Programme Design and Strategic Teaching in Immersive and Creative Technologies
This work focuses on the design and delivery of immersive and creative technology programmes at institutional scale. Across higher education, industry skills initiatives, and international creative residencies, the emphasis is not on one-off training, but on building learning structures that help people move from first exposure to confident practice.
The programmes described here span universities, national skills initiatives, and cultural institutions, but they are connected by a consistent approach: understanding learners, designing for progression, and aligning emerging technologies with real cultural, creative, and industry contexts.
Designing Programmes, Not One-Off Training
Programme design sits between education, industry, and future thinking. Rather than focusing on tools in isolation, this work begins with the needs of learners and the environments they will eventually operate within.
That means:
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Designing learning journeys, not sessions.
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Combining theory with structured, practical application.
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Creating space for experimentation, critique, and reflection.
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Supporting learners towards public outcomes, professional confidence, and employability.
This approach has been shaped through long-term engagement with universities, regional skills bodies, and international cultural programmes, where the challenge is not simply teaching technology, but designing systems that help people use it meaningfully.
PROGRAMMES
DESIGN
STRATEGY
Immersive Technologies in Higher Education
Teaching Immersive Practice at the University of Manchester
For six years, immersive technologies formed a core part of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching within a university context. Teaching focused on introducing students to immersive media not simply as technical tools, but as emerging creative and artistic practices.
Areas explored included virtual reality, augmented reality, 360 film, immersive arts theory, and interactive storytelling. Sessions were delivered through a balance of conceptual framing and hands-on workshops, with students encouraged to learn by making, testing, and reflecting.
A key part of this approach was progression. Students with little or no prior experience were supported through structured learning towards becoming confident practitioners, culminating in public exhibitions where work could be experienced, critiqued, and discussed.
This emphasis on practice-led learning, public outcomes, and reflective making continues to inform programme design across other contexts.
“Keith from AVimmerse ran an excellent two-day masterclass which was a balanced blend of theory, background and hands-on, practical workshop application. The comprehensive overview of extended reality gave valuable insights into immersive film-making and production, while the workshop element allowed participants to put theory into practice through a finished 360 video.”
Humanities teaching team, University of Manchester
Industry-Led Skills Programmes at National Scale
Lead Unity Trainer, UK Unity Centre of Excellence
Alongside higher education, this programme design approach was applied at national scale through industry-led skills initiatives. As Lead Unity Trainer at the UK’s first Unity Centre of Excellence, the work shifted from academic exploration to employability-focused programme architecture.
Here, the challenge was scale, accessibility, and relevance. Full-time bootcamps and professional pathways were designed to help learners develop industry-ready skills using real-time 3D tools, while also building confidence, collaboration, and professional practice.
Programme design extended beyond delivery. It included curriculum development, learner progression, industry alignment, mentoring, and ongoing refinement based on cohort needs and outcomes. The result was not simply training in a tool, but a structured pathway from learning to work.
This experience reinforced the importance of designing programmes that balance technical depth with personal development and clear next steps.
International Creative Programme Design
Creative Solutions Programme at King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra)
International delivery introduced additional layers of complexity: cultural context, interdisciplinary cohorts, and creative risk-taking. Over multiple years, immersive teaching and mentoring formed part of the Creative Solutions programme at Ithra in Saudi Arabia.
Work here evolved from delivering masterclasses in XR and real-time tools to mentoring project teams and, ultimately, contributing to the overall design of the programme itself. Teaching explored themes such as space, proximity, storytelling, and immersion, helping participants think critically about how immersive technologies function as creative media.
Mentoring played a significant role, supporting teams through development, critique, and presentation as they worked towards public showcases. In later stages, programme-level design input helped shape structure, pacing, and learning outcomes across the residency as a whole.
This international context reinforced the importance of adaptability, listening, and designing programmes that respect local culture while engaging with global creative practice.
“Keith is excellent both as a tutor and as a developer in the space of AR and VR. His knowledge and insights helped us understand this dynamic space and build our knowledge base. I have no hesitation in recommending Keith or AVimmerse for AR and VR projects.”
Programme lead, University of Oxford
Mentoring, Residencies, and Project Stewardship
Across all contexts, mentoring has been a consistent thread. Beyond teaching sessions, this work often involves supporting individuals and teams through uncertainty, experimentation, and refinement as they develop ambitious immersive projects.
This includes guiding creative direction, providing technical and conceptual feedback, and helping teams navigate the gap between idea and execution. In residency and fellowship contexts, mentoring becomes less about instruction and more about stewardship, helping work mature towards meaningful public outcomes.
These experiences continue to inform how programmes are designed, ensuring that learning structures leave space for dialogue, reflection, and growth.
How This Work Informs Current Practice
Programme design and strategic teaching are not separate from current studio and heritage work. They actively inform how immersive projects are conceived, structured, and delivered today.
This thinking feeds into:
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Studio-led immersive projects.
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Heritage and place-based learning experiences.
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Product and platform development.
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Long-term partnerships with cultural and educational institutions.
By designing learning systems as carefully as creative outputs, this work helps ensure that immersive technologies remain accessible, meaningful, and rooted in human experience.