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16 cgw j u ly • a u g u s t • s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 2 e d u c a t i o n s p o t l i g h t H oused at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), one of the nation's leading public polytechnic universities, the Hill- ier College of Architecture and Design offers an unmatched learning experience as a hub for creativity and innovation. Within the college, The School of Art + Design was established in 2007 under the leadership of Professor Glenn Goldman, and it offers a multidis- ciplinary curriculum. As part of their studies, the students take on practical and theoretical lessons in the disciplines of digital, interior, and industrial design. The comprehensive Digital Design B.A. program offers tracks in Interactive Media/Production or Entertainment. "We work to prepare students to deal with constant change and to find areas of interest that connect various disciplines, from gaming and animation to biomedical engineering and theatre arts," explains Professor Glenn Goldman, Director Emeritus of the School of Art + Design. Stephen Haddock-Weiler '13 started off at a firm that used game engines to create trainers for the U.S. military. He joined Happy Mushroom two years ago as an environment designer for the film industry. Working on the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series at Happy Mushroom's Virtual Art Department is a dream come true. As Haddock-Weiler changed industries, he seamlessly transitioned from working in Unity 3D Engine to Unreal Engine 4, and for this he credits his education at the School of Art + Design. "It taught me to be very open to different ideas and to be willing to expand in other directions that otherwise one wouldn't be comfortable with. In our industry things can change over the course of weeks or months, as far as soware is concerned; a new version or a new piece of so- ware comes out and someone will pivot to it immediately because they realize the advantages of it, and you have to be able to pick that up very quickly," says Haddock-Weiler. The School of Art + Design offers a variety of courses: environ- ment design in motion pictures, SFX/VFX in movies, digital audio, history of games, video & animation, 2D and 3D character design and modeling, game design, and more. "All of our Digital Design stu- dents take a course called Human Factors/Ergonomics so they are always cognizant of the people who may use or interact with their designs," says Professor Goldman. The students are encouraged to showcase their work through competitions and curated exhibits, and many of them have exhibit- ed at the annual conferences of IGDA, MetroCAF, and Digital Graffiti. At the ACM/SIGGRAPH conference, the students participate as Student Volunteers, and many have had research posters and talks presented at the conference. They also present their work at the annual curated Faculty Submitted Student Work exhibit sponsored by the Education Committee. The school has been hosting Global Game Jam events, and the Video Game Design Program has been cited on multiple occasions by Princeton Review as a top program. "School of Art + Design has benefited from the cooperation with renowned professionals who have helped position it at the forefront of educating design professionals. We offer courses that teach our students technical skills to create immersive experience and mixed reality designs with the use of cutting-edge digital technologies," explains Professor John Cays, Interim Director of the School of Art + Design. ¢ NJIT's School of Art + Design is a Hub for Creativity and Innovation CGW Partner Promotion