Faculty and Postdoctoral Fellows

How the GI Can Support Your Research:

Eligibility: UW-affiliated faculty, lecturers, sessionals, and postdoctoral fellows as well as external faculty members who are conducting GI-relevant research.

"I think of the Games Institute as a ‘star light’ community.  It is a luminous group of people from diverse fields who question, create, tinker, and game - serious fun! - and investigate the sciences & strategies of human play.  Twinkling conversations are often afoot here; I relish the laughter and surprising encounters, which are the name of the game.  As a historian and new faculty member, I am constantly learning at the GI workshops and dialogues just like any fellow engineer or artist or critic or designer or writer or student.  How grand!  The GI is lit by a shared spirit of adventure." - Dr. Daria Ho, Dept. of History

 The GI Administrative Staff support GI Faculty Members and Postdoctoral Fellows from a functional perspective of what their research needs require including: 

Facility Needs:  

Research Needs:  

  • grant preparation assistance (editing, documentation, etc.) 

  • project management and project financial management 

  • research strategic planning

  • hiring assistance for GI-affiliated projects (Workday, GRS’, research appointments, etc.) 

  • event coordination  

  • research communication and dissemination (including knowledge mobilization, social media promotion, news media, press releases, etc.) 

  • interdisciplinary HQP training 

  • administrative support for faculty members 

  • seed grants and other small funding opportunities 

Community Needs:  

  • networking opportunities (promotions, advice, participant studies, etc.)  

  • knowledge exchange between members  

  • active engagement and supports of women, non-binary, LGBTQIA2S+, Indigenous, First Nations, Métis and Inuit, people of colour, and people with various abilities

  • LGBTQIA2S+ Space Makers on-site (staff and faculty)

  • virtual and in-person community supports (including Slack, Discord, Teams infrastructure)  

  • enabling GI members and partners to produce games, books, white papers, online articles podcasts etc. that make a real and immediate impact 

  • connecting members to additional resources and connections that accelerate their research 

Technical Needs:  

  • technical support 

  • research Wi-Fi network 

  • cloud personal storage folders 

  • research VPN linked to cloud storage 

  • GIT repositories (GIGit)

  • access to select commercial software (Adobe CC, SPSS, etc.)

  • equipment and other hardware 

As well as coordination with various university units and external groups to help fulfill the research needs of our community and navigate university systems for interdisciplinary teams, cross-faculty-supervised students, and international graduate students.   

GI staff also play an important role in the professionalization and mentorship of student members. In particular, GI staff provide workshops on knowledge translation, inclusive communications, game design/development and maker support, interdisciplinary collaborations, HQP training, and – crucially – actively creates opportunities for GI members to explore, discuss and consider matters surrounding equity, diversity, and inclusion. The latter includes, among others, a thorough onboarding and introduction of new members to GI’s interdisciplinary nature and how inclusivity and diversity bring value to our activities.   

Such structures encourage collaboration, cross-disciplinary pollination of ideas and concepts and provide peer groups where researchers can discuss, present and critique each other’s works from a variety of vantage points. 

“Without the GI, I would not be able to conduct my research. The way that the GI's space – both physical and virtual - combines disciplines has allowed me to connect my work to new fields, including Games User Research and Social Justice in Education, and expanded the methods that my team has at their disposal. My group's online collaboration is completely embedded in the GI's virtual space, using its Slack. The GI support staff has helped me apply for grants, publicize our research, connect with potential industry collaborators. The GI provides a professional and social network for my students that enriches their experience and the resulting research.”  - Dr. Oliver Schneider, Dept. of Management Sciences, Faculty of Engineering cross-appointments: Cheriton School of Computer Science (Math); Electrical and Computer Engineering (Engineering). 


Interested in becoming a member? Get in touch.