Dr. Predrag K. Nikolic

Associate Professor/ Head of School (Design and Arts)
Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus
Predrag K. Nikolić, PhD, MBA, is an artist, researcher, and educator working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, interaction design, and cultural heritage. He is an Associate Professor and Head of the School of Design and Arts, Faculty of Business, Design and Arts, at Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak, Malaysia. Nikolić is the Founder of AI.R Lab Science, a research and production studio developing AI-generated content and computer vision tools for immersive and virtual environments, and Founder of Epistemoverse (www.epistemoverse.com), a platform investigating AI-driven knowledge ecosystems for the preservation and reinterpretation of intellectual heritage through machine-mediated interaction. He also founded Visia Interactiva, a Malaysia-based practice in AI-driven education and design consultancy, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the EAI Transactions on Creative Technologies journal. His practice is anchored in a long-running research and artistic trajectory, Syntropic Counterpoints, active since 2017, exploring artificial intelligence as an autonomous, creative, and discursive medium for engaging with philosophy, ethics, and knowledge production. Works within this trajectory include Robosophy Philosophy, Botorikko: Machine-Created State, Metaphysics of the Machines, Epistemoverse, and Botohara: Conflict and Ethical Breakdown in a Synthetic Morality Realm, alongside a parallel ecological-reconstruction body of work spanning Virtual Skin and Aquaterrestrial Recolonization: Mission Borneo, developed through the environmental and cultural context of Sarawak and Borneo.
His work has been exhibited and presented internationally at Ars Electronica (Linz, 2018, 2019, 2022), SIGGRAPH (2018, 2023), SIGGRAPH Asia (2017, 2020), ISEA (Barcelona 2022, Seoul 2025), and ARTECH (2021, 2025), and is documented across more than fifty peer-reviewed papers and exhibition catalogues. Nikolić holds a PhD in Digital Media (Interaction Design) and an MFA in Digital Arts (Interface Design), both from the University of Arts in Belgrade, and an MBA from Cardiff Metropolitan University. He has held academic posts at ShanghaiTech University, Shantou University, the University of the Bahamas, the College for Creative Studies (Detroit), and Educons University, where he served as Dean of the Faculty of Digital Production. He is an ACM SIGGRAPH Pioneer, a Fellow of the European Alliance for Innovation, and a recipient of the crQlr Awards (Tokyo, 2022).

Programmes

Turning Heritage Into Global Content
Startup Village
Indigenous folklore, vibrant cultural narratives, and rich bio-heritage possess immense commercial potential when translated into modern digital formats. This session brings together cultural custodians, filmmakers, animators, and digital storytellers to examine how local heritage can be ethically adapted into internationally scalable films, series, games, and immersive media. Panellists unpack the balance between cultural authenticity and commercial appeal, detailing how digital technology elevates traditional narratives for global audiences without losing community trust. The discussion provides creators and media studios with a practical roadmap for converting unique regional heritage into high-export-value creative IP.

Day 2

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