The Leader User Experience Design Festival is a five-day event consisting of 28 speakers and six Q&A sessions, as well as a series of workshop sessions with networking opportunities, with several Westminster students from the Interactive Media Practice MA course in attendance. Students on the course took an active role in the virtual event, asking questions, attending workshops and networking with future employers from across the globe in an exciting and pioneering field of work.

The speakers included leading experts in the field from major organisations, including Google, Adobe, Disney, IBM, Microsoft, SAP and Figma, all of which operate at the intersection of Design and Technology. They introduced and delivered powerful innovative solutions, concepts and thoughtful leadership abilities.

During his talk, Savraj Matharu presented the importance of reimaging how we design and build for the Metaverse, a network of 3D worlds focused on social connection. Attended by a global audience, his session was contextualised into key areas of research and innovative factors through meta technologies, both of which were within a new field of research methodology through an HCD approach.

His session was warmly received by the Design and Technology community, who attended the event and found his points thought-provoking. The talk provided historical contextualisation and referenced citation of Metaverse, as well as highlighting key case studies, risk factors, dangers associated with Meta, and links to its impact on digital inclusion.

Commenting on his session, Savraj Matharu said: “It was an honour to speak at this event among many leading practitioners in the field. My talk highlighted innovations in re-imaging building for Meta, Mixed Reality, and XR through new research methodologies, potential scope and key case studies of success factors and associated legitimisation and regulations.

“My students are often encouraged to harness the potential capability of new, emerging technology for a positive impact on society given the digital economy – we have seen a rapid increase and continued advancement within new form factors, which are likely to shape, influence our digital behaviour. Meta will be a key digital touch point.”

A student who attended the festival added: “The conference was an excellent opportunity to interact with the industry professionals first-hand and learn key insights from real-life examples and scenarios. Also, it was delightful to talk to so many peers and seniors, who are very accepting and supportive through various networking sessions. I’m thankful to the Course Leader for providing this opportunity, assisting me with up and coming coursework assignments and real-world practice, which will surely help me in the future.”