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Gaming designer earns engagement medal
Creating computer games to help boost the safety of children has earned Dr Christian Jones a new University of the Sunshine Coast award.
The Senior Lecturer in Interactive Digital Media will receive USC’s first Vice-Chancellor’s Medal for Engagement at the University’s Graduation ceremony on Friday 1 October.
Dr Jones, from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, led the development of a free online computer game called Being Safety Smart, which provides anti-abduction training for children aged 6-8.
The game was launched across Queensland primary schools in late 2009 and earned Dr Jones a Queensland Police Service Gold Award for excellence in crime prevention.
Being Safety Smart was developed jointly by USC and the Queensland Police Service, with support from Education Queensland and the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.
Dr Jones is leading a similar computer game project called Feeling Safe.
This is an interactive, online educational resource aimed at providing children with sexual abuse prevention skills and strategies, and providing training for teachers and parents.
It is being developed in conjunction with the Telstra Foundation, the Queensland Police Service and the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, in partnership with Education Queensland and the Department of Child Safety.
USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill said the University was proud of Dr Jones’s work on these child safety projects and on other projects that focus on environmental conservation.
“Christian’s work exemplifies USC's engagement ethos,” he said. “He is a worthy recipient of the Medal for Engagement”.
— Terry Walsh