Dr Li Ping Thong

As a Digital Media designer and Senior Lecturer, Dr Li Ping Thong has vast experience practicing, teaching and researching in a myriad range of digital media specialisations, including User Experience (UX) design, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), motion design, app development, interactive media, digital illustration and serious games.

Dr Li Ping Thong was the Program Manager of the RMIT Bachelor of  Design (Digital Media) program from 2018-2020 and led a dynamic team of academic staff in the future-focused delivery of one of the most successful digital media undergraduate degrees in Australia. An experienced design practitioner in the industry, Li Ping is also an experienced educator, having over 17 years of internationalised higher education digital design teaching experience across Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia. 

A highly collaborative digital media specialist, Li Ping's research projects are often cross-disciplinary with a strong industry and community focus, having successfully worked with external partners such as Foodbank Australia, Porter Davis, Federation Square, Melbourne Girls Grammar School and Golden Plains Shire Council. Of core importance to Li Ping is research that entails in meaningful impact to community. She had been consistently successful in acquiring external and internal grants for research and teaching.

If you seek a collaborator with Li Ping's digital media expertise, please feel free to get in touch for further discussion.

• PhD in Computing (Serious Games), Coventry University
• Master of Multimedia (E-Learning Technologies), Multimedia University
• Bachelor of Multimedia (Film and Animation), Multimedia University
• Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching, RMIT University
• Autodesk 3d Studio Max End User Certification
• Final Cut Pro End User Certification

• 2015 – Current: Senior Lecturer (Digital Media), RMIT University (Melbourne)
  
• 2018 – 2020: Program Manager (Digital Media), RMIT University (Melbourne)
• 2008 – 2015: Senior Lecturer (Design - Multimedia Systems), RMIT University Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh)
• 2006 – 2008: Lecturer, Taylor's university (Kuala Lumpur)
• 2005 - 2006: AV Application Specialist, Taylor's University (Kuala Lumpur)
• 2005 – 2008: Designer, Hunter Studios (Kuala Lumpur)
• 2005: Photographer/Graphic Designer, Fotorex Holdings (Kuala Lumpur)
• 2004 – 2005: Animator/Graphic Designer, Flextronics Asia (Kuala Lumpur)
• 2004: Animator/Line Artist, FAT Lizard (Kuala Lumpur)

Li Ping's research projects are cross-disciplinary and applied research by nature, with existing and emerging digital media technologies designed and developed across diverse array of contexts, such as culture and heritage, education, health, architecture and traffic safety. Her current project involves collaborating with researchers at RMIT University and Australia Catholic University to develop a cutting-edge 3d simulation training platform to allow older pedestrians to respond safely to traffic-related threats.

Li Ping's research interests include:

• Virtual Reality (VR)
• Augmented Reality (AR)    
• Serious Games
• Interactive Media
• Interactive Storytelling
• 2D/3D Animation 
• User experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) design 
• Digital Environments
• Culture and Heritage
• Technology-based teaching and learning with digital media technologies
• Innovative Digital Media Projects

Li Ping's PhD study investigated the learning effectiveness of digital role-playing games (RPG) to accomplish learning outcomes in digital media education, in which she interrogated how situated learning could be achieved through game-play in an immersive 3d environment. She designed and developed a serious game – Virtual Designer. Utilising non-linear scenarios, the 3d game simulates a design studio. Students role-played as designers and were confronted with various situations typically faced by design practitioners, in which they apply their design knowledge into workplace contexts.  

• The Road to Safer Walking: Improving Hazard Perception in Older Adult Pedestrians
  Funding - Australian Automobile Association (2023-2026)
• Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) Sector Action Plan Chapter Project 1.1.7
  Funding - Fight Food Waste CRC, NSW EPA, DWELP (2023 to 2024)
• Creative Digital Services in SEA. 
  Funding - Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund (VHESIF), 2022 
• Community Banashi: Stories of place from Australia and Japan
  Funding - Australia-Japan Foundation, 2021-2023
• Angels of War: Remembering Australian Army Nurses
  Funding - Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, 2021-2022 
• Golden Plains Stories: Community History Interactive Web Exhibition Project
  Funding - Public Records Office of Victoria, 2021-2024 
• Playable Campus - Augmented Reality co-design workshop series
  Funding - Melbourne Girls Grammar School, 2021 
• Fertile Fields - Augmented Reality Contemporary Art Trail
  Funding - Moreland City Council, 2021 
• Foodbank Meals via Y Waste App (Phase 2)
  Funding - Fight Food Waste CRC, NSW EPA, 2021-2022 
• Foodbank Meals via Y Waste App (Phase 1)
  Funding - Fight Food Waste CRC, Foodbank Australia, 2019-2020 
• Technologist in Residence
  Funding - Melbourne Girls Grammar School, 2019     
• XperienceVR - Industry Partnered Digital Design studio (Virtual Reality) in partnership with Porter Davis
  Funding - Porter Davis, 2017
• Voice Story Language Learning App
  Funding - RMIT Research Translation Seed Fund, 2017-2018     
• Digital Media Creative Collaboration – Taylor's University, Malaysia
  Funding - DFAT New Colombo Plan (NCP) Mobility Grant, 2019 
• Digital Media Creative Collaboration - Multimedia University, Malaysia
  Funding - DFAT New Colombo Plan (NCP) Mobility Grant, 2018 
• Vietnam study tour
  Funding – RMIT Mobility Grant, 2019

Key Roles

• Program Manager - Bachelor of Design (Digital Media) (2018 – 2020)
• Postgraduate Supervisor (Primary and Secondary)
• Lead Chief Investigator, Fight Food Waste CRC
• Selection Officer (Digital Media)
• Course Coordinator (Digital Media)

Teaching Activities

Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Studio Courses (Selected List)

• Golden Plains Stories (2022) - Externally funded WIL project
• Remembering Australian Army Nurses (2021) - Externally funded WIL project
• Design for All studio with Foodbank and YWaste app (2020) - CRC funded WIL project
• Digital Media Creative Collaboration (2018, 2019) - International study tours, funded by DFAT
• Xperience VR (2017) - Industry funded WIL project

Core courses taught (Selected List)

• Digital Media Studio (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, UX/UI design, web design)
• Interactive Media
• Advanced Electronic Imaging (Digital Illustration)
• Advanced Web Authoring
• Advanced 3d Imaging and Animation
• Content Design Project (Motion Design)

Engagement

• Digital Design Co-Producer - Golden Plains Shire Council - (2023-current)
• Technologist in Residence –  Melbourne Girls Grammar School (2021, 2019)
• CSIRO ON Prime program team (2018)
• Science Week Digital Media Talk – Hazel Glen College (2018)
• STEM-in-situ – Virtual Reality workshop series (2017-2018)
• Virtual Reality workshop – Northcote High School (2017)
• Transhumanism workshop series - State University of New York (2017)
• INTERACT staff exchange – University of the Arts London and Danish School of Media and Journalism (2016)
• International Games Concept Challenge – Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore (2016)
• Voice Story language learning app development – RMIT School of Education (2018 – 2019)
• Virtual Reality Simulation for Early Childhood Educators – RMIT School of Education (2018- 2019)
• Acupressure Framework website development - RMIT School of Health and Biomedical Sciences (2018)
• Sexual Harassment on Public Transport - app design workshop series - RMIT School of Economics, Finance and Marketing (2017 – 2018)