Deakin Uni to open VR learning hub

Deakin University has teamed up with virtual and augmented reality vendor EON Reality to set up an interactive digital centre hub for the Asian region.

EON Reality will co-invest over US$10 million to help build the facility, which is due to open during the first half of next year.

The facility will be located in Melbourne’s CBD and based on EON Reality's Interactive Digital Centre model. It will provide students, staff and industry partners with access to the latest technologies in the field of scalable virtual and augmented reality.

It will host an entrepreneur school that will offer education programs from three courses related to the technologies, including a graduate diploma in virtual reality. The first courses will be offered starting in July 2016.

Deakin Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Trevor Day said the partnership forms part of the university’s efforts to help provide the educational backbone for the jobs of the future.

“This new hub perfectly complements the focus of Deakin University and we already have some of the nation’s leading researchers working in virtual reality, including inside our newly opened Centre for Design and Engineering Training (CADET), a world-leading facility that includes our own state-of-the-art Virtual Reality cave,” he said.

“Deakin University’s commitment to innovation will take another leap forward thanks to this exciting new partnership with EON Reality and perfectly matches the federal government’s new innovation strategy.”

Image courtesy of Phil Whitehouse under CC