Ruth S. Contreras Espinosa, PhD

PhD from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and Serra Húnter Professor at the University of Barcelona, Spain. Currently, I am a researcher and coordinator of international research projects funded by the European Union. My expertise includes UX/UI design, UX research, game studies, game-based learning, gamification, technology-enhanced learning, serious games, and interaction design.

I am passionate about supporting women in the video game industry, and I currently serve as an ambassador for Women in Games International. Additionally, I am a co-founder of DIGRA Mexico Chapter (Digital Games Research Association) and the Global MX Network – Barcelona Chapter.

As a Higher Education professor, I have received positive evaluations from ANECA (Spain’s Ministry of Education and Science) for both my research and teaching. Furthermore, I am an external evaluator for the Portuguese Agency for Assessment and Accreditation (A3ES) in Multimedia and Games, as well as an evaluator for the Spanish Innovation Certification Agency (ACIE) and the State Research Agency (AEI).

I have taught at various universities in Spain, including the School of New Interactive Technologies (ENTI-UB), the Open University of Catalonia, the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia, the International University of La Rioja, La Salle University, and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (ETSEIB). Internationally, I have been a professor at the University of Guadalajara (Mexico) and the University of Azuay (Ecuador).

I was a co-founder and coordinator of the Observatory of Communication, Video Games, and Entertainment (OCVE), a multidisciplinary research group established in April 2014 by the INCOM of the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Vic, which remained active until 2024.

Additionally, I co-founded Digital Work Force, where we developed nine educational digital games (“Personatges en Joc” Collection) to introduce primary school students to key figures in the history of science and technology in Catalonia. At Digital Work Force, I collaborated with clients such as GlaxoSmithKline Spain, Pfizer, the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery, the Government of Catalonia, and Shift Group, among others.

In the editorial field, I have contributed to books on video games, including “Multiplayer Games: The Power of Networks in Entertainment”, and I am the co-editor of “Gamification in University Classrooms”, a book focused on the application of gamification in higher education, which has surpassed 17,000 downloads.