Over the summer we invited several hugely talented Masters students from Goldsmith's AR/VR MA course to join our Arcade internship programme. After astonishing us with their skills and enthusiasm, we are thrilled to announce that Jagoda Wrobel (Immersive Experience Designer) and Shahd Sherief (AR Developer) have accepted full time offers and are now permanent members of the Arcade team! We thought it might be nice to find out a bit more about them.
Welcome to ARCADE, Jagoda and Shahd! Tell us a bit about yourselves.
Shahd Sherief: Hii! I'm Shahd, I'm a Computer Engineer turned AR developer now at Arcade from Egypt!! I got my undergrad at the American University in Cairo, and am doing my masters in AR/VR at Goldsmiths in London!Jagoda Wrobel: After living my best life in Newcastle for three years studying Graphic Design, I moved down to London to start a new chapter and, like Shahd, gained my Masters in VR & AR at Goldsmiths University.
A pair of Masters - how exciting! So, what have you done that you're most proud of so far?
JW: While at university I co-created a few small companies with my friends that were recognized and won awards. However, my first full-time position was at the Arcade, and so far the whole experience has been amazing.SS: Workwise, I am super proud of my academic projects. I love bringing my own ideas to life and I actually have another AR one in the works! The proudest is of my undergraduate thesis which was an AR projection mapping projector that we made from scratch with its own visual scripting interface! Lifewise as pertains to work, I'm most proud that I made the leap to quit my old very technical job that I just couldn't see myself in, and move to London despite everyone saying it was a bad idea (I am known for those, but this wasn't one of them).
What do they know?! You've made a great choice. What are you most looking forward to, working at Arcade?
SS: I'm most looking forward to being part of working on amazing projects honestly. I get really excited to see cool projects come to life, and feel so proud to know I was a part of that! And also to being a part of the absolutely unanimously wonderful team.JW: I am looking forward to working on real-life briefs with existing clients alongside the professional team, to carry on exploring the creative possibilities of immersive technologies and create authentic experiences that immerse the audience and make them believe in the moment.
You've both spent time studying the immersive space - what excites you most about immersive technologies?
JW: It is exciting to shape the future of one of the fastest-rising industries and bring immersive experiences into everyday life. For now, there is a big knowledge gap when it comes to understanding terms like AR and VR. However, being part of the group that is spreading the awareness to a wider audience and seeing people try these immersive experiences for the first time is pretty awesome.SS: I love that immersive tech is a relatively new field! It's very cool to feel like you're working in a field that you have the possibility to pioneer. What is also super cool, is that you can use XR as a tool to elevate basically most project ideas!
Great answers. So, what do you get up to in your spare time?
SS: I love to play the piano and guitar (as much as I adore London, I'm devastated to have left my piano behind) it's truly therapeutic to me. I also sometimes write music and poetry!JW: In my spare time, I like to keep myself busy and active. Usually, I would dance, meet up with my friends or do those two things together and hopefully soon get back on the plan to travel the world.
Music, dancing, poetry, travel - sounds very cool. Speaking of music, what are we going to hear when you're in charge of the playlist?
JW: I have eclectic playlists that range through all sorts of music. What I listen to depends on my mood and the season of the year. Autumn is usually reserved for some post-summer nostalgia and indie rock.SS:I'm a huge music snob and have a significant superiority complex when it comes to my music taste. It's hard to describe so here is a playlist of songs that I decree as being fantastic. Which reminds me, I need to force this on everyone at Arcade in office!
Wow. I'm sensing some intense office debates - bring it on! Before you go, is there anything else you think we should know or are prepared to admit to?!
JW: I was very proud of my paper aeroplane making skills, which I had a chance to show off at the Arcade away day over the summer! If we ever have to enter some kind of origami competition I think I might be the right person for the job!SS: Yes, I'm freakishly good at playing PianoTiles. I can play with one hand (trained myself to master it with both left and right) and even one finger. I get all of my best ideas when I play it, and if ever I'm stuck on a piece of code/work I just play PianoTiles for a bit and somehow the solution comes to me. Like I said, I owe my sanity and livelihood to the piano. This may or may not be my way of asking for a Steinway in office.
Well, it's good to have an outlet! And as for the piano, we'll definitely add it to the wishlist...! Anyway - thanks to both of you for speaking to us, and welcome again to the Arcade team.
If you have any questions for Shahd or Jagoda you can check out their LinkedIn profiles here and here, follow Jagoda on Twitter here.
