Elif Gürçınar, Ph.D.
Researcher & Designer
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW)
School of Engineering Bahnhofstrasse 6 CH-5210 Windisch, Switzerland
Hello,
My name is Elif Gürçınar, and I am a designer and researcher. I specialize in Extended Reality (XR) design and development, and my projects revolve around this area. I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Interactive Technologies at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland where my work is funded by the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship.
Prior to my current position, I spent over a year as an assistant professor at Istanbul Arel University. There, I taught various subjects across departments such as product design and interior architecture. I completed my doctoral studies at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in 2022. During my full-time job, I also worked as a freelance designer focusing on product design, 3D modeling, and graphic design.
Currently a member of: UX Schweiz, Academic Surfclub Basel
Career and research focus
After completing my bachelors in product design, I was admitted to an integrated Ph.D. program, where I directed my research towards the enhancement of spatial skills, augmented reality, and design education. My work in AR, teaching game development and UX design, led me to lead the VR Lab at Istanbul Arel University, which subsequently piqued my interest in human-computer interaction. Therefore, my current work focuses on exploring different ways of interaction modalities in VR with with a focus on HCI, eye-tracking, and digital experience design.
Hobbies
My hobbies change over the years, but I always find something new to explore. Alongside versatile sports, I like photography where I travel and capture the unique essence of nature and cities.
Lindy Hop is also one of my passions. As I danced and also taught various swing dances in Istanbul, It is a hobby that I can take along wherever I go.
