“Making involves someone who does as well as something that becomes.”

Here you find a roadmap of my career path. This site features my detailed work experience, higher education, my skills, competences and volunteering.

Hej! I am Sophie.

An experience design researcher and strategist, with loads of experience as a university lecturer, a vast toolbox of methods and techniques and loads of motivation to make use of my skillsets in new settings.

Born and raised in Germany.
Lived and settled in Sweden.

I'm a social butterfly, an enthusiastic collaborator and a skilled coordinator of people and things. From indepth field studies over empathic and human-centred design to innovative project management as well as contributing with design strategies and creative thinking - I will make a positive impact to your company targets.

My aim is to contribute to a creative work environment at a company or organisation that strives for a more equal society and a sustainable future.



I’m available for permanent work engagements from June 2024 onwards. 

Work Experience

  • In charge of three master thesis projects in the subject of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Guiding and supervising students progression throughout the term.

  • Affilated with the university to help organise an upcoming research conference on interactive media experiences IXM’24 in the role of sponsorship chair.

  • Teaching fulltime in various courses on bachelor and master level in media technology and interaction design. Course lead and coordination of 80+ students, as well as acting as a superviser and examinator of student work. Always highly motivated member of the academic staff.

  • Teaching on bachelor level university courses within the subject. Standing out by designing innovative course work and lecture material to reach students learning objectives.

  • My PhD dissertation explored human-technology relationships at the makerspace and the interactions and experiences makers have with materials and machines.

    Graduate school has sharpened my analytic and methodological skills to work with and filter large amounts of data and adapt a critical mindset.

    I am well equipped to review and present work as well as leading my own research project and coordinate multiple stakeholders along the way.

  • Teaching appointments in courses within media technology and interaction design, on both bachelor and masters level. Including giving lectures, seminars, coordinating workshops and lab work as well as grading and course development at the department, on a 20% basis next to my PhD research.

  • I started my own company to take on smaller assignments based on my expertise, that went beyond the university position. These included writing a book chapter, facilitating workshops and invited lecturing at various universities, municipalities and museums.

  • Mobile Life (2007-2017) was an innovative and interdisciplinary research centre with top scientists and industry partners. Supporting the people and the management team of the research hub and contributing some of its projects, I was fortunate to get to know and love exiting and novel perspectives of research and interaction design.

  • During my internship in communications at the museum I translated Swedish exhibition texts to German and English. Additional work included graphic design projects and introducing social media platforms to the museum back in 2009. Additionally, I was part of the team that prepared a redesign and relaunch of the museums website.

  • I have a lot of experience of working with hands on projects and don’t shy away from hard work or complex tasks. Throughout the years, I have been working with events, in organisation and in the service sector in Sweden, England and Germany. These include work assignments with and at:

    • conferences (such as TEI’18, CSCW’20, IXM’24)

    • events (Wisel events, Germany)

    • freelancing work in design and UX (Jotoko)

    • archive assistent (PETT Archives, UK)

    • bakery staff, café and restaurant waitress (Stavsnäs hembageri, Värmdö)

    • catering and event waitress (such as at Ängby slott and with Degen catering, Stockholm)

    • office assistant (UGB, Germany)

    • kitchen assistent, service and cleaner (Maria Magdalena församling, Stockholm, Svenska Kyrkan)

References are given on request

HIGHER Education

I specialised with a PhD that focuses on how technology has an impact on society. Here I led my own project, published results internationally and was trained in rigerous academic research.

Philosophy Doctor (PhD)
in Information Society
2015 - 2022

240 ECTS
5 Year fulltime funding
Defended Oct 2022

Department for Computer and System Sciences (DSV) at Stockholm University
Sweden

Relocating to Sweden,
I did a one-year Master to gain more experience in design and technology.
The program opened my eyes to research and interaction design as a topic.

Master of Science
Interactive Media Design
2013 - 2014

60 ECTS
GPA: 3.5

Media Technology
Södertörn University
Sweden

Starting in northern Germany, this extensive program in project management with a focus in old and new media, kickstarted my career in the media sector.

Bachelor of Arts
Media Management
and Journalism
2008 - 2012

210 ECTS
GPA: 3.3

Jade Hochschule
University of Applied Sciences
Wilhelmshaven
Germany

Skills and Competences

Leadership

Advanced organisational and coordinating skills, (agile) project management and team lead, workshop faciliater, supervision experience with proven track-record, strategic planning, quality testing, report writing and communicating results on all levels. Experience in strategic and innovation management.

Social skills

Highly proficient at presenting and comfortably talking infront of varied sized groups - from small teams to hundreds of people in the audience, panelist and panel moderation, podcast and radio moderation.

Methodological skills

Structured and analytical worker, particularly strong in qualitative methods such as ethnographic work, participant observation, contextual inquiry, interview technique, surveys, field studies; Further well versed in UX methods: persona building, journey mapping, user storys, prototype feedback and testing as well as design thinking methods. Proficient in conducting thematic analysis and applying a grounded theory approach.

Technical and creative skills

Skilled handling of computers and moving between various OS and programs (such as Adobe Creative Suite, MS Office, Figma, etc.); Moreover handling cameras, smartphones, wearable technologies, digital fabrication machinery (3D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines); Thorough background in internet technology and social media. Most recently AI and chatGPT.

Languages

German (native speaker)
English (full professional and academic proficiency)
Swedish (full professional and academic proficiency)

Volunteering

When I'm not researching or teaching, I have in the past years been volunteering to get more children and young people - in particular girls - interested in technology. Thus, I was involved with initiatives such as Makertjej, Tjejhack and Teklafestivalen acting as a role model and to inspire about making, hacking and coding.

I have also been an active board member and in the steering committee at Stockholm Makerspace and the nationwide organisation Makers of Sweden that supports maker initiatives across the country.

I am convinved that we need to strive for inclusive, accessible and empathic technology in order to create joyful and meaningful experiences.