Muhammad Ayan Achakzai beside the River Thames with Tower Bridge behind him

07 / About

From Quetta, for the world

Journalism / Film / Design / Creative Technology

Profile / 2026

Muhammad Ayan Achakzai

Creative Technologist

I am based in London, and my work began in journalism, broadcast and digital media in Pakistan. Newsrooms and production work taught me how to report clearly, work quickly and understand an audience without reducing it to a metric.

From there, I moved through agency production, film, design and digital content. The work has included broadcast formats, campaigns, product photography, motion projects, independent films and a Pakistan-based craft venture.

I am finishing an MSc in Applied Machine Learning for Creatives at UAL Creative Computing Institute. My current work increasingly explores creative technology, while journalism, film and design remain the foundation of how I approach it.

Base
London, United Kingdom
Background
Quetta, Balochistan
Practice
Journalism / Film / Design / Creative Technology
01 / About

Experience

A progression from newsroom and production work into design, education and creative technology.

  1. 01
    Sep 2026 to Dec 2026Current role

    Education Quality Assistant

    ArtsSU

    Supporting Course Rep communications, events and meetings, alongside student feedback, research, EDI and KPI monitoring, and the database work behind education quality.

  2. 02
    Jan 2026 to PresentCurrent role

    Student Support Officer

    Magna Carta College / Buckinghamshire New University

    Supporting 674 students across enquiries, records, attendance, academic casework and policy. I also built a Streamlit attendance automation tool and a centralised system for student records, surveys and reporting.

  3. 03
    Mar 2023 to Sep 2025

    Co-Founder

    Saplay

    A Pakistan-based craft and online retail venture, run with two co-founders and 20 artisans for Pakistani diaspora audiences. The venture paused in September 2025.

  4. 04
    Jul 2024 to Jun 2025

    Digital Media Strategist

    AVT Khyber

    Digital strategy, journalism, editorial and broadcast production for a major Pashto-language newsroom. The role included Ground Zero, WordPress publishing, creator direction, a 20-year archive digitisation project, AI-assisted media workflows, and original formats including Quettawal and Beyond the Mountains. Ground Zero grew from 2,300 to 4 million monthly reach in two months.

  5. 05
    Sep 2022 to Jun 2024

    Digital Multimedia Specialist

    Apex Pro Media

    Produced video, editing, motion design, social content, product photography and campaign creative for UK clients. Work for Aghosh UK included the Pakistan flood-relief campaign that raised £500,000.

  6. 06
    Jun 2022 to Sep 2022

    Video Production Intern

    Sukali

    Video production, graphic design, OTT-related creative work and event coverage for a marketing agency, including work for Pikchur TV, Pathak, Thokmandee and Mega Super League.

  7. 07
    Feb 2022 to Jun 2022

    Head of Media

    Lads Technologies

    Led media production for The Raiding Team YouTube series and produced campaigns for app and game launches.

02 / About

Education

Media training followed by a postgraduate focus on machine learning as a creative practice.

2025 to 2026

University of the Arts London

Creative Computing Institute

MSc Applied Machine Learning for Creatives

Expected Sep 2026

Thesis

Tangible Worlds: Physical Arrangement as Spatial Prompting for Generative 3D Environments

The thesis investigates physical arrangement as a form of spatial prompting for generative 3D environments, with VFX, documentary and film use cases.

Supervisor / Terence Broad

2020 to 2024

Bahria University

Islamabad, Pakistan

BSc Media Studies (Electronic Media)

Sep 2020 to Jul 2024 / GPA 3.48

03 / About

Practice

The working areas and tools that recur across the portfolio.

Journalism / Editorial
Reporting / Visual journalism / Broadcast production / WordPress publishing / Long-form editorial
Film / Video
Direction / Production / Editing / Documentary / Motion design / Product photography
Design / Content
Brand identity / Graphic design / Campaign creative / Social content / Event coverage
Creative Technology
Python / Streamlit / Machine learning / OpenCV / Generative 3D
Languages
English / Pashto / Urdu / Dari

04 / Contact

Continue the conversation.