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XR @ Michigan Summit brings together leaders in higher education, business and technology on the transformative potential and challenges of virtual reality

Sean Corp, Content Strategist

The XR @ Michigan 2021 Summit will bring a virtual audience from all around the world onto a virtual events platform to hear from leading researchers, higher education innovators and business leaders discuss the potential and challenges of extended reality in the classroom, in homes and on the big screen.

Jeremy Bailenson
Jeremy Bailenson

Featured speakers include a keynote address from Jeremy Bailenson, the founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, which works to better understand the psychological and behavioral effects of virtual reality.

The event, organized by the XR Initiative at the Center for Academic Innovation, will be held from April 6-7 from 1-5 p.m. EDT both days. The event is free and registration is required. More information on the featured panelists and a networking reception can be found on the event registration page.

Register Now | XR @ Michigan Summit

“We are excited to showcase this excellent group of speakers and faculty panels. Our goal with this XR Summit is to bring together a broader community of educators and industry partners to raise awareness on how Extended Reality technologies are shaping education. Additionally, attendees will learn about the transformative work that our faculty are doing in fields like nursing, medicine, architecture, humanities, and engineering with XR.”

There will be presentations delivered by executives from Walt Disney Studios, HP and Microsoft on how their businesses utilize the latest in virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Faculty innovators at University of Michigan who work with the XR Initiative to bring virtual reality technology into their classrooms will also speak at the event including a team from the Medical School and School of Nursing, and faculty from LSA, School of Education, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban planning, College of Engineering and the School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

The program will be hosted on the virtual events program Hopin and will host a networking reception in AltspaceVR. An RSVP and an AltspaceVR account is required to attend the reception. The reception will be hosted by Nelson and Alan Smithson, co-founder of of the MEtaVRse, on a virtual recreation of the U-M campus Diag. The virtual diag was created by students at the Center for Academic Innovation.

The summit will also feature a student showcase of XR project updates and work from students at the University of Michigan. The event is sponsored by Microsoft, Lenovo, AWE, and the VR/AR Association.

“This is an opportunity to see first hand how Michigan is shaping the future of education with XR technologies. While this summit will be held virtually, this is a chance to learn about how VR and AR technologies have the power to bring people closer together,” Nelson said.

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