Educational Psychology student, Nic VanMeerten, is the recipient of two grants from the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS). These projects focus on improving the research and design of digital games at the University of Minnesota.

Nic is the lead on one of the projects, Gaming and Learning Collaborative, which addresses the need to bring together researchers interested in learning in digital games by increasing collaboration between departments at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and Duluth through a series of workshops, events, and initiatives. This collaborative is also led by Keisha Varma, Svetlana Yarosh, and Edward Downs.
In addition, Nic is a co-convener the Inclusive Game Design Collaborative, which addresses the need for inclusivity in game design. This project emphasizes the importance of actively involving players and communities in the design process to ensure they are represented in games. This will be accomplished through several game jam events, where the community will be invited to design prototypes of games with local game designers. Elizabeth LaPensée and David Beard are the leaders of the Inclusive Game Design Collaborative.