Contact
Biography
Dr Marina Ng is an Associate Professor and the Founder and Director of the STEAM-AI Impact Centre at the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM), which she established and leads. She is also a research member of the Mixed Reality Lab (MRL), UK, and serves as Associate Dean (Admissions, Recruitment and Marketing) for the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FOSE).
Dr Marina Ng began her research journey in 2000 through her final year project at Multimedia University, Malaysia, resulting in several journal and conference publications, a patent application and university grants. Awarded the prestigious British Chevening Scholarship, she pursued her postgraduate studies in the UK, where she joined the renowned Mixed Reality Lab at the University of Nottingham, obtaining a Master of Research (MRes) in 2002. She completed her PhD within a 3-year timeframe under the supervision of Prof Steve Benford and Prof Boriana Koleva. It was awarded without conditions (one of the few in the school's history to have achieved this).
She is now based in University of Nottingham Malaysia; advancing Human-Computer Interaction research and championing STEAM research and education in Malaysia.
She was awarded a National Geographic Society grant and named a National Geographic Explorer, recognising her work and impact in the field. She is also the recipient of the Lord Dearing Award 2022 for outstanding performance and excellence in teaching, and the Vice-Chancellor's Medal 2022 for her exceptional contribution to students and the local community.
Expertise Summary
Dr Marina Ng's research expertise is in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), specialising in mobile, mixed reality and Internet of Things (IoT). She has been developing novel interactive technologies - merging physical and digital interactions to explore new ways of living, playing and working. She has extensive experience in conducting interdisciplinary research, employing ethnography, user-centred design, iterative prototyping and participatory design approach, and also deploying and studying them 'in the wild'.
Teaching Summary
Dr Marina Ng is the module convenor of the following modules: COMP2025 - Human-Computer Interaction (2nd year module). COMP3042 - Fundamentals of Information Visualisation and COMP3045 - Information… read more
Research Summary
The Future of Learning
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A National Geographic Society-funded project empowering young learners as changemakers and AI creators to preserve local plant knowledge and build an AI-powered crowdsourcing platform where communities and families can discover plant stories, nutrition, and traditional recipes.
Promoting AI and Data Literacy
- A hands-on approach to AI and data literacy, using X-Mind and explainable AI design principles to help learners understand AI and build their own AI projects using an accessible toolkit, while developing the skills to critically engage with AI and data.
Smart Plant
- An interdisciplinary AI-enabled innovation combining smart sensing and interactive technologies to advance plant literacy, nutrition, and environmental education, connecting technology with sustainability and everyday learning.
Digital Cultural Heritage
- An interdisciplinary research collaboration to preserve and promote cultural heritage using AI and immersive technologies.
Adaptive Learning System for Malaysian Schools
- An industry research collaboration to explore the development of a personalised and engaging learning system to cater for the diverse learning styles and needs of students.
Developing IoT Toolkit for making cultural serious games
- The 3D serious game maker toolkit allows users to create 3D environments and games without any programming experience.
AI Storytelling Authoring Toolkit
- A research collaboration with the School of Education, UNM to improve literacy learning among students through AI Storytelling.
Using Serious Games for creating awareness in Epilepsy
- A research collaboration with University of Malaya Hospital to develop serious games to educate patients, families and the public on Epilepsy.
Personalised Nutrition App for Cancer patients
- An interdisciplinary research collaboration to develop an adaptive mobile app for cancer patients to manage and monitor their health through recommended plant-based diet.
Recent Publications
Past Research
Designing for Cultural Reflection
- A research collaboration between Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum, Malacca and University of Nottingham to develop museum interactive installations to promote cultural reflection
Augmenting learning with personal mobile technology
- A research collaboration between Royal Selangor Pewter and University of Nottingham to augment learning and visitor experience through the development of Internet of Things (IOT)-enabled pewter objects
Mobile Garden Guide based on Artcodes
- A research collaboration between Crops for the Future (CFF) and University of Nottingham to support informal learning experience in public setting based on Artcodes, a new visual recognition system.
Using Serious Games for Teaching and Learning Immunology
- An interdisciplinary project that aims to develop and evaluate serious games as a means to teach human immunology.
TraceIT
- A research project in partnership with Dyslexia Centre Malaysia to develop an air tracing reading tool for children with Dyslexia.
Understanding Underutilisation
- A research collaboration between UNMC, Crops for the Future (CFF) and Horizon UK to understand why people buy/ or not buy underutilised fruits and vegetables.
Motivating Mobility
- A multi-centre interdisciplinary project to develop novel interactive systems to promote physical activity for recovery of upper limb function post-stroke
E-Science Usability for Schools
- Worked in a multi-partner interdisciplinary project to create a usable and reusable toolkit that supports teachers in creating new learning experiences
Fairground THRILL
- Worked in a multi-partner interdisciplinary project to explore the relation between thrill and pleasure using wearable, wireless telemetry systems
- Involved in the design and staging of a series of public exhibition and evaluation in Science Museum London
INSCAPE
- Team member of an European Integrated Project involving interdisciplinary multi-partners that aimed to develop a software suite for authoring, publishing and experiencing interactive multimedia stories and content
EQUATOR
- A £10million project bringing together researchers from eight UK institutions which focused on the integration of physical and digital interaction
- Carried out PhD research, by extending Pin&Play infrastructure, in collaboration with EQUATOR partner, to develop a tangible pin-board with actuated pins
Situated Hybrid Assemblies in Public Environments (SHAPE)
- A multi-partner interdisciplinary project combining social and computer science expertise to develop and evaluate assemblies of hybrid, mixed reality artefacts in public place
Virtual Learning Environment Terminal (VLET)
- Research into the development of multimedia textbook for engineering courses with extension to integrate multi-modal interfaces