Swinburne University Of Technology Student Videos Guide Cancer Patients Through Treatment

For many, visiting a hospital brings feelings of uncertainty and stress. With the help of Swinburne students’ motion graphic videos, patients at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) can receive treatment with less worry.

In 2021, Peter Mac established an ongoing partnership with Swinburne’s design department to create a series of motion graphic videos as part of their new education program for staff who need to confidently relay information to patients.

Bachelor of Design (Motion Design) Discipline Coordinator James Berrett says the partnership provides an opportunity for our students to gain invaluable hands-on industry experience.

“It exposes them to working with a real client on a real-world design problem by applying their skills, managing feedback and deadlines, and working together as a team. We are very proud of what our final year students have achieved and look forward to seeing where their future careers take them.”

As part of the Motion Design Capstone Project unit, 2022 students created videos for world leading cancer centre Peter Mac on the topics of day therapy, advance care planning, wayfinding and life as an inpatient

Final year Bachelor of Design/Bachelor of Media and Communication students Linda Montealegre and Olivia Groves worked in a group to create videos for the inpatient program.

Both Linda and Olivia say they developed their teamwork throughout the project, among other professional skills.

“Deadlines and changes were the most challenging but probably also the highlight too,” says Olivia. “It was a big project, especially when you consider tackling changes late in the game, while juggling other units and work. Getting to do all that alongside your teammates, all stressed together, and still pulling off a great project for a great client is so much more rewarding than being allowed an easier route.”

Rewarding outcomes
Peter Mac Office of Cancer Education Director and Swinburne Alumnus Associate Professor Caroline Owen says that the students’ videos make an important contribution to their program and significantly improves the patient experience.

“It has been a very rewarding collaboration between our clinical teams, consumer representatives and the students who have been working together to develop content that is relevant to the patient needs,” Associate Professor Owen says.

“The students have all been very engaged with this program and have shown that they are talented and creative in their work. This collaboration has provided new meaning to their work, knowing it will help patients during their cancer journey.”

Olivia says working with Peter Mac was incredibly rewarding, plus an industry experience that has boosted her confidence as she graduates from university.

“The biggest thing I can take away from the whole experience was the opportunity to work in a motion design or creative team before leaving uni. Everyone has different approaches to design and ways of solving problems, and getting to experience that opens you up to a tonne of skills and ways of working.”

Linda says working on the project has also helped her personally.

“My dad passed away from cancer when I was in high school and was an inpatient at a different hospital for a while himself. To be given the opportunity to bring any sort of comfort to those going through a similar situation is the most rewarding experience I could have asked for.”