Lucie Joschko

PhD candidate

Bachelor of Multimedia Systems (Honours), 2005 *

Studying Multimedia at Monash has proven to be one of the most valuable and rewarding experiences of my life. Although my decision to study multimedia was quite spontaneous, my choice of Monash University was in fact very conscious. I chose Monash because it is a leading global university with a high international ranking. 

The Berwick campus has far exceeded my expectations. The Berwick School of IT has a welcoming atmosphere, modern facilities, well equipped studios as well as highly skilled and approachable lecturers. They provide state of the art multimedia equipment including video cameras, film dolly, sound recording studio, and green screen room (for filming special effects). I learned a wide variety of skills and was encouraged throughout my studies to continually develop my professional folio, which helped me start freelancing as a multimedia developer from the second year into my Bachelor degree.

I think that the Multimedia major is for both programming and creative minds, allowing students to experiment with different types of media and express themselves through their work.

I chose to pursue an Honours degree and then decided to apply for a PhD scholarship. Receiving the Australian Postgraduate Award was a great encouragement to pursue my postgraduate research and I never looked back.

My PhD topic allows me to specialise in a particular area of my choice and explore it in such depth that I hope to become an expert in that field. This will in turn lead me to employment opportunities related to my research.

I am really enjoying my postgraduate research in Berwick, it presents me with great opportunities to attend academic conferences, publish my research findings, meet with recognised experts in my research field and even travel overseas as part of my data collection work.

Another useful feature is that the IT faculty at Monash organises regular research seminars where speakers expose the postgraduate students to a range of research projects and developments in the industry. Being able to join various research groups across all campuses of the IT faculty and to collaborate with researchers of a high calibre is an invaluable experience

The Faculty of IT encourages a multidisciplinary approach in research activities, which may vary based on individual projects. I appreciate that IT at Monash is administered by a separate faculty. It allows me to choose what other disciplines my research will explore. For example, my thesis focuses on changes and challenges in the Czech animation industry. But as well as the advancements in production technology, I can also examine relevant political and economic influences that impacted on the animation industry in recent years without being pressured to combine IT with another discipline area (for example, Science or Engineering).

 I see my PhD as a metaphoric journey to Mt. Everest and so far it has been a truly remarkable expedition!

* The Bachelor of Multimedia Systems is the previous form of the Bachelor of Information Technology and Systems with a major in Multimedia applications .