Maleeha Shaikh

What motivated you to pursue studies at university?

It was the mix of a passion for designing user-centred technology, a desire to attain an academic qualification and immersing in a student experience for my holistic development.

After working in industry on a year-long software development project after my Bachelor of IT and Bachelor of Business, I aspired to deepen my knowledge and skillset in UX (User Experience) Design.

Why did you choose City St George's?

The MSc Human-Computer Interaction Design programme at City St George's was my top-choice when planning my postgraduate studies since their course is strongly affiliated with research and industry.

The Centre for Human-Computer Interaction Design facilitates students, researchers and faculties to carry on unique research in the field, vital for future advancement of technology and related skills.

The course also offers a promising internship-pathway to completing the research component of this programme, hence, equipping me with independent thinking and research skills, along with a focus on industry employment.

Lastly, the programme at City St George's was my preference also because of their choice of electives offered since modules like Data Visualisation and AR/VR Technologies drew my professional interest.

How are you finding studying in the UK?

The biggest highlight of my life is indeed being a student in my programme at City St George's, University of London. My classmates are friendly and we check up on each other, which makes me feel positive about my day to day.

The experience has made me resilient, productive and mindful as my faculty add value to my life with each lecture and encourage me to think in new ways, to feed my knowledge and curiosity.

What has been your favourite module or aspect of your course so far?

The MSc HCID course is structured to comprise two intensive semesters worth of taught study modules and the last one is fully dedicated to independent research work. So far, I am in my second semester and enjoy the course thoroughly.

Initially, we began with foundational subjects like Information Architecture, Interaction Design and Inclusive Design, while I am now pursuing Data Visualisation, Design Justice, Understanding User Interactions and Evaluating Interactive Systems.

My favourite aspect of the course is that it has a well-defined balance of prescribed skills and knowledge as well as scope to do creative and new thinking. The course is very research-heavy and moulds one to be a strong professional in the field.

What knowledge and skills has your course helped you develop?

Before beginning my course, I had expected it to cover those concepts that I knew had popular implication in today's UX UI projects. Aspects like visual design, making use of fancy design systems and effective methods of web or software design.

However, since I have joined I have not only learnt these bits from professionals in the industry but also, capture my design voice. I have built a strong set of values as I grow in this field and apply deep theoretical knowledge into unique ways of practice.

The course has enabled me to think further than problem-solving and into solution-oriented thinking. It has supported me in choosing topics of interest and apply the knowledge honed to the same to emphasise my value and skills gained in the work produced.

What opportunities and experiences has your School offered you so far?

We have free pizza afternoons every week where all SST students are welcome to drop in to connect and socialise. City St George's SST also hosts the Department of Computer Science students in the Ada Lovelace room to support their self-study.

The facility has a comfortable ambience with a small attached kitchen for heating my lunch in the microwave, filling up warm water and washing any cutlery. I make use of this facility on days I self-study from university owing to its conveniently placed charging points, perfectly social environment - not too quiet or too loud and access to the self-maintained kitchenette.

What opportunities and experience has the rest of City St George's offered you so far?

City St George's has helped me secure part-time work which is flexible around my study schedule. Through their in-house partnership with the Unitemps service, I can apply for flexible work on their online portal and gain work experience through assisting student events and activities.

I was successful in becoming a Marketing and Events Student Ambassador for the academic year, which has led me to connect with many students and staff on campus, make friends and attain on-the-job skills, e.g., by being on an event's reception or assisting in the campus tours, to further enhance my professional and leadership skills.

I was also able to secure a part-time role as a Student Digital Assistant where I will be supporting students' learning experience through digital modalities and since it's in line with my study, I'm excited to have received the opportunity through City St George's and its LEaD's department.

What services within your School or the University have you used during your studies?

I can recommend for prospective students to hop onto their Student Hub website for largely all services you can opt and information you need, once your IT accounts have been set up.

I have worked closely with the LEaD - Learning Enhancement and Development service on campus, as they continue their impactful work on Generative AI's guidelines and implications within City St George's, University of London.

I was involved in a paid focus group opportunity with them and enjoyed the 3-hour live session, where I felt pivotal in contributing a student's perspective on the matter.

I have also attended LEaD Academic Skills team's seminars to explore how learning is made efficient and inclusive university-wide, along with knowledge of tools and resources available to students. I highly recommend this training module, live session or 1:1 session and their related resources to succeed in university quickly

What are your career plans and how has City St George's prepared you for them?

When I started this course, I was so sure I would start working in a UX UI role immediately, whether that would be UX Research or UX UI Design. However now, I feel the exposure to distinct academic works has inspired me to think in new ways.

I find myself critiquing and challenges stereotypical designs, to emphasize focus on user-centred design.

I initially thought that technology would be the ideal industry to flourish in, and while that is still true, I now seek to understand what it is about new technologies that make it successful amongst its users and how can we improve the human-computer interaction to impact positive adoption of technology.

I feel equipped with key critical thinking skills that has paved the way from my new goal of becoming an academic researcher and eventually, a lecturer.

I feel with the research skills I learn in each module of the programme and the expert-supervised individual project, I will have the necessary skills and qualification for a future in academic research and teaching.

What advice would you give to someone considering a degree in your subject?

My advice for prospective students of MSc HCID would be to keep your mind open to new knowledge, as you'll learn critical thinking skills in the programme every day.

The programme  accepts students from various fields, whether you've studied psychology, marketing or management before, and so, it's definitely a highly in-demand multidisciplinary course and welcomes those that may be seeking a career change or those that wish to upskill with a formal qualification.

If you could do any job related to your subject in the world, what would it be and why?

I would love to be an academic researcher, faculty member and lecturer in the field of Human-Computer Interaction Design, within computer science or IT.

I feel that it's an inspiring job, especially with new technology being released every second day, I want to discover what are the positive and negative aspects of them in the context of their use among people. I want to be able to share that with people.

I want to drive change little by little, by sharing, questioning and researching the "why" and the "how" so those conversations, interactions and findings help our communities and people around us grow and flourish.