Education Background:
2012-2018 PhD. in Computer Science, Anglia Ruskin University, UK.
2007-2009 MSc. in Information Systems, University of Sheffield, UK.
2004-2007 BSc. in Business Information Systems, London Metropolitan University, UK.
Previous Employment:
2023-2024 Lecturer and Module Leader in Game Development dBs Institute,UK.
2021-2022 Lead Frontend Developer, JD Sports,UK.
2019-2021 Web Developer, PHMG,UK.
2012-2018 Associate Lecturer and Researcher, Anglia Ruskin University,UK.
Research Interests:
Worldbuilding and Virtual Worlds, Virtual Reality and Video Games, Digital Media Design and Development
Research Results（selected）：
Recent Papers:
Sawyerr, W. (2026) ‘Indirect Utility Maximization via Second-Order Agents’, in Proceedings of the 18th International Workshop on Immersive Mixed and Virtual Environment Systems (MMVE ’26). New York: Association for Computing Machinery, pp. 15-20. doi: 10.1145/3798090.3799679.
Sawyerr, W. (2016) ‘An approach for designing applications in 3D virtual worlds’, in Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Massively Multiuser Virtual Environments (MMVE’16). New York: Association for Computing Machinery, pp. 1-2. doi: 10.1145/2910659.2910661
Sawyerr, W. and Hobbs, M. (2014) ‘Designing for Usability in 3D Virtual Environments’, in Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Usability and Accessibility Focused Requirements Engineering (UsARE’ 14). IEEE, pp. 32-35. doi: 10.1109/UsARE.2014.6890998
Talks:
Sawyerr, W., Ji, J., Qi, Y., Wang, J. and Zhang, Z. (2025) Talk on Artificial Intelligence in Practice at the 2025 Conference on Intelligent Integration Cross-Boundary: Interdisciplinary Innovation and Future Landscape of Design Disciplines in the AI Era. Xiamen, China, 22-24 November 2025. Jimei University.
Community:
Patron at the 2026 China Digital Entertainment Congress and China Game Developers Conference (ChinaJoy 2026)
Judge at the 2025 Xiamen International Animation Festival Golden Dolphin Awards (Virtual Reality Track)
Research Funding / Consultancy / Knowledge Exchange:
Aimini, M., Penn, S., Sawyerr, W., Perez, F. M., Zheng, N., and Zhang, H. (2026-2027). Portable Urban Lab for Sensing the Environment (PULSE). University for the Creative Arts Knowledge Exchange Fund. Award: £6000
