This post is part of a series looking back on the events of the 2022 UTS Tech Festival. To see all the posts in the series, check the Tech Festival tag.
In this post, Wade Marynowsky tells us about the Prototype and Robotics Showcase, and Jaime Garcia Marin discusses the Games Showcase.
Prototype and Robotics Showcase
In one or two sentences, tell us about the event you ran during the Tech Festival?
The Prototype and Robotics showcase was organised by Marc Carmichael and myself (Wade Marynowsky) to present some of the best projects by students this semester. There were also robot demonstrations, Warman competition robots, and 20+ prototype and robotics showcase projects.
What inspired you to do this?
I was inspired to do this so that my students feel proud of what they have achieved by sharing their projects with their peers, community, and industry.
What was the most surprising outcome?
The most surprising outcome was the group The Curious Collective’s remarkable teamwork. The group’s final presentation in class was not initially one that was going to be included in the showcase, but after one week they had improved their work so much that I had to invite them. Their project ‘The Teletrek. For Raiders of the Lost Park’ was awarded Runner Up for Best Prototype.
Additionally, ‘Sprout Cat’ by the Colour Coders surprised me by being awarded both People’s Choice Award and the Best Prototype.
How has it/will it benefit students?
The Curious Collective’s project ‘The Teletrek. For Raiders of the Lost Park’ was offered to apply for the UTS Techcelerator, a deep tech early-stage accelerator for start-ups.
What’s the one piece of advice you would give other academics based on this experience?
Encourage your students to attend a showcase so they have some idea of what it is like, and also encourage them to strive to achieve their best projects to be able to be invited to participate in future showcase events.
Any plans for what you’ll do next year?
Fine-tune tune the showcase event, promote the event more and try and get more people to come.
Further resources
UTS Student Games Showcase
In one or two sentences, tell us about the event you ran during the Tech Festival?
The Student Games Showcase is a social evening with food, prizes and of course plenty of games to play. It is a chance to enjoy the results of the hard work put into the projects throughout a busy semester and to highlight the fantastic games-related work that UTS students at various stages of their studies.
What inspired you to do this?
This is to demonstrate the capabilities of the second and third year BSc. Game Development students and those taking games subjects as an elective in order to connect them with the local games industry.
What was the most surprising outcome?
After two years of lockdowns and online events, it was great to see how the UTS Games Studio community came together in a night of celebration and fun.
The event saw 288 guests including 111 students presenting their work and all our research partners, industry partners, colleagues and friends. We had the opportunity to catch up with graduates from different cohorts (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021). More than a showcase, this was a family reunion.!
How has it/will it benefit students?
This showcase has become a successful platform for: (1) connecting students with employers resulting in several internship and job opportunities, (2) demonstrating our game development capabilities to industry resulting in external institutions engaging with us on two NHMRC and one ARC Linkage Grant applications (3) connecting students from all year levels and building a real sense of community within the Game development students leading to the establishment of the Playmakers Student Society, (4) marketing the degree to prospective students and showing them what students will learn when studying games at UTS.
What’s the one piece of advice you would give other academics based on this experience?
I advise my colleagues to work closely with their students to help them develop their public speaking skills. This is an important ability to develop, specially for students about to join the workforce.
Any plans for what you’ll do next year?
Reach a broader audience and offer alumni the opportunity to showcase their games.
Further resources
Images provided by Wade Marynowsky and Jaime Garcia Marin.