[CALL] PhD scholarships in the Exertion Games Lab at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

PhD scholarships in the Exertion Games Lab at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

The Exertion Games Lab (exertiongameslab.org) at RMIT University (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) in Melbourne, Australia, is seeking exceptional PhD candidates to research the future of digital play.

The Exertion Games Lab is looking for candidates who value an interdisciplinary design studio environment, are highly motivated, willing to learn a variety of skills, are extremely creative as well as technical, and also have highly developed analytical and communicative skills. Prior research experience (publications, etc.) is desirable and so are hardware prototyping abilities (Arduino, etc.) and programming skills (Processing, etc.). We are looking at potential for creativity, excellence and drive.

We are particularly looking for candidates interested in a) promoting more walking activity during the day or b) supporting extreme sports with digital play technology (see our skateboarding project http://exertiongameslab.org/projects/copy-paste-skate) but are also open for other research interests.

Entry requirements:

You will need to have a four-year degree (Honours if you have an Australian degree) or a
three-year Bachelor and a Master’s degree. Typical backgrounds are game design,
interaction design, human-computer interaction, computer science, industrial design,
electrical engineering and arts but we are curious to hear what you can contribute. All
nationalities are encouraged to apply. The PhDs in the Exertion Games Lab take 3 years. All
applicants will need to apply for and be accepted to the PhD program in Media and
Communication at RMIT University, see www.rmit.edu.au/mediacommunication/researchdegrees. Start date is end of 2013 or early 2014. The scholarships are according to the Australian Postgraduate Award rate of AUD 24,653 per year and include a new Macbook Air with 27” display. We are also offering a great open-plan lab environment in the Design Hub, Australia’s newest interdisciplinary design research centre at RMIT University.

The application deadline is 15 Sep 2013. 

The Exertion Games Lab is a new lab that researches the future of
gaming and play in order to understand how to design better interactive
experiences. Our research is focused on the merging of play, technology and the active human
body, drawing from research streams such as interaction design, human-
computer interaction and computer games research.

The culture in the Exertion Games Lab is one of interdisciplinary
work. At the Exertion Games Lab, we do not just philosophize and write
about the future, we actively invent it. We emphasize the development
of working prototypes in order to fully understand what play is, why
we play, and how we will play in the future. We do this because we
believe playing and gaming is a fundamental part of what makes us
humans who we are, and an understanding of this brings us closer to
our vision of a better world filled with interactive technologies that
support human values.

Please submit your application (CV, brief research proposal letter, transcript of latest results and portfolio URL) by email to Florian ‘Floyd’ Mueller (exertiongameslab at rmit.edu.au) before 15 Sep 2013 to receive full consideration.

Looking forward to reading your applications!

Thanks,
The Exertion Games Lab
http://exertiongameslab.org/about

* We should also mention that you will be doing your PhD right in the
heart of the world’s most livable city, Melbourne:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-14/melbourne-remains-worlds-most-liveable-city/4198294