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 2D/3D animation, interactive media, app development, motion design, digital illustration, serious games, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR).

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, she is also an experienced educator, having over 16 years of higher education teaching experience across Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia.

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 society, education and the digital design discipline. She had been consistently successful in acquiring external and internal grants for research and teaching/learning.

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

Key Roles

• Program Manager - Bachelor of Design (Digital Media) (2018 – 2020)
• Postgraduate Supervisor (Primary and Secondary) (2017 - current)
• Selection Officer
  
• Year Level Coordinator
• Course Coordinator

Teaching Activities

Selected Studio Courses

• 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) - Study tours, funded by New Colombo Plan
• Xperience VR (2017) - Industry funded WIL project

Other core courses taught (Selected List)

• Digital Media Studio
• Interactive Media
• Advanced Electronic Imaging
• Advanced Web Authoring
• Imaging and Animation
• Advanced 3d Imaging and Animation

Engagement

RMIT Cross-School Engagement

• Voice Story language learning app development – School of Education (2018 – 2019)
• Virtual Reality Simulation for Early Childhood Educators – School of Education (2018- 2019)
• Acupressure Framework website development - School of Health and Biomedical Sciences (2018)
• Sexual Harassment on Public Transport - app design workshop series - School of Economics, Finance and Marketing (2017 – 2018)

External Engagement

• Technologist in Residence – Innovation Grant - Melbourne Girls Grammar School (2021, 2019)
• CSIRO ON Prime program team (2018)
• Science Week Guest Speaker - Digital Media Talk – Hazel Glen College (2018)
• STEM-in-situ – encouraging girls in STEM careers - Virtual Reality workshop series (2017-2018)
• Virtual Reality workshop – Northcote High School (2017)
• Transhumanism workshop series - teaching collaboration with State University of New York (2017)
• INTERACT staff exchange – staff exchange with University of the Arts London and Danish School of Media and Journalism (2016)
• International Games Concept Challenge – study tour and workshop collaboration with Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore (2016)

Li Ping's research projects are often cross-disciplinary and applied research by nature, with existing and emerging digital media technologies being designed and developed across a diverse array of contexts, such as education, health, architecture, etc. Her recent project involves collaborating with Foodbank Australia, YWaste and Fight Food Waste CRC to work alongside Industrial Design/Digital Media students and staffs to redesign UI/UX design of YWaste app and campaign strategies for nationwide adoption of the app, with the aim of solving the food insecurity and food wastage crisis in Australia. 

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. 

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
•     Technology-based teaching and learning with digital media technologies
•     Innovative Digital Media Projects

• Community Banashi: Stories of place from Australia and Japan - AJF Grant - 2021-2023
• Angels of War: Remembering Australian Army Nurses - 2021-2022 ($18,750)
• Golden Plains Stories: Community History Interactive Web Exhibition Project - 2021-2024 ($14,882)
• Playable Campus - Augmented Reality co-design workshop series, Melbourne Girls Grammar School - 2021 ($4,000)
• Fertile Fields - Augmented Reality Contemporary Art Trail, funded by Moreland City Council - 2021 ($3,000)
• Foodbank Meals via Y Waste App - Collaboration with Foodbank Australia, Y Waste app and Fight Food Waste CRC (Phase 2) - 2021-2022 ($70,000)
• Foodbank Meals via Y Waste App - Collaboration with Foodbank Australia, Y Waste app and Fight Food Waste CRC - 2019-2020 ($30,000)
• Technologist in Residence – Innovation Grant - Melbourne Girls Grammar School - 2019 ($10,500)
• XperienceVR (2017) - Industry Partnered Design Studio ($30,000)
• Voice Story Language Learning App - RMIT Research Translation Seed Fund (First Round) – 2017, 2018 ($50,000)
• DFAT New Colombo Plan (NCP) Mobility Grant - Digital Media Creative Collaboration – Taylor’s University, Malaysia - 2019 ($49,500)
• DFAT New Colombo Plan (NCP) Mobility Grant - Digital Media Creative Collaboration - Multimedia University, Malaysia - 2018 ($49,500)
• RMIT Mobility Grant – Vietnam study tour – 2019 ($10,000)

• 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)