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When Actionscript 3 first arrived on the scene I was asked to introduce the technology to a lecturer at the University of Kent so that it could be incorporated into their syllabus. At the end of the two days I was asked if I wanted to be a member of the School of Engineering and Digital Arts Multimedia, Technology & Design Industrial Panel, and I signed up immediately.

University of Kent campus
Plans for 2010

Panel members come from a wide range of new media business interests in Kent and London and meet once a year to provide some commercial perspective on the direction of the Bsc in Multimedia Technology and Design Course. This year we learnt of the plans to invigorate this course which incorporates design , technology and software engineering. The faculty have been putting a lot of thought into how the two worlds of developers and designers can both be explored by students who might not quite know where their strength lies when they first begin studying.

The university is keen to increase the engagement with us and we discussed members giving lectures, master classes and mentoring students on the course. Quite exciting and it seems a worthwhile activity to be putting something back into an industry which I love so much. Also the train ride down to Cantebury is great on a bright day.

Interaction Lab

We also learnt about the department's ideas on establishing an Interaction Lab which could provide services to web companies in the South East. The response was very favorable from those attending and I am really looking forward to seeing the lab in one of my future visits.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

The department is a big fan of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and we were presented with the outline to what seems a very decent way for companies to subsidise projects, while providing invaluable work experience to students looking for that sometimes elusive first rung on the ladder. If you have a project that could so with some extra hands, and help with funding you could do worse than learning more about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP).