XR (&) Education – symposium program

17/3/2023 – Friday

room 102, main building (Z)

18:00-19:30 – networking meeting

in the companionship of coffee and finger food 🙂

 

18/3/2023 – Saturday

TV production hall, main building (Z)

9:00-9:30 – registration

9:30-9:45 – welcome

Prof. Krzysztof Pijarski, Filip Pudło, PhD – Lodz Film School
Marta Materska-Samek, PhD – Jagiellonian University (project coordinator)

9:45-10:15 – Fashion in phygital world – case studies of Balenciaga and H&M

Michał Wójciak, PhD – Institute of Culture, Faculty of Management and Social Communication of the Jagiellonian University

The phygital could be perceived as a combination of physical and digital elements, which is created by applying digital elements in the real world or by the transfer of real elements into digital world. Fashion world is experimenting with AR and VR technology more and more, pushing the boundaries of our reality and creating the new ways of consumption. The main aim of the presentation is to discuss two case studies of digital fashion: Balenciaga Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow, a fashion video game made under the brand of well-known French fashion house and H&M Innovation Metaverse Design Story collection launched in 2022 by Swedish fast fashion company.

10:15-10:45 – Lois. Monstrous encounters

Letta Shtohryn – doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Media & Knowledge Sciences, University of Malta

This presentation will share the process and context behind the PhD research undertaken by Letta Shtohryn at the Department of Digital Arts, UM. It will focus on extended posthumanity, technology as a tool for mysticism, monstrosity and otherness explored via motion capture dance performance – Lois.Monstrous encounters.

10:45-11:15 – Teaching writers about XR – a chance for innovation in the writing practices or a dead end?

Agnieszka Przybyszewska, PhD – Institute of Literary Theory, Faculty of Philology, University of Lodz

As a co-creator of program of creative writing studies at the University of Łódź, Agnieszka Przybyszewska will share her experience of teaching future writers about XR. Her presentation will consist of short characteristics of the program of studies and general idea of incorporation the topic of digital storytelling into the curriculum and some case studies, focused mostly on teaching about AR storytelling. She will discuss a collaboration with PJATK in delivering workshops on AR storytelling for students of creative writing (at UŁ) and new media art (at PJATK). Works created during these courses will be exhibited in March/Aprils at XRcrosspace in London. She will also shortly sum-up her experience of delivering (in collaboration with a local startup) workshops for writers about using AR in storytelling (Bath, 2022).

 

11:15-11:30 – coffee break

 

11:30-12:00 – Traditional and XR film production – Virtual Production

Małgorzata Kotlińska, PhD, Filip Pudło, PhD – Lodz Film School

The use of XR production technologies has expanded recently also in the traditional film industry. One of the most desirable and promising technologies for the industry is Virtual Production. The speakers explore differences between traditional and XR film production workflow as well as share opportunities, challenges and examples from Virtual Production classes at the Film School in Lodz.

12:00-12:30 – Teaching the creative aspects of composing immersive, interactive experiences

Prof. Dimitris Charitos, Dimitris Delinikolas, PhD, Penny Papageorgopoulou – Department of Digital Arts and Cinema, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

This talk presents the project-based learning methodology adopted by the faculty of the Department of Digital Arts and Cinema of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens for the artistic laboratory class “Digital Artistic Creation” on the subject of VR . Within the course of the laboratory classes, the students are taught the design and development of virtual environment experiences, particularly focusing on the creation of interactive 3D assemblages and spatial compositions. Emphasis is given on the creative use of VR as an emerging communication medium.

12:30-13:00 – Outputs of the ErasmusXR project and sustainability plan for the future

Marta Materska-Samek, PhD – Institute of Culture, Faculty of Management and Social Communication of the Jagiellonian University

As chief coordinator of the ErasmusXR project, dr Materska-Samek will offer a summary of both the activities carried out and the project’s outcomes, as well as  reflect on possible future developments for the team and the activities in question.

 

13:00-14:00 – lunch break

 

14:00-14:30 – The Archisphere Studio of the Faculty of Intermedia in Krakow. Technology and Education

Prof. Grzegorz Biliński, Maciej Cyryl Gniady – Archisphere Studio in the Department of Areas of Art, Faculty of Intermedia, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow

14:30-15:00 – Shaping artistic practice and XR

Prof. Piotr Kopik – 3D and Virtual Occurences Studio I, Faculty of Media Art, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw

The aim of the presentation is to consider how to educate and support individual artistic attitudes in the context of issues and techniques related to immersive environments. The background for the deliberations will be, among others, the documentation of selected works created as part of the educational process in the 3D and Virtual Events I studio, as well as a brief presentation of the speaker’s own artistic practice.

