Why did you choose to take on an internship at CMIC?

I recently graduated from a computer science Master’s programme in the UK and completed some work at an industrial research lab, and I was interested in going into research as a career.

In coming to CMIC, my aim was to experience research in a more academic setting, as well as generally gaining wider experience as a computer graphics/vision researcher. I’d also been to New Zealand on holiday in 2014 and very briefly passed through Wellington, and I absolutely loved the country. Coming to CMIC gave me the opportunity to explore Wellington properly, as well as taking some time off to travel around other areas of New Zealand.

What did you do during your internship?

I was working within one of the research groups at CMIC—the XR group—which focusses on creating immersive MR experiences. My time primarily involved independent exploratory work investigating how compositing can be improved within mixed reality. This also included a lot of interaction with other researchers at CMIC to discuss my own work and their work, as well as with the prototyping team to gain a better idea of what is needed from content creators in a practical setting.

What did you learn during your internship and how do you think that will help you in your career?

In my time at CMIC I was able to learn a lot about mixed reality and computer graphics generally and in the context of the video production pipeline through talking to other researchers and meeting regularly with the research team. Through working on my project specifically I gained experience in a new area of computer vision—stereo matching—and was able to use several technologies which were new to me. As a result, I feel that I gained a lot of skills and experience which will be helpful in my career, as well as hopefully contributing in a meaningful way to the work of CMIC.

My project essentially served as the inception phase of a much more significant and long-term project, so my work has opened up many more avenues for further research which could form a basis for further study—e.g. a PhD—for myself or other students at CMIC. The connections I have made at CMIC have also provided opportunities for future work, both in academia and in industry e.g. OLM Digital and more.

What was the best part about living and working in Wellington?

Wellington is an amazing city to live in and I really enjoyed my time here. I tried make the most of my time here and visit all the sites in the city, as well as getting out into the nearby bush. There are loads of museums and art galleries, fantastic food, plenty of bars and locally brewed beer, amazing coffee, lots of gardens and areas of bush as well as the walkways running around the city which have some incredible views. Coming over the summer, I was also lucky enough to have almost two months of unbroken sunshine and not too much of the terrible wind everyone talks about!

What is your advice for future CMIC interns?

CMIC is well-placed to provide a huge variety of connections both in academia and industry, so make the most of the opportunity to talk to people. Internships anywhere are also a great opportunity to try different things and develop new skills, and the attitude towards research at CMIC really lets you do this. Plan your project in a way that helps you to develop, as well as contributing to the work at CMIC. Finally, make sure to explore all there is to do in Wellington and to take some time to see the rest of New Zealand—it is one of the most beautiful countries in the world!

If you are an international student in computer graphics, VR, or AR, CMIC invites you to apply for a research internship at the Centre. Visit the CMIC internship website to learn all about how to become a CMIC intern.