In this introductory course, students will learn methods and skills involved in designing and prototyping interactive systems. The course covers the fundamental design process from the initial formulation of a design problem to creation and testing of a prototype. The class structure is a mix of lectures, classroom design activities, and design critiques of student work by peers and professionals.

Designing effective interactive systems requires an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of users. In order to successfully design, deploy, and evaluate interactive systems for people, knowledge of the characteristics, strengths, and constraints of human cognition, perception, and motivation is required. The purpose of this second-level course is to allow students to gain a functional and actionable knowledge of relevant core concepts in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). This is an interaction design class, which means that we are focusing on the user-facing aspects of technology: web pages, mobile apps, the control interface of a smart home appliance, the interface of a public kiosk, the touch and feel of an end-user device, etc. We'll survey research from the social and biological sciences, with attention to how these concepts influence user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design and research.

The aim of the course is to introduce the concept of Virtual/Augmented Reality technologies and equip students with the hands-on skills to become a better storyteller using a virtual environment. This course is divided into three parts. The first part introduces the characteristics of different Virtual/Augmented Reality techniques and applications. The second part equips students with skills to develop Virtual/Augmented Reality applications through Unity. The third part teaches students elementary skill to develop big Virtual Reality environments through Unreal Engine. Through the practical exercises, students may apply Virtual/Augmented Reality techniques to address real- world problems.

The aim of the course is to equip students with the hands-on skills to create 3D assets for the virtual reality environment which can be used for better storytelling. The course teaches students various components of assets in Virtual/Augmented Reality applications. Through the practical exercises, students may learn how to design and develop assets in Virtual/Augmented Reality applications using state-of-the-art tools to improve the user experiences in the virtual reality environment, and how to evaluate the usability of assets in Virtual/Augmented Reality applications in order to match needs and use cases.

The aim of the course is to equip students with the hands-on skills to develop an advanced virtual reality environment, including different interactions and characters’ behaviour, which can be used for better storytelling. The course equips students with skills to develop advanced Virtual/Augmented Reality applications through Unreal Engine. Through the practical exercises, students may apply Virtual/Augmented Reality techniques to develop a virtual environment with more human-VR/AR interactions to address real-world problems.

Entrepreneurship is as vital to established organizations as it is to startups, and thrives in for- profit, non-profit, and institutional settings. This course is an experiential-learning practicum in innovation, customer value, and venture creation in the information industry. Students analyze entrepreneurial risks and best practices through interactive exercises, readings, and assignments. Students then take the principles directly into practice in real-world projects, to build functional fluency and to develop relevant career skills and portfolio materials. The aim of the course is to help students understand the principles and pitfalls of real-world entrepreneurship; apply innovation, customer value, and venture creation in diverse settings; critically assess and communicate real-world entrepreneurial opportunities; and to create differentiated value for constituents/customers and sponsors/stakeholders especially in various VR/AR products and services.

Professional Internship is a core course in which students need to work as summer internship after their Year-3 studies. To gain practical experience in the media and digital technology industry, students are required to participate in 3-month summer internships at local or overseas media organizations, immersive technology (VR/AR/XR) production companies, government related institutions, public relations companies or advertising firms where they will observe, explore, and learn what and how the theoretical and practical knowledge they have acquired can be put to use in the real world.  At the same time as they are performing the tasks given to them by the internship organization, students are encouraged to prepare for the capstone project to be taken in Year-4.

The capstone project is a media design or VR/AR/XR immersive content creation with practical or commercial value. It is a 1-semester project which allows students to work on a media design or VR/AR/XR development project negotiated and agreed upon between them and the internship company, or, if this has not been possible, agreed with an academic supervisor in the Department. The Department will seek collaboration with companies in the media industry or technology institutions which need to develop new media design and VR/AR/XR contents. The purpose of this capstone project is to give students the opportunity to use the skills they have learnt in an environment where they can work on a project with an actual client that is of interest to them and of practical use for the organization. The deliverables will include new media design or VR/AR/XR prototype or a well-developed business proposal with commercial potential to meet the new era of Metaverse.

This course aims to develop students’ creative skills in sound design by teaching basic knowledge in sound theory as well as the technical skills of sound recording, creative sound effects, audio mixing, Foley, voice dialogue and digital music production. This is a hands-on course which involves studio audio operation, indoor and outdoor sound recording, digital music production and sound effect design. It equips student with the basic vocabulary and concepts necessary for working in the field of sound design and production and further applying the theory and techniques for immersive content production.

Video games have become a vital part of daily life of people across different generations and socioeconomic backgrounds in modern society. It is not only an entertainment, but also a booming industry with its flourishing gaming culture for consumers, game developers and game entrepreneurs. This course is a conceptual and practical introduction to game design and development. Specifically, at the conceptual level, theories and models of game development, and design patterns and logics underlying different game engines will be introduced. At the practical level, techniques of employing Unity, a commonly used game engine, to develop an interactive game, together with other skills necessary in game development such as graphic and motion design, audio and lighting settings, etc., will be developed. It is expected that this course will equip students with fundamental knowledge of game development, and the necessary techniques to design and create an interactive game.