and C++ and also all the basics in the theory of programming. I enjoyed the maths subjects there too, but all in all I found out that this rather old and standard degree would not allow me to achieve my goals. I decided that, in order to get to the Media Lab, I needed a much broader education which had to include many different disciplines and teach me a whole new understanding of how new media can be used. I found this course in the Multimedia and Digital Media program.
High School I did my secondary education at "Wentzinger Gymnasium" in Freiburg, Germany. In Germany, we finish this kind of school, which enables us to do further study at a university, at the age of 19 or 20. My majors were maths and physics and I graduated with a grade of 1.3, ranging from 1.0 (=very good) to 6.0 (=fail). |
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