15:00-15:30 – Studio of Immersive Film and VR Experiences – artistic practice and teamwork

Robert Mleczko – Studio of Immersive Film and VR Experiences, Department of Film, Academy of Art in Szczecin

Classes in the studio are aimed at preparing students to carry out tasks using various digital techniques with contemporary narrative strategies and interactive activities. The priority, apart from the introduction to 3D technology, is to develop a research and experimental method. Conceptual and design activities are to sensitize the young artists to the presence of the immersant as a person participating in and co-creating the experience (Human-centered Design).

 

15:30 – 15:45 – coffee break

 

15:45-16:15 – Interdisciplinary research and education in virtual reality and new media

Prof. Piotr Napieralski – Institute of Information Technology, Faculty of Technical Physics, Informatics and Applied Mathematics, Lodz University of Technology

16:15-16:45 – From the ZTGK Challenge to scientific research and artistic activities – in search of the narrative in virtual worlds

Prof. Rafał Szrajber – Institute of Information Technology, Faculty of Technical Physics, Informatics and Applied Mathematics, Lodz University of Technology / Studio of Design Spaces and Virtual Objects for Games, Faculty of Design, Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz

16:45-17:15 – Immersive technologies in Education – experiences of Voxel Lab

Anna Laska-Leśniewicz, EngD – Institute of Mechatronics and Information Systems, Lodz University of Technology

 

17:15-17:30 – coffee break

 

17:30-18:00 – VR training solutions – a Virtual Training System case study

Konrad Ziaja – CinematicVR

CinematicVR is a creative XR Agency and one of the most experienced teams creating 360 videos and VR and AR applications in Poland. We successfully use VR and AR in business – both as innovative marketing tools and in training. We have created proprietary XR tools for the fashion and training industry. Among our clients were, among others, the Wawel Royal Castle, Next Film, Triumph, Regional Labour Office in Rzeszów, Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region, Atrium Poland, Żabka, Nespresso.

18:00-18:30 – Concluding discussion

Participants of the symposium + Krzysztof Pijarski, Jacek Nagłowski, Pola Borkiewicz – Visual Narratives Laboratory

 

XR (&) Education

Symposium summarizing the works and results of the project „Experience and immersive technologies – from creative practice to educational theory”

March 18, 2023
TV production hall, main building
9AM-6:30PM
participation free, no registration beforehand required
the symposium will be held in English

 

The exact program can be found HERE.

 

The XR (&) Education symposium is a gathering of teams from academic schools from all over the country, primarily arts and technical schools, but also universities, to talk about education in the field of immersive media. These teams and individuals have their own path that has led them into the XR field, and are representatives of different fields of creativity, engineering and reflection. During the symposium, they will share their own experiences, present their practices and achievements, talk about completed projects, as well as the challenges and difficulties they face in the educational process. We want the symposium to become a place to exchange experiences and establish new relationships in exploring this still new field of activity, which, expanding the possibilities of the Internet, is becoming another technologically mediated, important area of social life.

Participation in the symposium was confirmed by:

  • Piotr Napieralski – Institute of Computer Science, Faculty of Technical Physics, Informatics and Applied Mathematics, Technical University of Lodz
    Piotr Napieralski received his master’s degree in engineering from the Faculty of Technical Physics, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics of the Lodz University of Technology in 2000. In 2008, he obtained a PhD degree in technical sciences in the field of Computer Science, specializing in computer graphics at the Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science. In 2014 he received his habilitation in the discipline of computer science at the Technical University of Lodz. He has been working continuously since 2000 at the Institute of Computer Science of the Lodz University of Technology. His scientific interests include computer graphics, computer games, virtual reality, user interface design, programming 3D graphics, computer simulation and visualization, computer animation, mobile systems, mobile applications. He is the author or co-author of over 60 scientific papers. He conducts classes for students in computer graphics in Polish and English. Over the past several years, he has participated in many research and development projects financed by the EU. He is a member of ACM, IEEE (Senior Member), PTI, PTC, IGDA.
  • Rafał Szrajber – Studio of Design of Virtual Spaces and Game Objects, Faculty of Technical Physics, Informatics and Applied Mathematics, Technical University of Lodz / Studio of Universal Interior Design, Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz
    Born and bred in Lodz; an architect, designer and lecturer at the Strzemiński Academy of Art in Lodz and Lodz University of Technology. His research interests include the topic of architecture in video games, game design as a creative process, and the use of local heritage in the area of new media as a way of building local identity and values. He lectures courses such as fundamentals of game design, interface design for video games and level design. He maintains a keen interest in environmental storytelling and information-rich game world design. What interests him most in the virtual dimension is the relationship between human beings and space (the series of Game City and Game Districts). By immersing himself in VR, he relishes the opportunity to stop the hands of time and sketch – not only on a piece of paper. An ambassador of the games industry and promoter of inter- university cooperation in the field video game education. A co-organizer of the Team Game Development Competition (ZTGK) and Game Graphics Contest. The inventor of the underground world of Steam Rifts.
  • Grzegorz Biliński and Alicja Duzel-Bilińska – Archisphere Studio in the Department of Art Areas, Faculty of Intermedia, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow
    Visual artists, stage designers, architects, professors of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. They place their main interests and work on the border of discourse and artistic activities relating to hybrid space. The area of their activity are new media plus space, architecture, urban planning, also as an artistic installation, as well as scenography and exhibitions. They have presented their works in Poland and abroad (United States – Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts, Salzburg – International Opera Music Festival, as well as the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Romania). Authors and moderators of 60 radio programs entitled #SZTUKANAUKA related to the subject of knowledge consolidation, in which both artists and scientists participated, as well as debates on the commonality of art and science methodology. Members of the trasnsdisciplinary research team that found and reactivated the outstanding work of robotic art of the 60s SENSTER by E. Ihnatowicz. Alicja is a member of the Program Council of the Somaesthetics And The Arts Center, whose partner is Richard Shusterman.
  • Maciej Cyryl Gniady – Archisphere Studio in the Department of Art Areas, Faculty of Intermedia, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow
    A graduate of the Krakow Intermedia Department of the Academy of Fine Arts, winner of the Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2016) and the Diamond Grant (2017). From 2018, a PhD student at the Academy of Fine Arts. Member of the DAS collective initiated by Krzysztof Garbaczewski, he realized works in VR widely exhibited internationally. An intermedia artist dealing with the art-science trend, he uses virtual spaces, procedural 3d and 2d animation techniques, databending, motion sensors and sound synthesizers in his activities. In his works, he explores the concept of haptic communication, cybernetic communities,  extended  consciousness  and  hybrid  reality,  reaching  for transhumanism and cybernetic poetry, creator and enthusiast of open source software and technology. One of the founders and originators of InstytutXR, where he creates his own projects related to mixed reality technology.
  • Piotr Kopik – 3D and Virtual Occurences Studio I, Faculty of Media Art, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
    Multimedia artist – author of installations, videos, machinimas, animations, VR works, computer graphics and performances. He also works with collage and drawing. A graduate of the Faculty of Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Co-founder of the szu szu group, participant of exhibitions, among others at CCA Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, Museum of Art in Łódź, BWA Wrocław, BWA Zielona Góra, Arsenal Gallery in Poznań, IS Wyspa in Gdańsk, Kunsthaus Dresden in Dresden, Bat-Yam International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism in Bat Jam, <rotor> in Graz, Lokal_30 Gallery in Warsaw, Różnia Gallery in Warsaw, Harbor Gallery in Boston. His films have been shown, among others, at FILE in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Planete+ Doc Film Festival, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Muranów cinema and TVP Kultura. He runs the 3D and Virtual Events Studio I at the Faculty of Media Art of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where he also heads the Department of Virtual Space. He lives and works in Warsaw.
  • Anna Laska-Leśniewicz – Institute of Materials Engineering, Technical University of Lodz
    Assistant professor at Institute of Mechtronics and Information Systems, a member of the Voxel Research Lab, graduated in Biomedical Engineering from Lodz University of Technology in 2012, and Materials Science from Warsaw University of Technology in 2014. She received the Ph.D. degree from TUL in Biomaterials in 2022. She is an educator and researcher in many European projects. She is involved in several projects on virtual and augmented reality. She specializes in Biomedical Engineering, User-Centre Design, Usability Testing and Human-Computer Interactions.
  • Dr Agnieszka Przybyszewska – Institute of Literary Theory, Faculty of Philology, University of Lodz
    Passionate about all unconventional literary forms – from ancient visual literature, through liberature to digital texts. She co-created the creative writing program at the University of Lodz, she was also the initiator of workshop projects conducted in cooperation with local creative industries and other research centers. As a NAWA scholarship holder in the Bekker programme (2020–2022), she completed a two-year internship at the Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries at Bath Spa University (UK), and was recently a scholarship holder in the British project “Amplified Publishing” (2021–2022). Author of the book Liberacość dzieła literackiego (2015) and several dozen scientific articles on electronic literature (m.in. kinetic typography, location narratives, (playable) literature, kinetic and haptic reading, AR books), published in Polish, English and Spanish. She has been promoting electronic literature for years. She is a member of the Center for Electronic Literature Research and the Electronic Literature Organization, one of the editors of “The Writing Platform”, as well as a translator of e-literary texts. Currently m.in she is working on a monograph of Kate Pullinger’s digital work, an archive of the author’s works project and a popular science book on electronic literature.
  • Robert Mleczko – Studio of Immersive Film and VR Experiences, Department of Film, Academy of Art in Szczecin
    A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań (today’s University of Arts) in the field of animated film (1997) and the Lodz Film School. Since 2001 he has been working as a cinematographer for feature films, documentaries, as well as films bordering on visual arts, as well as in the theater as a lighting director, creator of video projections and author of stage design. He collaborated in Poland with such artists as Krzysztof Garbaczewski, Hubert Czerepok, Karolina Breguła, Monika Strzępka, Mariusz Grzegorzek, Grzegorz Jarzyna, Michał Borczuch, Joanna Rajkowska and Artur Żmijewski, and abroad, among others with The Wooster Group in New York.
  • Konrad Ziaja – CinematicVR, creator of the Interactive Training System
    XR producer, founder and CEO of CinematicVR – a studio creating VR and AR content for business clients, marketing and training purposes. Responsible for XR projects for HBO Poland, Amnesty International, McDonald’s, Onet, Mercedes-Benz, Stock, Nespresso, Atrium Poland, Triumph and many others. XR educator, lecturer at Film Spring Open. Amateur paleontologist, fan of everything related to space and rockets.

 

The aim of the ErasmusXR project was to prepare educational materials, including syllabi, curricula and open educational resources, for existing programs educating both cultural and media managers and creators seeking to connect with audiences in the digital space. The resulting materials are intended to improve the knowledge and skills of academic faculty working with immersive technologies to effectively manage, disseminate and produce digital art and content in a market environment. Part of the participants of the project will also speak at the symposium:

  • Marta Materska-Samek – Jagiellonian University
  • Dr Michał Wójciak – Jagiellonian University
  • Dimitris Charitos, Dr. Dimitris Delinikolas, Penny Papageorgopoulou – National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
  • Letta Shtorhyn – University of Malta
  • Małgorzata Kotlińska, Dr. Filip Gabriel Pudło – Lodz Film School

 

The XR (&) Education symposium will begin in the late afternoon of March 17 with a networking session, speeches and discussions are planned for Saturday, March 18.

Come to listen and discuss with us!

 

 

 

 

Erasmus XR IO3 – Case Studies

The intellectual output three, case studies of the Erasmus XR project, has been published using the Zotero research assistant. The Erasmus XR case studies are an Open Educational Resource (teaching material – collection of case studies in the form of videos and making-of videos with an introduction), showcasing also produced VR videos created by VNLab, made in both 3 and 6 degrees of freedom (DoF), VR resources created as part of art and curatorial projects. 

Following the fall training for academic staff in Athens/Psachno, the NKUA SMRG team collaborated with the Onassis Stegi Cultural Center team (https://www.onassis.org/onassis-stegi) organizing a two-day symposium focusing on art, science and technology expressed in the field of virtual reality. The main objective of the event was to disseminate the results of the intellectual work. IO3 was published through the presentation of creative, artistic and research projects developed by significant European creators, educators and scientists, which are examples of educational materials within IO3. In parallel, there was an exhibition of VR demo applications and artworks, as well as an exhibition of demos created during the cadre training. 

Educational materials and case studies for VR-based courses include: 

– A series of presentations related to the processes of creating virtual environments, namely: analysis, design, development and evaluation, 

– A series of publicly available Blender files (including 3D objects and environments, nodes and modifiers), 

– Unity project series (use of assets and their properties), 

– VR experience demo series, 

– A series of video tutorials. 

The results have been made available to the public in digital form, with guaranteed free access via the Internet. Open access will help to increase the visibility of European projects, which is in line with the approach to the use of ICT and RES according to the European Commission’s directives “Open Access refers to the practice of making research results and products available online. As all research and innovation builds on previous achievements, it is an effective system for wide dissemination and access to research data and publications can accelerate scientific and economic progress”.  

From the point of view of other HE institutions, the most attractive outcomes are the module documentation in the form of curriculum and syllabus, as it constitutes ready material necessary for the procedure of curriculum revision. On the other hand, from the point of view of the non-formal and vocational education sector, the teaching materials (IO3) are very interesting. It should be stressed that the case studies can be an interesting reading material for people interested in digitalization, virtualization and modernization of culture, which widens the circle of users and makes it possible for the project to achieve a global reach. 

Please follow this link to gain access to the Erasmus XR case studies: https://erasmusxr.eu/casestudies 

Experience and immersive technologies – from creative practice to educational theory

Who are we?

  • The Jagiellonian University, Institute of Culture, as project coordinator
  • Film School in Lodz with their center of excellence in the digital media, the Visual Narratives Laboratory,
  • University of Malta with their Department of Digital Arts as knowledge transfer partner for Learning Teaching Training and summer school organizer,
  • University of Athens with their Laboratory of new technologies in communication, education and mass media as knowledge transfer partner in VR design and evaluation, LTT, and Multiplier event organizer.

Why do we do this?

The COVID-19 epidemic, which limited our social activity by locking us in our homes, has led to unprecedented activity in the digital sphere, not only forcing entire areas of culture and education to embrace the virtual, but also to look for new ways to engage and strengthen participation in this realm. With the traditional channels of consumption and participation in events closed, education, tourism, the conference industry as well as artistic practice had to find new ways to reach their audiences. These actors focused not only on the flat screens of media consumption, but increasingly tried to build a new space for the audience to be immersed in and transported by. An alternative world, in which we can access cultural goods beyond the limits of social distancing, developed at a rapid pace by offering virtual cinemas, virtual museums, or film festivals.

The development of new technologies has accelerated to the extent that it is difficult to keep up not only with what is new, but above all with the possibilities of their use. There is a shortage of specialists who would help cultural institutions to operate, educate and meet the needs of their audiences in the new, virtual dimension, but, more importantly, there are no (human) resources for training staff.

What would we like to achieve?

This project responds to the need to enrich the existing educational programs for both cultural and media managers, but also for artists aspiring to connect with their audiences in the digital space. The project’s overall goal is to develop an educational offer for these groups in the field of immersive media (XR), and ways of using these media to engage audiences. More specifically, the project aims at increasing the skills and competences of the participants in designing and evaluating immersive experiences in order to effectively manage, disseminate, and produce culture in the digital sphere. Further, it is about increasing the knowledge and competences of the academic staff working with immersive technologies, in order to effectively manage, disseminate, and produce digital culture in a market environment.

How do we want to reach our goal?

Our goal will be scrutinized through specialized training courses. The project’s team will also elaborate open educational resources (OER) in the field of experience management and culture with the use of immersive technologies. We will help building an open attitude of students and academic staff towards the application of new technologies in the humanities.

The educational activities in the project are planned as follows:

  • a summer school in Malta, involving 5 students from each participating HEI to work in the University’s immersive lab with a VR cave that can hold 5 to 10 people,
  • a winter school in Kraków, involving again 5 students from each HEI,
  • 4 Learning Teaching Training sessions: two during the summer/winter schools, and another two separate 5-day events in Malta and Athens respectively. Each will include 5 academic teachers from the JU and Film School, MU and NKAU.

