Dr. Sylvester Arnab is a Full Professor in Game Science (Applied Games) at the Centre for Postdigital Cultures at the Institute for Creative Cultures. His research focuses on the investigation into how engaging, empathic, and empowering experiences are designed and applied based on strategies and elements commonly used by playful and game-based approaches (analogue and/or digital) and how their operations are underpinned by pedagogical and motivational theories and practices

Sylvester is the co-founder of the multi-award winning GameChangers initiative that emphasises an open practice in playful and game-based learning. Gamechangers has informed empathic teaching and learning and community engagement in various countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, towards responding to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

To date, Sylvester has successfully secured research funding with a total value of over £19 million since 2010 (£9.9 million as a principal investigator). Funders include the UKRI (AHRC and ESRC), European Commission (FP7, H2020, and Erasmus+), British Council, British Academy, and HEFCE.

Sylvester has over 100 academic publications including a book - ‘Game Science in Hybrid Learning Spaces’ - which provides insights into the research and practice of purposeful game design with a focus on hybrid education. He is regularly invited to give public and keynote lectures in various international events. Sylvester is currently supervising six PhDs with four completions and has examined over 10 PhD theses.

Sylvester was previously a researcher at the Serious Games Institute, Applied Innovation Lead at the Disruptive Media Learning Lab, and a researcher at University of Warwick’s WMG. He graduated with a PhD in Engineering in 2009 at the University of Warwick. 

Twitter: @sarnab75 

Personal: http://sylvesterarnab.com

Game Science (gameful/playful design, serious games, game-based learning, gamification, game design thinking); Hybrid learning spaces; Technology-enhanced learning; Pervasive learning and technologies; Trans-disciplinary game-based intervention development; Multi-modal platforms (tactile, wearable, mobile, mixed-reality)

A champion of gameful, playful, and persuasive designs that transform ordinary tasks into extraordinary experiences. My research interests are inspired by the potential of game techniques and technologies in sustaining engagement with serious activities, and to inform the design of experiences.  I am specifically interested in hybrid approaches for holistically defining, designing, and implementing game-based interventions that include the blending of physical and digital spaces and formal and informal contexts. I have developed a trans-disciplinary and holistic model for game-based design and development that can be adopted by researchers, designers, and developers. My research, development, and practice findings have informed the discussions in my book on the topic of Game Science, focusing on the design, application, and implication of playful and game-based technigues and pedagogy on Hybrid Learning Spaces that was published in 2020.