The ADA Labs Pathway Project was a 2022 Innovation Hub pilot program aimed at expanding staff and student engagement with the world-leading research labs across the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture (ADA). The project facilitated student engagement with academic-led projects from across the faculty that also aligned with the research priorities of one of the ADA labs.
Through an EOI process, the Innovation Hub selected five small research projects that aligned with one of the ADA Labs. For each project, the Chief Investigator took on a mentorship role with their nominated student (Undergraduate, Honours and Postgraduate Coursework) who had the aptitude and drive necessary to build professional working patterns and thrive in research environments.
In addition to academic mentorship, students also received technical mentoring from an active researcher within the ADA Lab that they partnered with. These technical mentors (late-stage PhD students or above) provided students with an introduction to a high-performing research environment and supported lab-specific skill development required for their project.
The ADA Labs Pathway Project provided research labs with the opportunity to expand access and understanding by attracting staff and student engagement, while also identifying the possible suitability of students for future research candidature. The pathway projects are directly linked to larger existing research with real-world outcomes and provided students with both the experience and the portfolio materials required for future applications to research candidature.
The ADA Labs Pathway Project 2022 pilot is now complete, however there will be further opportunities to get involved in 2023 and beyond.
If you would like to know about the ADA Labs Pathway Project please email: innovationhub@unsw.edu.au Attention: Scott Brown, ADA IH LPP.
Video series
The 2022 ADA Labs Pathway Project tackled the problem of how to increase student and academic engagement with our faculty's world-leading creative technology labs. We accomplished this by pairing up five teams of academic mentors and ADA students with a technical lab advisor in three of our labs.
Watch the project videos to see the teams talk about their experience in the labs and how it supported their research and studies.
Video: Object Image Making
Designer and Art & Design lecturer, Bic Tieu and ADA student Penny Zhang collaborated with the 3D Visualisation Aesthetics Lab to prototype complex craft designs in a digital and virtual space.
Video: XR Dance Studio
The EPICentre lab hosted Art & Design lecturer, Matt Cabanag's research project with ADA student Shiya Lu. Together they incorporated immersive technologies with live choreographic data in a virtual reality setting.
Video: Heightened Perceptions
Dr Haider Akmal mentored ADA student Jonathan Shaw in the Creative Robotics lab. The pair explored the design and creation of 'trans-objects' with a heightened perception of their usage, intent and purpose.
Video: Virtual Characters vs Social Robots
Working in the Creative Robotics and 3D Visualisation Aesthetics lab, ADA student Max Tintner built on Dr Eduardo Sandoval's research exploring engagement with virtual characters versus social robots.
- Project Lead
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