Postgraduate students from the Interactive Media Practice MA participated in a Google Sprint Chapter along with Course Leader Savraj Matharu. The Google Sprint Chapter is a special innovation workshop with an introduction to new tools, methods and research designed to help large organisations innovate faster and create solutions through various types of digital intervention.
The session was built on Google’s powerful Design methodology to facilitate and validate new ideas, just like it is done internally by Google. It demonstrated methods to bridge the gap between strategy and execution, to solve large societal problems, and to test new ideas within a safe environment. There was a particular focus on cross-functional teams and teamwork across disciplines to tackle new challenges and drive innovation forward.
Navneet Kaur Kaler, one of the students who took part in the Sprint, said: "Being a bit of a process geek, I was excited to participate in the Sprint which covered the refined innovation and approach that is used at Google Ventures. This was the most collaborative and insightful session in which everybody participated. It generated new ideas and reformed them in their own way, which was research-led and practical."
Another student, Alani Azul said: “The special Google Sprint session was a great insight into the real-life processes of working in the industry. As someone with a few years of working experience myself, I can say that our session accurately reflected the workflows involved when developing a new idea, all the way from planning to execution."
The workshop was based on four areas of case studies, including the Digital Health Project tackling diabetes in small children in the UK; Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), encouraging low-income households to invest; Environmental, tackling micro plastics for pregnant woman in the UK, and Digital Trust/ Misinformation, encouraging individuals to take a COVID vaccine.
Speaking about the session, Savraj Matharu, Digital Innovator and Course Leader of the Interactive Media Practice MA, said: “This was a great opportunity for my diverse students to engage with real-world practice, connect key theory, research and apply powerful methodologies through this sprint, inclusively and collaboratively. Being an active practitioner in the field provides a core insight for my students and makes me able to generate opportunities in employability.”
The Interactive Media Practice MA is an innovative interdisciplinary digital course, focusing on Digital first, and combining a range of creative technologies from Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and the Internet of Things (IOT) to Design Thinking. The aim is to build powerful digital solutions, while raising the next generation of talented students, who are fit for the digital age and for industry 4.0. The programme is recognised for having its alumni working at world-leading organisations particularly within science, technology and design industries.
“My students work on live project briefs and solve real world problems through digital intervention and usually through a variety of interactive media outputs. As a learning community we shape and present possibilities and share insights. Findings for future prospects usually involve re-thinking the status quo and re-engineering with a fresh insight, where we can apply specific frameworks, research and data,” said Matharu.
Learn more about Media and Communication courses at the University of Westminster.
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