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October 2025

📣 MDM Spotlight

This month we're excited to feature Hannah Nicoletta from Cohort 15.0 and Nansy Khanano from Cohort 13.0!

Hannah Nicoletta smiles while standing in front of a colorful abstract mural with flowing shapes and lines.

Alumni Spotlight: Hannah Nicoletta (MDM 15.0)

Marketing Assistant, Habitat Learn | Game Developer & Designer

Congratulations to one of our most recent grads, Hannah Nicoletta, on winning the Dean's Award of Excellence! Hannah served as an elected cohort representative for Cohort 15.0, as well as the MDM programs Digital Media Engagement Assistant. 

Hannah's thesis project is titled Gaming Beyond Words: An acoustic approach to inclusive gaming experiences, which centred around the creation of a 2D puzzle game "Grow Forth" that relies on acoustic and emotion-based mechanics rather than words or speech to guide players through the experience. Hannah's goal was to create a more inclusive playing experience, that goes beyond language by substituting linguistic elements with universally understood sounds, to develop emotional cognition through acoustic connections in gameplay.

We met with Hannah and asked what advice she would give to incoming students:

"Know what you want to do coming into the program and be a self-starter! Don't wait for someone to teach you, be proactive, mess around, get your hands "dirty" and use the resources available because there are so many. Get involved within the MDM community, interact with your cohort and the other active cohorts, go to events, take as many workshops as you can".

When asked what excites her most about applying her MDM skills in the creative industries now, she replied:

"The ability to create more! Everyday I am one step closer to my dream of working in the gaming industry. The skills I learned in the MDM program, like learning Unity and 3D modelling/animation, are being further developed as I apply them in new and exciting ways on my new projects".

We asked Hannah to describe her MDM experience in three words:

"Collaborative. Eye-opening. Diverse".

Hannah, Achievement unlocked: MDM Grad! Now onto your next quest!

Follow Hannah on IG @han.nicoletta (external link) 

Connect with Hannah on LinkedIn (external link) 

 

Nansy Khanano smiles while holding up a book titled Architecture and Videogames: Intersecting Worlds.

Alumni Spotlight: Nansy Khanano (MDM 13.0)

Unreal Engine Level Artist at Certain Affinity | Adjunct MDM Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University

Congratulations to Nansy Khanano, Cohort 13.0 Alumni and MDM Course Instructor on her publication in Architecture and Videogames: Intersecting Worlds!

The book explores and affirms the emergent symbiosis between videogames and architecture, including insights from a diverse range of disciplines. Nansy's chapter titled: Unraveling the Challenges of Reimagining Historical Virtual 3D Game Environments, explores the transformation of Ancient Assyrian concepts into immersive game spaces.

Check out Nansy's Semiramis' Courtyard [Assyrian/Babylon Inspired 3D Environment | UNREAL ENGINE 5] here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4hAhF58cqQ  (external link) 

Want to dive into Nansy’s chapter and explore the rest of Architecture and Videogames: Intersecting Worlds? You can find it through major retailers like Indigo, Amazon, Kindle, and Kobo.

Nansy is currently working towards her PhD in Media and Design Innovation at TMU. We can't wait to explore the world's only you can design!

Follow Nansy on IG @nanoshades (external link, opens in new window) 

Connect with Nansy on LinkedIn (external link) 

Want to be featured in our MDM Spotlight series?

As a newsletter for past and present MDM students, we want to know what you're up to! If you have a cool project you are working on, a nice new piece of art, a publication, or even some cool tech to show off, fill out the  (google form) MDM Spotlights form (external link, opens in new window)  and we might reach out to you for a future newsletter!