Alan Boykiw

Background

About Alan Boykiw

My background is a complementary blend of industry and academic experience. The common theme in these roles is a passion and a successful record of developing new initiatives manifesting themselves as products, design groups, academic programs and curriculum streams. I have a reputation for imaginative approaches to problems with a zeal for sketching and visualizing alternative concepts. At SMART I was challenged with bringing together the multiple disciplines of industrial, graphic, interaction design and usability research into a group that would ensure that SMART products had value and were easy to use. In my roles as Academic Chair at SAIT, Head of Design at Emily Carr University, and Associate Director of the Information Environments program at the University of Queensland, I managed significant curriculum design, program implementation and day to day operations. My directive in industry and product design is to take a thoughtful approach to what people really want and need and then create multiple concepts balancing the appropriate criteria. I have several design patents and have a steady history of research and concepts related to emerging technologies. On the education side of my portfolio I have a proven record of implementing problem based learning and student centered classroom learning techniques. There is no greater joy than having a former student or parent reach out and say thank-you for caring and making a difference by making education relevant and interesting. I have also developed an approach to teaching drawing that instills an "I can" confidence attitude and removes barriers for all participants in learning how to sketch.