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On January 19th, 2023, Dr. Adan Jerreat-Poole (Communication Arts) was a speaker at the 6-part where they discussed Glitch Feminism, disability, and technology.  

The University of ��ݮ��Ƶ Games Institute has secured $25,000 of funding per year over two years from the Ontario government to provide scholarships to students pursuing careers in the gaming and esports industries. The successful application was an interdisciplinary collaborative effort between the Games Institute (GI) and the faculties of Arts, Health, Math, Engineering, and Science.

On November 22nd, GI membersDrs. Jennifer Whitson (Sociology and Legal Studies), Kristina Llewellyn (Social Development Studies), and Steve Wilcox (University of Wilfrid Laurier) discussed the intersection between education and games.

In partnership with the GI, AGE-WELL hosted a hybrid networking event for researchers, industry professionals, and advocates in public health and aging on November 18th. The event was managed by Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Hector Perez (School of Public Health Sciences) and PhD students Adebusola Adekoya (School of Public Health Sciences) and Isabella Rosa Chawrun (School of Public Health Sciences)

On November 4th, Drs. Lai-Tze Fan and Jon Saklofske led a game jam workshop where participants explored how game environments and tools can encourage players and developers to pursue broader social, cultural, and interpersonal understandings.

The GI Game Jam ran from September 29th to October 2nd, led by Jam co-captains, PhD students Joseph Tu (Systems Design Engineering) and Alexander Glover (Management Sciences). The Jam saw the development of 17 games.

On July 5th, GI membersDr. John Muñoz (J&F Alliance), Dr. Lili Liu (Dean of Faculty of Health), and Dr. Michael Barnett Cowan (Kinesiology and Health Sciences) came together to discuss the overlap between using games in areas of health.

Dr. Bo Ruberg presented on their upcoming book Sex Dolls at Sea: Imagined Histories of Sexual Technologies on April 18. The virtual talk explored the histories and stories surrounding the interactive and playful sexual technologies. Ruberg’s research includes the complex history of sex dolls and robots and how that history has been misrepresented, often pointing back to rudimentary sex dolls supposedly made by European sailors.

Games Institute postdoctoral fellow Dr. John Muñoz and Distinguished Research Associate are presenting their research on biofeedback and games at the Games Developers Conference in San Francisco on March 21st.

Games Institute Executive Director Neil Randall and other representatives from The University of ��ݮ��Ƶ are working together on a trans-Atlantic collaboration with The University of Warwick, focusing on collegiate esports.

Members of the two schools have been meeting to share their experiences and discuss ways that they can help each other innovate and grow their esports programs.

UW Professor Ian Rowlands, Associate Vice-President, International, explains,