The Games Institute (GI) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Waterloo, advancing the study of interactive and immersive technologies and experiences.
News Bites
Stay up-to-date with the latest GI activities. Our News Bites report on recent conferences, keynote addresses, and recent research activities of our members.
Research Spotlights
For more in-depth breakdowns of ongoing research projects, check out our Research Spotlights for full write ups of events and up close and personal testimonies with our researchers and members.
News
Esports Scholarships Continued
In 2022, the University of Waterloo Games Institute secured $50,000 of funding over two years from the Ontario government to provide scholarships to students pursuing careers in the gaming and esports industries. Following a successful first round of scholarships awarded to thirteen students (two graduate and eleven undergraduate) earlier this year, the second round is now open for applications.
HCI Games Group Members Awards Announcements
Congratulations to Drs. Sebastian Cmentowski and Reza Hadi Mogavi, two post-doctoral fellows from the HCI Games Group, led by Dr. Lennart Nacke (Stratford), for being awarded the Provost’s Program for Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholars and the Lupina Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship respectively! Mogavi joins the group as the second postdoctoral fellow to receive the Lupina award in the group after Dr. Eugene Kukshinov won the award in 2022.
PhD Candidate Sabrina Sgandurra Presents at DiGRA
PhD Candidate Sabrina Sgandurra (English Language and Literature) presented at the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) 2023 Conference which ran from June 19 – 23 which took place in Seville, Spain.
Blog
The GI Welcomes Nine Students from Ukraine
In Spring 2022, UWaterloo welcomed thirty-four Ukrainian students whose, education had been disrupted by the war, to continue their studies at Waterloo. They were sponsored by the Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute (Waterloo.AI).
Dr. Hector Perez on Innovating Interdisciplinary Research
Before coming to Waterloo, Dr. Hector Perez held positions as a research assistant at a Mathematics Research Centre, as a project manager and later as executive assistant to the Vice-President of Administration and Finance at the University of Guanajuato in Mexico. He has travelled extensively (often teaching wherever he goes) and speaks five languages, in addition to understanding a few more.
Dr. Emma Vossen: The Journey There and Back Again
If Emma Vossen’s name sounds familiar, it’s probably because she is one of the earliest members of the Games Institute. She recalls the conversations in the basement of the PAS building on campus or the Rum Runner bar in downtown Kitchener (in 2013!) with Dr. Neil Randall and other graduate students about what the GI could be. After defending her dissertation in 2018 and setting out from Waterloo, she has returned to her old stomping grounds for the next stage of her career as the GI’s Research Communications Officer.