Biography

Basem has worked at non-profit and educational institutions for over 25 years in technical and design-related fields. He has extensive experience managing multi-tiered technical and organizational projects with limited resources. He has a substantial background in software and website development using a variety of languages and platforms. With a Masters degree in Media Studies from the New School, Basem is well-versed in contemporary and historical media theories and practices, including video, interactive design, print, and both digital and analog game design.

Basem helped establish the Associate Degree program in Gaming and Interactive Media at Pratt Institute, and taught game design at Pratt’s Saturday Art School for high school students. He was a recipient of a Pratt Faculty Development Grant and a Risk/ Dare/ Experiment (RiDE) grant in 2017. He was also awarded Pratt’s 2018 Outstanding Organization Advisor by the Student Affairs division for advising various on-campus clubs (GameLab, Tabletop gaming, and Video game clubs). And a recipient of a Pratt STEAMPlant Advisor Fellowship in 2018.

While teaching classes such as “Collaborative Game Design” and  “Collaboration Studio” Basem taught and implemented agile project management methodologies such as Scrum and Kanban, as well as active listening and group facilitation exercises. Basem is a very effective communicator, able to absorb and translate technical information for non-specialist audiences. Researched, wrote, and developed multiple course syllabuses in  game design and programming. Experienced Dungeon Master, with exceptional story-telling, worldbuilding, and improvisational skills. Basem is currently teaching Pratt Integrated Courses, “Worldbuilding: The Gaming of Architecture” and “Virtual Reality and the Battle for Truth.” And co-teaching “Rapid Prototyping and Physical Computing” at Pratt’s School of Information. He’s currently coordinating two Institute-wide strategic projects: Virtual Reality development workshops, and a multimedia business plan for a potential Pratt Institute Press.

View my bio at Pratt Institute