More information

Team

Jagiellonian University
Monika Hapek
Marta Materska-Samek

Film School in Lodz
Małgorzata Kotlińska
Wojciech Olchowski
Krzysztof Pijarski
Filip Gabriel Pudło
Magdalena Sobocińska

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
George Anastassakis
Caterina Antonopoulou
Natalia Arsenopoulou
Dimitris Charitos
Demitri Delinikolas
Penny Papageorgopoulou
Charalampos Rizopoulos
Iouliani Theona

L-Università ta’ Malta
Fabrizio Calì
Adnan Hadzi

Project Coordinator

Organisation: Uniwersytet Jagielloński
Address: Ul. Golebia 24, 31-007 Kraków, Poland
Website:  http://www.uj.edu.pl

Project Information

Identifier: 2020-1-PL01-KA226-HE-095891
Start Date: May 1, 2021
End Date: Apr 30, 2023

EC Contribution: 212,187 EUR
Partners:  L-Università ta’ Malta, Film School in Lodz, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Topics: Creativity and culture ; ICT – new technologies – digital competences ; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses


Erasmus XR – Summer School in Malta in July 2022

As part of the “Experience and immersive technologies – from creative practice to educational theory” project, we announce a call for students to go to Malta.
The Summer School, scheduled from July 11 to 15, 2022, is open to 5 students from each participating university interested in immersive technologies XR (VR, AR, MR).

If you are interested in going, please answer the following questions in the form linked below:

1) What are your motivations for the Immersive Technologies Summer School?
2) Have you done any projects in the field of immersive technologies, multimedia, or new media arts?
3) Do you have future plans related to immersive technologies or related technologies?

We provide participants with contact with the latest technology, specialists and scientists working on immersive content, transportation, accommodation and meals. In return, we expect motivation and willingness to work and scientific development.

Form – Registration UJ – closes on 15.11.2021
Form – Registration PWSFTViT – closes on 25.10.2021

 


XR School in Malta

Scientists from four academic centers from Poland, Greece and Malta, implementing an international project under the Erasmus + program, led by a team from the Institute of Culture of the JU, have just returned from training on the use of new immersion technologies in culture and art.

After the success of the meeting inaugurating the international project, co-financed under action 2 “Strategic Partnerships for digital education in the higher education sector” in the Erasmus + program, entitled “Experience and immersive technologies – from creative practice to educational theory”, which took place on June 2, 2021 and brought together over 60 representatives from academia as well as business, it is time to implement further activities. Scientists from the Lodz Film School in Łódź, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the University of Malta and the Jagiellonian University met in Malta to participate in a training course on the application of new immersion technologies in culture and art.

New immersion technologies training lasted from September 27 to October 1, 2021 and was the first meeting of the team outside the digital realm. Due to the current restrictions related to the SARS-COV2 pandemic, the group of representatives of each of the partner universities was limited. Dr. Adnan Hadzi [Hadziselimovic] and his team planned numerous workshops, during which he introduced the team to examples of projects implemented by researchers from the University of Malta, in which augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) were used. The hosts of the autumn XR school – partners from the University of Malta, invited 10 people from Poland and Greece. In addition, six working groups were launched in the development of syllabuses of courses on immersive technologies, which in the future will be included in open educational resources in the vein of open science commons approach, addressed to future artists and managers of culture and media. The training was the first from the cycle – further training is planned for July 2022 as part of the summer school, also organized in Malta. This time, it will be attended not only by researchers, but above all by students for whom workshops are planned, enabling them to gain experience in the use of new immersive technologies, such as augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality and how to use them to engage cultural audiences and art.


Summary on the kick-off meeting of the project “Experience and immersive technologies – from creative practice to educational theory”, implemented under the ERASMUS+ programme

The kick-off meeting for the international project “Experience and immersive technologies – from creative practice to educational theory”, which will run until April 2023, was held on 2 June 2021.
Due to the restrictions related to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the event took place in virtual space. The project is implemented with funds received under Action 2 “Strategic Partnerships for Digital Education in the Higher Education Sector” of the Erasmus+ programme and has received a grant of €212,187. The consortium implementing the project consists of four academic centers from Poland, Greece and Malta, i.e. the Jagiellonian University, the Leon Schiller National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź, the Kapodistrias National University in Athens and the University of Malta. The project leader is the Institute of Culture of the Jagiellonian University. The international team is headed by Dr. Marta Materska-Samek, the project manager. The aim of the project is to develop scientific and didactic staff of the participating institutions, educational offer for artists and managers of culture and media in the field of new immersive technologies, i.e. augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality and ways to use them to engage audiences. The meeting was attended by staff, PhD students and undergraduates from the Jagiellonian University, the Leon Schiller National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź, the Kapodistrias National University in Athens, and the University of Malta.

