National College of Art and Design to Launch MA in Interaction Design

The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) will launch a new MA in Interaction Design today, Wednesday, 25^th March, at the NCAD campus,100 Thomas Street, Dublin 8, at 5.15pm.

The MA has been developed in partnership with UCD, and is aimed at meeting the growing demands of the local and international ICT sector. Graduates will be equipped with skills in user experience and user interface design, coding, physical computing and data visualisation – areas in which Ireland is experiencing skills shortages at present.

Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English TD, will officially launch the MA at this evening’s event, where he will be joined by a number of industry leaders, including:

• Frank Long, NCAD graduate and Director of the award-winning user experience and interface design consultancy, Frontend.com.
• Kathryn Parkes, Director of UX and Design at Swrve, a mobile games and app marketing and optimisation platform.  Formerly, she led strategic design and research projects for iQ Content.

Following the launch, a public talk ‘Interaction Ireland’ will take place (from 6.30pm to 8pm). Drawing on the experiences of leading practitioners, the event will showcase local work in the field and highlight the role of interaction design in everyday life.  Faculty from NCAD will give an overview of the MA and there will be an opportunity to network and find out more about the MA programme following the talk.

Commenting in advance of the event, Professor Declan McGonagle, Director of NCAD, said: “Ireland has become a global ICT leader, with a range of technology-enabled companies delivering products and services locally and internationally.  However, the skills shortages in the ICT industry are well-documented, including in the areas of user experience and user interface design.  This new MA in Interaction Design continues NCAD’s long tradition of equipping graduates with game-changing design skills for use across a range of fields.”

For further information visit: www.ncad.ie