Richard Hurford
20072024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Experience

Richard currently leads USW's involvement in Media Cymru, focused on skills and training resaerch and solutions for the screen and media sector in Wales. 

Richard is was previously the Course Leader for the MA Games Enterprise course. He also has been a Senior Lecturer on the BA (Hons) Computer Games Design course since 2008. He specialises in games design, development process and the Welsh video games sector. 

Between 2016 and 2023 Richard was co-ordinator for the UK Games Fund Tranzfuser, South Wales Hub. tranzfuser.com Tranzfuser is the first talent programme from UK Games Talent, it aims to provide an annual shot of top talent into the UK development ecosystem with a particular focus on creative team leaders of the future. It looks to supply a pipeline to enterprise and/or employment recognition for new UK games graduates, taking teams from concept and prototyping through to publishing. Teams taking part are awarded between £5,000 and £7,500 to showcase thier games at national trade events (like EGX and Insomnia) and pitch to a panel of industry experts for continued funding of up to £20,000. USW was a founding hub in 2016, with a winning and runner up teams in 2017, and EGX public vote winners in 2017, 2018 & 2019. More that £175,000 of funding has been awarded to USW studnet & graduate teams. 

Richard is also actively involved in the development of the Computer Games Design alumni community and the games development community in South Wales as part of Games Wales.

Richard has a background in Computing and Interaction Design having graduated from the University of Wales, Newport postgraduate programme in 2005 with an MA in Design (New Media & Technology). Previously he studied for his BSc (Hons) Computer Science at Exeter University graduating in 2003.

After completing an MA in Design, he became Research Assistant for the Smart Clothes & Wearable Technology Research Group at the University of Wales. The research group was set up to undertake research into cutting edge clothing and consumer electronics technologies. Richard was involved in several research projects, which included developing New Product Development techniques along with concept design and the development of physical products and digital services. 

Responsibilities:

2022 - Present Project Lead for Media Cymru Skills and Training
2022 - Present Creative Industries Research and Innovation Group Lead
2021 - Present FBCI Faculty Research Committee member

Experience

External:

In 2007 Richard was invited to join the team at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios to work on several interactive web-based projects.

In 2010 Richard was involved in the setup of WholeWorldBand (later Youdio). WholeWorldBand is a mobile app providing new promotion, collaboration and monetisation opportunities for artists, labels and publishers. It combines the intimacy of composition with the buzz of performance and the reach of social media. At WholeWorldBand our mission is to empower the creative community and marketplace to shape the future of music creation and personal experience. Richard was involved in many aspects of the business including, concept, design, technical specification, marketing, IP. He was an Exec-Director for the company from 2012-2014, splitting his time between Cardiff and Dublin for the duration.

Research interests

2021 - Present, Co-Investigator & USW Lead (0.4FTE) Media Cymru (UKRI Strength in Places Fund 2)
https://media.cymru/
https://culture.research.southwales.ac.uk/research/media-cymru/

2019 - 2021 Co-Investigator (0.2 FTE) Clwstwr (UKRI Creative Cluster)
clwstwr.org.uk

2019-2021 Co-Investigator (0.1 FTE) Audience of the Future Demonstrator Programme
www.uswaudienceofthefuture.co.ukwww.thebigfixup.co.ukwww.fictioneers.co.uk

Expertise

Screen Industries Resaerch
Games Design, Development & Technologies
Application of VR/AR/MR
Digital Product & Service Development Process
Industry Collaboration & Partnerships

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production

Education/Academic qualification

Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy

Award Date: 25 Jul 2019

Design (New Media & Technology), MA

20032004

Computer Science, BSc (Hons), University of Exeter

20002003

External positions

External Examiner, Middlesex University

20212024

External Examiner, University of Portsmouth

20172021

Awards Sub-Committee Co-opted Member, BAFTA Cymru

2016 → …

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics where Richard Hurford is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
  • 1 Similar Profiles

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or