Waterford-based virtual reality company Immersive VR Education has scooped a top award in Dubai.
The company, which makes online virtual social learning and presentation platform Engage, was named best digital VR/AR product at the GESS Education Awards Dubai.
The Engage platform is a virtual reality collaboration and creation tool.
It allows educators and corporate trainers to hold classes, host meetings, conduct private tutorials and carry out training sessions and presentations with people from all over the world.
"Huge strides have been made in recent years in education technology and to have our role in this movement recognised by our industry peers and by the people we hope will utilise our creations, is hugely gratifying," said David Whelan, chief executive and co-founder of VR Education.
“We believe so strongly in the role of VR in education. And we have put so much hard work into bringing our Engage platform to fruition – we have strived to develop a best-in-class product and we see this win as a confirmation of that.”
The GESS Education Awards recognise the quality and diversity of educational products, resources, services and people. The event took place alongside the GESS Education Expo and Conference Dubai, a three-day event that is attended by more than 15,000 education professionals from 92 countries.
“Recent studies have shown the use of VR in education has a positive impact on knowledge retention and actually improves the learning experience overall. We are only at the cusp of the ed tech revolution and the possibilities and permutations of how technology can shape the education of future generations is endless,” Mr Whelan said.
“The developments in automation and innovative technologies within the educational sphere are progressing at a rate of knots and a commonality we find in these advancements is that ed tech has the potential to immerse the student further into the learning experience than ever before – building on and complementing more traditional methods rather than replacing what has gone before.
“Engage is the perfect example of this – it has the potential to transform distance learning – taking the conceptual to the practical with the touch of a button.”
