Human Computer Interaction MSc

What mainly attracted to me to the MRes in Human Computer Interaction at Lancaster was that it brought together my interests within technology, design and psychology, along with the opportunity to explore and develop my skills within research. My first degree was in Textile Design and I had enjoyed a successful career as a Design Manager within the Textile and Garment industry for over 15 years. I decided to return back to education to explore my keen interest in technology and completed an MSc in Information Technology at UWE in 2006. During this time I became very interested in the HCI area and wanted to develop my experience within this area. I had heard about Lancaster University and was aware that they were in the forefront of research within the area of HCI and so applied for the course last year.

I think the MRes course is quite unique, as it provides many opportunities to develop your research skills and knowledge though some very innovative HCI topics, like social networking, user experience and collaborative design. There is a mix of individual and collaborative work which at time was very intense and challenging, yet the course provides lots of opportunity to explore your own areas of interest within the HCI area.

The most rewarding experience I gained during the course was having the opportunity to attend a NordiCHI in Sweden which is the main Nordic forum for human-computer interaction research. During this 5-day conference I presented a short paper on Social Networking, which I co-wrote with a few of my colleagues during the MRes course which we managed to get published this year. Another rewarding experience was my dissertation project which was a placement at Hewlett Packard Lab. Based on this research on alternative reality game design, I co-authored a work in progress paper for CHI 2009.

After completing the MRes I have decided to continue within the area of HCI research and have begun a PhD at Lancaster University within the area of Location-based Gaming (started 2009). I would recommend the MRes course for anyone who is interested in how people interact with technology and how research can help us understand how best to design and improve it for its intended use. Anyone who enjoys a challenge and is curious to find out more about the pervasive nature of technology will find this course hugely rewarding.

I decided to choose the MRES Human Computer Interaction because it was a natural progression from my background in design studies, my interests in people and how they interact with digital products. I hold a BA(Hons) in Design Studies from Salford University, where I became interested in understanding fundamental concepts of user centred design and human computer interaction. It was at Salford that I realised I needed to gain an advantage and specialise further in my chosen subject area. My original plan to get into web design changed as I understood more what contributes to good design and I realised the job market in that area was becoming more and more saturated. The Masters in Human Computer Interaction (Formerly know as ‘The Design and Evaluation of Advanced interactive Systems’) at Lancaster sounded like exactly what I needed to enable me to specialise further in my chosen field of Interaction Design and User Experience.

After researching possible Postgraduate studies, I decided on Lancaster because of the strong links with industry and other academic institutions, active involvement and exposure to major overseas conferences and the unique way in which the course was coordinated and delivered by both computing, and more importantly for me, the psychology department I was taught by world renowned academics in their field. I gained so much from the experience that I believe has contributed to my early success in my career as an interaction designer because it gave me the ability to apply design thinking with expert psychological domain knowledge which I gained through the course during both practical hands on exercises and deep research during essay writing and thesis construction.

Gaining an Internship at Sony Ericsson where I conducted my thesis work has been a life changing experience, opening up many opportunities for me. I have been working in my current role as an Interaction designer at Sony Ericsson since I completed the MRes Human Computer Interaction course and have been working on concepts for new and emerging products for a top 3 Mobile handset manufacturer. I am currently in the process of permanently relocating to Malmo, Sweden to take up a position in a new design organisation at Sony Ericsson’s headquarters.

The Masters in Human Computer Interaction programme has given me access to a wealth of new opportunities. I would recommend this course to any Design, Computing, or Psychology student who has a passion for understanding how people interact with the digital world, and wants to apply this in the future either through academia or industry. This programme holds the potential to give you what it already gave me: a clear advantage and a great start to your career.

Prior to joining the MRes programme, I completed my first degree in Information Technology and Business Information Systems. My undergraduate project was about employing a quality management perspective to study mobile usability, together with the chunk of related courses I have done, they really boosted up my interest in the field of HCI. I realised seeking an exceptional opportunity to undertake further study became a prerequisite for enhancing my competence on interaction design, so as to pursuing a research-oriented career in the area. Titled myself as "voracious reader of faculty information and postgraduate prospectus", among all the factors, I made my decision primarily because of Lancaster's multidisciplinary research excellence, and the invaluable possibility on taking a dissertation placement in the industry.

