KZ: Hi Dr Kirsten! What experience did you have before your current role, as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Human Centred Computing at Monash University?

K: I have always been very creative, I love arts and crafts. I won some prizes for watercolour painting when I was a child and spent all of the prize money on horse riding camps. I trained as a computer programmer so that I could make images using digital tools and then lived that I could make them interact with me on the screen. It surprised me that I was good at programming as maths was not my strongest subject at school. My first job when I left university was working for a computer games company which was really fun. We were allowed to get to work late and ate lots of pizza.

KZ: Are you currently researching a new topic or working on a project?

K: My current project is exploring how to make other STEM activities available for people with disabilities. If we change the way activities are done then it changes who can do the activities. I have been working with people who have disabilities to program robots to go through mazes, use laser cutters and sew electrical circuits. I want to see what else we can do together

KZ: What has been the personal highlight of your career so far?

K: Getting paid to play and make cool stuff! Working with people when achieve something that they have never done before like making a circuit, and getting my first ARC linkage grant. Getting a paper published internationally – if you told me that I would write something that other people all around the world read when I was a child I would not have believed you. Receiving the Eureka Prize for STEM Inclusion – I really did not expect it, I was sitting up the back because I did not think that I would win.

KZ: Can you share an interesting behind the scenes fact about your job?

K: I use Vegemite to make circuits, because the salt in it makes it conductive. I had to work in tech because I get to wear jeans and a T-shirt to work every day. I work at a university as a senior lecturer. My job is split between Research (40%), Teaching (40%) and Administration. We only get four weeks holiday per year. I love my job because I get to be creative, technical and work with people. With computer programming you are not right or wrong, you are just not right yet.

KZ: Did you take part in any activities as a child that gave you skills you use at work?

K: I was always making thing when I was young. Most of the things that I made were not very good but I learned lots of skills from crafts like leatherwork, to sewing, tying knots, screen printing, stamping, Lino cutting, cake decorating and weaving. I think that it enabled me to build of toolbox of skills that I can now use of different project when I need them to solve a specific problem. I also don’t expect to get things right the first time as I know that it takes lots of practice to get good at anything.

KZ: What would you say to K-Zoners who want to work in a similar role?

K: Be curious and try things. It took me a while to really find my place in the world where I could use my unique skills and interests to their full potential. There is a place for each individual to shine, it can just take a while to find it.

Want to read more of our Ideas Lab interview with Dr Kirsten? Grab the June 2023 ‘Swing Into The Extreme’ issue of K-Zone, out now!