Mehdi Mekni: Creating Winning Strategies for Game Design and Development, Cybersecurity, and a Partnership in Malawi

When computer science professor Mehdi Mekni came to the University of New Haven in 2020, he had a specific goal in mind and a passion to make it happen. He wanted to design a concentration in game design and development that would compete strongly with other concentrations in the field.

In short order, he put together a proposal that involved five courses, carving out a new, third pathway for the Computer Science program. Game Design and Development now joins the existing concentration of Cybersecurity within the B.S. in Computer Science program.

The first of the five courses was offered in the spring of 2021. Because it has almost no prerequisites, students from almost every college in the University enrolled. They learned about the history of games, trends, character development, how to design a game, story, narrative, animation – every element that had been making them lovers and consumers of games for years. Only in this course, they switched roles and became creators. They saw their very own brainchildren come to life.

Working in groups, the students came up with a game idea and built it gradually, week after week. As they learned about the various elements that go into a game, they incorporated them into their idea.

"The course might be demanding," says Mekni, "but students enjoy it immensely because they are working on something they love. They don't feel the time. They don't feel the burden of the job."

The outcome of the course is simple — by the end of the semester, students have an entire game design in their hands. That's a big moment, according to Mekni. He calls it "The Click." It's when students suddenly realize that by finishing the course, they are only four courses away from having the whole concentration.

For students already enrolled in the computer science program or in other engineering programs, that click is a jolt but not a huge one. For other students, however, the click is more of a nine-on-the-Richter scale earthquake.

"Game designers are like architects. They provide the concept and the exact specifications that will bring the concept to life." Professor Mehdi Mekni

"I had students majoring in music, in art, who changed to computer science," Mekni relates. That's an enormous adjustment for students in the arts or humanities, especially because of the rigorous coding and programming courses that are required.

"It's tough for them, but they see the outcome," he continues. "When they pursue a career in game design and development, they know they're going to have leverage that other people don't have — the artistic skill. They can draw. Or they can write or compose."

Game Design and Development — A Dual Skill Set

Mekni's statement points to one of the major features that sets this concentration apart from all others in the field — the dual skills. Whereas other institutions offer programs in game design — the creative part of the process — these same programs lack the coding chops needed to turn the game design into a reality. That's game development.

Mekni elaborates further on the difference between game design and game development. "Game designers are like architects," he explains. "They provide the concept and the exact specifications that will bring the concept to life." In game design, that includes things like storyline, narration, animation, and characters. Game developers, on the other hand, are like the contractor who builds according to the architect's exact specs. With game developers, "that's done through computing and writing the code."

Mekni's new concentration enables graduates of the program to offer both skills to potential employers. That selling point has hit home with students. The University's Game Design and Development concentration within the B.S. in Computer Science now has 29 students in the program.

The Industry Partnerships That Propel Students Into Careers

Mekni, however, wanted to make this concentration even more irresistible to students and, ultimately, to potential employers.

He aimed to incorporate the participation and support of a major player in the game industry into the curriculum. Unity Technologies is one such player. The world's leading platform for creating and operating interactive, real-time, 3D content, Unity supplies the game engine — that is, the software framework — that enables developers to construct the game. The company leads the field with 65% of market share, which was what Mekni found most compelling.

Mekni had trained his sights on Unity, but how would he bring them on board? The answer promptly presented itself when Tech Talent Accelerator (TTA) invited him to submit a proposal for a grant.

TTA is a State of Connecticut initiative to help higher-ed institutions expand programs in in-demand tech fields. Mekni jumped at the opportunity, was approved for the $30,000 one-year grant, and then parlayed the funds into becoming a member of the Unity Academic Alliance.

The alliance with Unity not only provides access to Unity products such as the game engine and teaching materials, but it also includes one more feature that is worth many times more than the $30,000 Mekni invested. It gives students the opportunity — through Unity's training and practice tests — to earn a credential known as "Unity Associate Professional." This is an Industry-Recognized Credential that jumps out on a résumé and shouts, "I can make a serious contribution from day one on the job."

Currently, 26 of Mekni's students are on track to pass the certification.

The GenCyber Agent Academy: Going Back to High School

As with all colleges, the Tagliatela College of Engineering begins its enrollment efforts in high school. One of those efforts — the GenCyber Agent Academy — has made a significant impact by getting high school students excited about pursuing cybersecurity studies at the College. A unique and rigorous summer camp, the GenCyber Agent Academy offers students intensive, hands-on practical learning in what it takes to become one of the good guys and protect the nation from cyber attacks.

In the summer of 2021, Mekni became a part of the Academy, teaching a class of 40 students some of the essential cybersecurity skills that would prepare them for further study. It wasn't long before he began to think about targeting high school teachers instead of students, reasoning that by educating the teachers, he could potentially reach many more students.

"If you teach the teacher, that teacher will shape, influence, and improve the preparedness of students year after year." Professor Mehdi Mekni

"If you teach the teacher, that teacher will shape, influence, and improve the preparedness of students year after year," he explains. The funding agencies for the GenCyber Agent Academy — the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation — agreed wholeheartedly, and Mekni received the funds to create Connecticut's first GenCyber Teacher Academy. Geared toward teachers with STEM backgrounds, the weeklong program, whose inaugural session was in August of 2022, gives teachers all of the tools they need to incorporate cybersecurity education into their high school programs. Lesson plan designs, lectures, labs, equipment — even a free Chromebook — are all part of the package.

The teacher version of the Academy is every bit the enrollment effort that the GenCyber Agency Academy for students is. Teachers who were in the August session have subsequently called Mekni with invitations to speak to their classes. At Eli Whitney Technical High School in Hamden, Connecticut, Mekni identified the best students, made a strong pitch for the Tagliatela College of Engineering, and then invited the rest of the students to spend a day on campus, sit in on his classes, and live the experience of being part of the College.

Doing the math, Mekni figures that of the 25 teachers in the GenCyber Teacher Academy, if just five of them ask him to speak to their classes, he reaches about 120 students, potentially landing 20 or 30 of them for the College. But the number of students isn't the big thing in the end, he emphasizes. "I'm going for quality. I want only the best to dream of coming here."

One Fulbright Grant: 26 Days in Southeast Africa

Working a month-long stay abroad into a busy teaching schedule isn't easy, but landing a prestigious Fulbright grant has a way of dissolving obstacles. Toward the end of the Fall '22 semester and continuing into the winter intersession, Mekni consulted at the University of Mzuzu in Malawi as one of a select group of academics chosen by the Fulbright Specialist Program to conduct projects at institutions across the globe.

Mekni's project fell under the Program area of enhancing computer science and information technology education. In his role as ambassador for the University of New Haven, he reviewed and expanded on the University of Mzuzu's curricula in cybersecurity and networks.

He carried out his work at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, with a special focus on their proposed M.S. in Networks and Cybersecurity.

Ron Harichandran, dean of the Tagliatela College, sums up the outcome of the effort: "Mehdi is building a relationship between Mzuzu University and the University of New Haven that promises to serve as a bridge to strengthen future collaborations and allows students from Malawi to study at our University."

When they do come, there's a good chance that Mekni's Game Design and Development concentration will turn out to be one of the main attractions

This story appeared in the Winter 2023 issue of TCoE Trends, the official newsletter of the Tagliatela College of Engineering. Click here to read more from TCoE Trends.