The First Steps of My PhD Journey

I’m happy to share that in March, I officially began my PhD journey looking specifically at gender, technology and education, at the University of Sydney, within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. I successfully passed my thesis proposal review in August and after submitting my ethics applications, I’m now diving into writing my first paper which is likely to be a feminist analysis of games with female protagonists, paying particular attention to how care is expressed as a mechanic in play.

I feel very lucky to be guided by my wonderful supervisors, Dr Jen Scott Curwood and Dr Catherine Page Jeffrey, whose mentorship and encouragement have been invaluable in shaping both the academic and creative contours of this work. Earlier this winter, I also had the opportunity to join the Sydney Games and Play Lab Winter School, where I presented some of my initial ideas and connected with a lovely community of scholars and students. 

Why This Research Matters

It is evident that Africa is experiencing unprecedented digital growth, particularly through mobile connectivity, yet these shifts are marked by persistent inequalities. Girls and women remain underrepresented as both users and creators in digital spaces, while education systems continue to struggle with outdated curricula, under-resourced institutions, and the compounded effects of crises such as COVID-19, climate change and political unrest.

At the same time, the gaming industry has become a powerful global cultural and economic force, with African markets showing enormous potential. Yet games remain underutilised as tools for learning, particularly in ways that centre girls’ experiences and perspectives. Much of the existing research is rooted in Western, masculinised contexts, leaving a gap in understanding how adolescent girls in Africa engage with digital play as both constraint and possibility.

My PhD responds to this gap by examining the role of digital games in learning, identity development, and self-expression among girls aged 12–18 in Uganda. Using feminist, intersectional, and decolonial frameworks, I am designing and deploying Kamata, a localised educational game, alongside qualitative fieldwork with students and teachers. The study asks:

• How do gendered norms and social contexts shape access to and experiences of digital play among adolescents in Uganda?
  
  

• What gendered differences emerge in gameplay styles, choices, and interactions?
  
  

• How do adolescent girls perceive and experience digital games in relation to learning, peer collaboration, and social identity?

By situating game design within these questions, the project aims to reimagine games as culturally relevant, feminist learning spaces, and to generate insights for educators, policymakers, and communities working to bridge digital divides.

Additionally, I felt compelled to push myself to work within spaces that may be more joyful and optimistic, where there’s the possibility of play, both while making and doing. It’s been a hard few years within the digital rights and governance space and it does feel scary diving into a totally new academic area for me, but I’m going in with an open mind and hope that I will be able to tie all my existing experiences and learning together within this field of study. 

Games as Practice

My academic work is deeply intertwined with my creative practice. Over the past years, I’ve designed and developed several games that explore the intersections of technology, care, and social justice:

• Digital SafeTea – an interactive fiction game about navigating digital safety and disinformation.

• Sticky Web – a reimagined, narrative-driven version of Digital SafeTea, introducing a family of characters to explore online risks and resilience.

• Error!OK – a playful word and trivia game inspired by games like Taboo and Otyo.

• Kamata – a 3D educational game set on the fictional island of Zimzemba, where players join Nia in cleaning waste, composting, and uncovering the mystery of pollution.

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

These projects have been incredibly fun to design and develop and to push me to learn new ways of thinking and new tools such as Twine, RenPy and Unity, serving as living laboratories where I test ideas about feminist design, digital literacies, and how play can reshape educational futures.

Looking Ahead

Well, I’m still at the very beginning. Over the coming years, I’ll be continuing to design, playtest, and analyse how games can create meaningful learning spaces. I would love to connect with others working at this intersections of gender, technology, and education, whether you’re an educator, game designer, policymaker, or fellow researcher.

If this resonates with you, I’d be delighted to have a chat about how we might learn from each other’s work, and how games can contribute to improving educational experiences for children in the Global South and beyond.