Campus: The future of XR and immersive learning

Campus: The future of XR and immersive learning

Author: Campus by Times Higher Education May 9, 2024 Duration: 34:02
Imagine a learning environment where an AI professor fields infinite student questions, where business students practise difficult conversations with an avatar that models an array of personas and reactions, where automated feedback is not static but dynamic and individualised. Artificial intelligence and XR tools are changing education and preparing students to live and work in an unpredictable world.  In this episode of the Times Higher Education podcast, we talk to an expert in immersive technology, whose experience includes big tech companies such as Amazon and Meta, where she was head of immersive learning, as well as her current role in higher education. Monica Arés is executive director of the Innovation, Digital Education and Analytics Lab at Imperial College London. In this conversation, she tells us about the evolution of edtech from the early days of virtual reality, immersive technology’s potential for unlocking curiosity (and the costs that come with it), and what she thinks teaching technology will look like in 2034. Hint: it’s a personalised, creative world with fewer screens.

What does it really take to run a modern university? Campus Talks by Times Higher Education moves beyond the headlines and policy papers to explore the human stories and practical challenges shaping colleges and universities today. Each episode features candid conversations with the academics, administrators, and staff on the front lines, offering a ground-level view of the forces transforming education globally. You’ll hear nuanced discussions about reinventing teaching methods, navigating the complexities of international partnerships, pursuing meaningful research, and building institutions that are both excellent and sustainable. This isn’t a series of abstract lectures; it’s a forum for genuine problem-solving and shared experience. The podcast draws on the extensive network and editorial expertise of its host, Campus by Times Higher Education, to connect listeners with diverse voices from campuses worldwide. Whether you’re a faculty member, a university leader, or simply fascinated by the inner workings of higher education, these dialogues provide actionable insights and a deeper understanding of the academy’s evolving role in society. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that respects the complexity of the issues while searching for tangible solutions.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Campus Talks by Times Higher Education
Podcast Episodes
Campus: Microcredentials are knocking. Will higher education answer? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:21
From employers to policy makers, universities and their students, everyone agrees that alternative credentials are a good thing for the economy and for expanding access to higher education. But it’s one thing to think it…
Campus: How to do public engagement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:39
In the lead-up to the Times Higher Education Awards 2023, for this episode, we talk to two winners from last year, both of whom share their advice, insights and best practice for engaging the public. King’s College Londo…
Campus: What to do when principles of free speech are tested [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:08
Academic freedom and free speech are the defining values of higher education institutions. But sticking to those principles becomes very difficult when polarising political events divide communities on and off campus. In…
Campus: Unlocking people power through citizen science [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:13
Find out how engaging non-academics in research can uncover and disperse new knowledge and ways of thinking that could help shape solutions to seemingly intractable problems
Campus: How to be a good mentor and mentee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:56
For this episode of the podcast we handed the mic over to the Campus network to get their top tips on how to be a good mentor and mentee. These relationships can make or break academic careers so getting them right is cr…
Campus interview: Ngiare Brown, chancellor, James Cook University [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:11
Ngiare Brown is the first female and the first indigenous chancellor of James Cook University. She’s joined the institution at a time when efforts to indigenise Australian higher education are taking root, with the recen…
Campus: The AI university is coming [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:21
In an episode last year with the chief scientist at Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities Ashok Goel, we asked: Is AI in higher education worth the hype? It turns out that, yes, it is. Ashok is back to help…