Student Spotlight - Deniz Hepdogan

Name

Deniz Hepdogan

What is your project title and who are your supervisors?

It is definitely under construction, but the current title of my PhD project is “Co-creation of a music listening system to support residents’ sense of self and relational connection upon care home entry”.

My supervisors are: Prof Ian Underwood (School of Engineering), Prof Katie Overy (Reid School of Music), and Dr Sarah Rhynas (School of Health in Social Science)

How did you find your taught year?

It was incredibly valuable, and in my case, this is especially because I am doing participatory research. This kind of research requires you to really get to know the context you are working in, and the taught year gave me the opportunity to start doing just that. As an international student, it meant familiarising myself with the new environment and the new concepts and perspectives. Our ACRC events were also particularly helpful, giving me a sense of the pace of the next years and helping me understand what is needed for successful project completion. Overall, the year did not just provide academic and interdisciplinary learning but also created a space for personal growth.

What is your PhD about and why does it matter to you?

My PhD explores how a digitally mediated music listening practice can help sustain sense of self and communication between care home residents and their loved ones following this life transition of moving into a care home. The music focus is important to me because the environment plays a crucial role in shaping people’s health and quality of life, especially during such significant life changes. I believe that with right designs, we can improve these experiences greatly. The benefits of music for human wellbeing are well established in the literature, but access to these benefits is not always straightforward in care settings. This is where my research comes in, I am interested in how we can make these benefits more accessible in context-sensitive ways. Alongside its potential output, what draws me to this project is also the creative nature of the research process. I genuinely enjoy the exploring and designing that it involves. It is deeply engaging on a personal level.