With over 30 years in the computing industry and 7 in academia, Paul Pivec brings a wealth of experience to each project he is involved in. Originally a systems programmer, but with many years in networking and multimedia, Paul has owned and managed two multi-million dollar development companies with a customer base that included the New Zealand and Australian Governments, and multinational companies NCR and Hitachi. In the decade prior to the World Wide Web, Paul’s company Trinet, was the first to bring multi-protocol compatibility to networks across Australia. As managing director and lead designer, Paul’s development team pioneered graphical interfaces for text-based management systems and subsequently sold the technology to AT&T.
With his experience in development and management, coupled with his entrepreneurial skills, Paul has successfully mentored start-up ventures such as Metia Interactive. From their initial conception of a commercial game idea, he coached them to the achievement of a national innovation award, and finally to bring their product to the world market through the Sony Interactive distribution channel. In recognition of his work, Paul has been an invited judge for the Australasian media and technology awards on successive occasions.
Having completed his Masters Degree in Game-Based Learning, and a Graduate Diploma in Higher Education, Paul now is completing a PhD to show the cognitive abilities gained from playing computer games and frameworks for using game-based learning. Now based in Europe, he is also combining his knowledge in pedagogy with his development skills to complete his latest project in multi-user game-based learning via the Internet. Paul still finds time to consult to game development companies both in Europe and down-under, is actively publishing and presenting at conferences, and is a guest lecturer on an ad-hoc basis. His academic CV can be found at http://paulpivec.gdcradical.com and his development projects in the area of e-learning can be viewed at http://www.gamedesigncampus.com.