Moreover, the project aroused interest of the representatives of such institutions as: CinematicVR, Alvernia Planet, Goyki 3 Art Incubator from Sopot, The National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers, XR Association, Entertain Pictures and other universities. In total, the meeting was attended by over 60 people. The inaugural meeting of the project was divided into two parts. The first part was official and took place on the MS Teams platform. The meeting was officially opened by the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Prof. Krzysztof Loska. Then, the Director of the Institute of Culture of Jagiellonian University, Cezary Woźniak, Ph. After welcoming the guests, the project manager, Dr. Marta Materska-Samek, spoke, introducing the idea of the project “Experience and immersive technologies – from creative practice to educational theory”. Dr. Materska-Samek also introduced the members of the team from the Institute of Culture and their role in the project. Apart from the staff members, students of the partner institutions were also invited to join the working groups and take part in the summer schools organized in Malta, Greece and Poland. After Dr Marta Materska-Samek’s speech, the floor was taken by the representatives of the partner institutions who presented their institutions. Dr Adnan Hadzi (Hadziselimovic) and Fabrizio Cali talked about the projects run by the University of Malta. In particular, they focused on the museum in La Valletta, where visitors can learn about the history of 16th century Malta using augmented reality. Dr. Dimitris Charitos spoke about the projects implemented by the team of the University of Athens, in which, among other things, virtual reality is used, such as the interactive art installations in the ATHsENSe project implemented since 2020. Dr. Krzysztof Pijarski together with Dr. Filip Gabriel Pudło briefly introduced the history of the Leon Schiller National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Lodz. They also talked about the creation of the Visual Narration Laboratory (VNLab), which includes the following laboratories: VR/AR Studio, S3D Studio, Perception and Audience Research Studio, Live Experience Studio, Film Essay Studio, Interactive Narration, Digital Publishing and UX Studio. The official part ended with a presentation by Dr Katarzyna Kopeć from the Jagiellonian University’s Institute of Culture, during which she talked about the history of the Jagiellonian University, its potential, and in particular, she described the structure of the Faculty of Management and Social Communication and the Institute of Culture.

After the break, the participants again returned to the meeting on the MS Teams platform, from where those interested in the project could log on to the Gather platform. The Gather platform, like MS Teams, allows for real-time, webcam-based conversations, and there is also a chat facility. This part of the meeting was informal. The organizers of the meeting created a space imitating a coffee shop, which was divided into zones-tables, and their names corresponded to the names of the working groups to be created within the project:
– CinematicVR,
– Immersive experience – level 1,
– Immersive experience – level 2,
– Production management (workflow),
– Financing (green production, business models and European policies),
– Legal, social and political aspects of immersive media production.
Everyone logged in could move freely between the tables and take part in the discussion. Of particular interest were tables where the potential of production using augmented reality and virtual reality was discussed. The meeting inaugurating the project “Experience and immersive technologies – from creative practice to educational theory” was aimed at generating interest and an invitation to joint work on the implementation of tasks in separate working groups devoted to specific issues related to new immersive technologies.


ErasmusXR – kick-off meeting

We would like to invite you to a meeting being the official inauguration of the project implemented by a consortium of four academic centers from Poland, Greece and Malta, whose leader is a team from the Institute of Culture of the Jagiellonian University. The meeting will take place online on the 2nd of June 2021.

The project entitled. The project entitled “Experience and immersive technologies – from creative practice to educational theory” is carried out in cooperation with the Leon Schiller National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź, the University of Malta and the Kapodistrias National University in Athens.

The project aims to develop the research and teaching staff of the participating institutions, the educational offer for artists and cultural and media managers in the field of new immersive technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, and how to use them to engage audiences. Students from partner institutions will also be invited to collaborate on the project and take part in summer schools organized in Malta, Greece and Poland.

As part of the project, the team intends to develop new curricula, syllabuses for immersive technology courses, and a textbook on “Experience Management and Immersive Technologies”. The activities will also result in the development of innovative didactic methods in the field of education.  The results of the project can also be used by independent young artists who, having access to the developed syllabuses and Open Educational Resources, will be able to independently expand their passions and interests within the informal educational path.

Date: 02.06.2021
Start: 10AM
Platform: MS Teams
Registration: until 30.05.2021

KICK-OFF MEETING REGISTRATION