At Lancaster the multidisciplinary nature of HCI was well unfolded and delivered, this much helped in not only constituting both an abstract and concrete understanding of this particular domain, straightening my own creative and critical thinking, also appreciating collaborations and different opinions. The programme was operated in a truly open and friendly atmosphere, and we had great support throughout from the staff. I discussed how to draw inspiration from Egyptology to come up with grounded conceptual design with the lecturer, for instance.

For the most important part, more than expected, I talked to and subsequently carried out my dissertation dealing with culturalised mobile UI concept in liaison with Sony Ericsson, tried out several research techniques interviewing, and working with end-users, and thus gained hands-on experience. We also had a chance to participate in the 'HCI 2007' conference, as a student volunteer, I learnt a lot from it and met academics and practitioners from all around Europe.

Now working as a user experience researcher at the consulting side in Shanghai, I enjoy exchanging ideas with my talented colleagues specialising in industrial and UI design then putting all those "post-it" into action. I am continuously thinking big in interaction design, when am not recalling those light-hearted arguments or discussions took place in the MRes lab.

I started my academic spell in Lancaster with my undergrad in Psychology, studying the way people used emoticons - 'smileys' J - as a way of conveying emotion in online communication. I became intrigued in the way peoples' IT ability influenced their interactions with technology. This is where my interest in HCI became clearer and I began to consider the MRes programme.

The course modules gave me a strong foundation in all the core concepts of HCI whilst allowing me to develop and pursue my specialist interests. I picked up lots of new skills and techniques, especially in usability testing, many of which I still use today. Although the support from the tutors was fantastic, I genuinely learned a great deal from other students as well, something which is facilitated by the collaborative projects on the course.

For the dissertation period of my MRes course, with the help of the course tutors and both departments, I managed to secure a placement with Sony Ericsson. I was funded to split my time between working on my own research and working as a UI Designer. This proved invaluable in putting my knowledge to use within a practical business environment – applied HCI. Even though I was lucky enough to be offered a full time role with Sony Ericsson after my placement had ended, I had applied and was accepted onto the BT Graduate Scheme.

Some masters courses give you a strong foundation in academic theory, but many graduates often lack experience, which limits the speed at which their degree adds value in a job. I found that the collaborative nature of this course, coupled with the opportunity for industry placement, equipped me with an understanding of how to apply HCI theory into business value. This is something I started to do very quickly when I joined BT and it has enabled my career to progress faster than I'd imagined.

Lancaster is a great place for HCI because of its strong multi-disciplinary approach, collaboration with the Psychology department and fantastic links with industry. A research-lead course gives you a great balance between academic theory and putting your ideas into practice to test and evaluate them. This is invaluable when it comes to applying HCI in future, whether it’s in the world of business or academia.

Until joining the MRes course in 2003, I had been working as a web designer for about ten years. Mainly designing for large financial companies, I was very experienced, but felt there was something missing. What makes one design better than another? Why do people click where they do? What are people really looking for when they come to our site and how can we tailor it better?

I'd been looking at usability websites and books, but thought that having a structured course would be of more benefit - to improve the usability of the systems I designed; learn how to access academic research to back up those designs; to understand the gaps in my knowledge and fill them in.

I became interested in methods of requirements gathering - especially ethnography - and the course was flexible enough to let me concentrate on this area during my dissertation.

I use the skills MRes in my work every day, but it has two key benefits for my career. Firstly, it enabled me to get a job in a large consultancy company, where I specialised as a User Experience Consultant. Secondly, it allowed me to shift focus from the end of the design process to the beginning, where usability tools and techniques make a lot more difference to the end product. In my day-to-day work I spend a lot of time communicating - running workshops, giving presentations, connecting stakeholders and drawing out requirements. As a result of the things I learned on the course, and subsequently as a consultant, my role has changed from passive interpretation of requirements, to active participation in shaping the benefits and requirements of some of the largest IT systems in the UK.