Academia

I have more than 25 years of experience working with students and love creating spaces for everyone to expand their mind,  knowledges and beliefs. 

Right now, I’m a Senior Lecturer at University College London (UCL). Before that, I was an MA course leader at Westminster University and worked as a lecturer and researcher at the University of the Arts London (UAL). My academic research lies at the intersection of digital media, immersive narratives, agency and impact.

Lately, I have become interested in the art and science of media storytelling for social change and participated in a research about Impact Storytelling for UAL's AKO Storytelling Institute. It opened my eyes to the complex craft of impact production and on the strategic and long time lenses of societal narrative change. 

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I've watched technology evolve from Web 1.0 to participatory and mobile media, and now to immersive headsets and AI. Even though the tech has changed, my focus remains the same: how can we use digital storytelling to transform ourselves and our shared world? How can we create digital stories that matter?

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What connects my academic work and coaching is my focus on “narratives for change.” With my academic hat on, I look at how our media stories (documentaries, podcasts, immersive experiences, and games) can change the world. With my coaching hat, I use personal stories to inspire self-change. The two are clearly interconnected, as we cannot change the world if we do not change ourselves first!

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                                                                                                      "The stories we tell create the worlds we inhabit"  Sam Rye