According to Alexey Lavrov, senior lecturer of Chair of Engineering and Computer Graphics, ITMO University has a long standing collaboration with Tallinn University. Having visited Laboratory of User Interface Design three years ago David Lamas, head of Interaction Design Lab of Tallinn University, offered to develop a joint Master`s program based on Human-Computer Interaction program. First of all ITMO University initiated Design of Human-Computer Systems Master`s program. The best students and graduates of the program were offered to take part in summer and winter schools initiated by Tallinn University. The first short-term program took place last summer.
Apart from St. Petersburg students ITMO University experts also took part in the Winter School as lecturers. Andrey Balkansky, Lidia Korpan and Elena Vasilyeva presented their lectures connected with usability testing and typography.
“Almost all common things surrounding us result in human-computer interaction. To develop technologies that can simplify our lives we should analyze our behavior, needs and goals,” said Mr. Balkansky.
As Alexey Laptev, ITMO University Master student and participant of the course, noted, students spent the first week of the course to make paper prototypes of their projects and then started to design their app interfaces using Axure platform. Alexey Laptev worked on the project together with Japanese student who suggested an idea to make a game application for virtual orienteering. The student focused on this problem because many Japanese young men and ladies don`t want to leave home to make new contacts, do sport and so on. The app consists of interesting quest games. The winners will be awarded with discounts on goods, restaurant vouchers and cinema gift cards. Mr. Laptev noted that this app can serve as an advertising tool.
Yulia Konstantinova, firs-year Master student who follows Design of Human-Computer Systems program, developed an application, which helped to manage home devices using smart technologies. For example, it gives an opportunity to turn the water off by one`s cellphone. According to Ms. Konstantinova, the app will be very useful for elderly people and children.
Ekaterina Danilova, ITMO University Master student, was inspired by old-fashioned things that can tell interesting stories from the past. The application contains profiles of things written by their owners who want to share memories and events connected with lod-fashioned clothes, jewelry and so on.
Apart from non-degree programs ITMO University and Tallinn University provide other joint activities such as WUD@ITMO and Pan-Baltic WUD conferences dated for the World Usability Day. It is also planned to organize an international seminar for Master students of Tallinn University`s Human-Computer Interaction program and ITMO University`s Design of Human-Computer Systems program; this May students from two countries will share the interim results of their PhD theses.