{"id":553,"date":"2018-07-10T10:38:09","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T09:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/industry\/2018\/07\/10\/bringing-technology-for-good-stories-to-life\/"},"modified":"2018-11-02T14:57:52","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T14:57:52","slug":"bringing-technology-for-good-stories-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/health\/2018\/07\/10\/bringing-technology-for-good-stories-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing technology for good stories to life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Haiyan Zhang, Innovation Director at Microsoft Research Cambridge, is a designer, technologist and maker of things.<\/p>\n

She is also an inventor appearing in the BBC series, Big Life Fix, of which the second season starts on July 5th. Haiyan has a Masters degree with Distinction in Interaction Design from the renowned Interaction Design Institute in Ivrea, and has a Bachelor of Computer Science (First-Class Honours) from Monash University, Australia.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am always looking for ways to fix real life challenges.<\/p>\n

As the Director of Innovation at Microsoft Research Cambridge<\/a>, my aim is to push the boundaries of technology to transform people’s lives for the better.<\/p>\n

I have spent about 20 years in the technology sector, focussing on software engineering, user experience, research and development, service design, cloud platforms, design thinking, and blue-sky envisioning.<\/p>\n

My training in user-centred design means I am always observing how people interact with technology and talking to people to gain insight into their lives which I can then draw upon to find ways that technology can support them.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t set out to work specifically in technology for good, but it has been a very fulfilling experience. I\u2019ve been lucky enough to work on Project Emma<\/a>, Project Zanzibar<\/a>, Project Fizzyo<\/a>, and Project Torino<\/a> \u2013 projects which all find fixes to real problems in society.<\/p>\n

One of the great things about working for Microsoft Research is it opens you up to new experiences. My team and I have been lucky enough to work on a BBC program, Big Life Fix<\/a>, where we helped people solve issues that make their everyday lives easier.<\/p>\n

In the first season, we created the Emma Watch<\/a>, a wearable device that uses rhythmic vibrations to help Emma Lawton, a graphic designer who suffers from Parkinsons, to draw again by counteracting her tremors.<\/p>\n

Emma continues to use the watch today and has become an advocate for Parkinsons sufferers.<\/p>\n