Jim Kiggens

Director, Immersive Learning Experience Team

Innovation Center of Excellence, Adtalem Global Education

Weldon, California

As the Director of the Immersive Learning Experience team at Adtalem Global Education, Jim leads the game production team that develops and supports game-based learning for Adtalem Global Education institutions.  

Jim has 27 years of experience in producing and developing game-based learning for higher education, middle and secondary school, and corporate training. In addition to founding two game studio companies and shipping 36 Serious Games titles, Jim also has 22 years of experience in parallel in instructional design, product development, and teaching digital animation and game development at several colleges and universities.  A studio business owner since 1988, Jim is a certified Scrum Master, Softimage Trainer, and Adobe Trainer.  As a full-stack developer of intelligent immersive experiences, he is currently using Maya, Substance, Unity, Oculus, C#, LAMP Stack, Python and the Google AI suite.

Jim has authored/co-authored seven books and has presented widely regarding the development of game-based learning.  His current research focus is intelligent immersive learning experience production for corporate training and higher education.

Prior to joining Adtalem Global Education, Jim held the post as the Associate Director for Digital Game-Based Learning, Center for Technological Literacy, Hofstra University.  He was the founding director of the Serious Game Design Institute and the Project Director for the Mobile Media Institute NSF (ATE) project at Santa Barbara City College. He was the founding Director of the Academy of Digital Animation at Cerro Coso College, the program designer and founding Department Chair in Multimedia at Mt. San Jacinto College, and the designer of the multimedia programs at Victor Valley College and Mesa College in San Diego.

Jim has a Master of Science Degree in Education with an option in Online Teaching and Learning from California State University, East Bay.  He also attended the Master of Science Degree Program in Educational Leadership at The George Washington University.  Jim’s Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Education is from National University.

Jim studied fine art at the University of South Carolina, Beaufort, the Corcoran School of Art, Washington D.C., and Irvine Valley College. From 1978 to 1999, he painted landscapes in oil. In 1999, he shifted his focus to painting with soft pastels. He considers the opportunity to study plein air with John Budicin and a personal visit and tour in Creede with Stephen Quiller to be highlights in his avocation as a fine artist.

Jim and his wife, Debbie Kiggens, have four children and own an artisanal goat dairy in Weldon, California located in the South Fork riparian forest of the "Wild and Scenic " Kern River Valley in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.