Enhanced research and education through HKU’s newly announced professorship

10 October 2023

This January, HKU is starting up a new professorship: Creative Production Processes and Technology. As described by the new professor who will lead this programme, Nick Degens: ‘the professorship is a great possibility to apply interactive technologies in ways that will improve the lives of people’.

HKU uses art education and practise-based research to offer students the best-possible preparation for the life of an artist. The type of artist who makes an impact on people and society. Our artistic and practical research, including the professorships, are therefore intrinsically linked to HKU’s educational and professional practices. The new professorship Creative Production Processes and Technology aims to further strengthens this link.

The new professorship is aimed at a topical and urgent theme: the possibilities that creative technologies offer to apply art in a way that leads to meaningful connections between people, and within society and the arts sector. Nick Degens has gained, in his current role as professor in User-Centred Design at the Hanzehogeschool Groningen, sufficient knowledge, experience and contacts to turn this new professorship into a success. Degens: ‘for years, I’ve been interested in the possibilities of digital (playful) technology. Partly to understand how they can used to enhance the lives of individuals, but mostly to understand how they can have an impact on society as a whole. This professorship is a fantastic opportunity for students and the professional field to further explore how interactive technology can contribute to improving the lives of people.’

Heleen Jumelet, chair of HKU’s Executive Board: 'We are happy to have Nick on board on this very topical theme! This professorship is a boost to the creativity with regard to new technologies in the arts and culture. It fits with HKU’s rich tradition of using creative technology. Nick is also an inspirator and uniter. Not only students and colleagues, but the whole region and partners from elsewhere are invited to join us in developing more knowledge and find more applications for creative technology. Of course, while upholding the principles of ethical responsibility, and with a critical eye for both the limitations and possibilities.’

About the professorship

Digitalisation of society has a huge impact on how people live and work. This especially goes for the arts, where the boundaries between the physical, the digital and the virtual worlds are fading and thereby interact with each other in different ways. In this professorship, we explore the opportunities that technology offers in (interdisciplinary) creative processes, with a critical view on the role and the meaning of technology. ‘To make a lasting impact, it is crucial to look beyond just the practical research. Connection, cooperation, ownership, strategy and vision are essential preconditions for the success of this professorship, Nick Degens adds.

Examples of topics on which the professorship will focus, are research and development of ‘labs’: experimental technological ecosystems for creators and for testing various applications. Another important team is the impact of technological developments on creation processes and didactics and the leaning abilities of artists and creatives. Furthermore, there’s the development of the HKU Artistic eXpanded Reality Lab (AXRLab), in which state-of-the-art XR-technologies will be combined by interdisciplinary teams who conduct research together in physical-virtual environments.