On 16 January, Ed Brinksma officially opened the Immersive Tech Space, as part of the Erasmus Data Collaboratory, at Erasmus University Rotterdam Woudestein campus. The immersive Tech Space brings together EUR academics, students, support staff, and practitioners from industry and government.
Immersive tech is a collective term for technologies that 'immerse' a person in an experience by engaging different senses. Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) are manifestations of immersive tech.
Prof Ed Brinksma: “I am very proud that the Immersive Tech Space, as part of the Erasmus Data Collaboratory is being realized with the involvement of Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics (ECDA), ErasmusX, EUR support staff and diverse external partners. In this space of endless worlds our academics and students can collaborate in completely novel ways, that offer opportunities to address wicked problems (or work on societal challenges) from different perspectives, while speaking the same visual language through immersive technologies.”
Immersive Tech on campus Woudestein
At the Immersive Tech Space on campus Woudestein, people can collaborate, experiment and visualise information with the help of experts in immersive technology and gamification. This space is designed for education, research and making connections between different fields using immersive technologies such as VR, AR, MR and holography.
These new technologies help to better understand concepts, embrace different perspectives and create new types of collaborations that drive innovation and thereby create societal impact. Jos van Dongen, Director Erasmus Data Collaboratory at ECDA: "The Immersive Tech Space brings together our academics, our immersive tech and data engineers, and students with external partners and stakeholders, to truly engage and collaborate via immersive experiences within their own domains, and especially within innovative projects that require an interdisciplinary approach."
Erasmus digitally alive
During the opening of the Immersive Tech Space, several experts and supporters of immersive technology within education, research and practical application for industry or government, gave inspiring talks and demos.
Topics ranged from the benefits of immersive education, to blended learning and how AR can boost inclusivity. Desiderius Erasmus, the patron of our university, was also brought to life digitally. And the first official holography room on campus was launched.
Experiencing possibilities of Immersive Tech
After the official part of the event, all attendees were allowed to experiment with the exciting technologies themselves. You could discover how customers can be better understood through a virtual shop, how medicine can be practised using augmented reality, and how easy it is to create live deep fakes. In addition, visitors had the chance to enjoy immersive art themselves.
Vanessa Abel, Programme Director ErasmusX: "If it is true that we remember 10% of what we read, 50% of what we see and hear, and 80% of what we experience, then immersive learning has just become vital for the current and next generation students, cultivating a deep connection with knowledge to shape adept professionals for a dynamic and complex world with all of its challenges."
About the Immersive Tech Space
The Immersive Tech Space is part of the Erasmus Data Collaboratory and situated in the Polak building on EUR Woudestein campus. The Data Collaboratory is one of the Houses of AI, as initiated and supported by the Convergence of Universities. This hub is an innovative home for initiatives around data, AI and Immersive technologies at the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
This article was first published on 17 January by Erasmus University Rotterdam.
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