Why did you choose this business school and/or this particular city/country?
My research interests lie in the field of virtual reality (VR). Initially, I was looking for specialised seminars or short courses. When I discovered the Immersive Story-telling summer school at the University of Antwerp, I was really surprised at how closely the content of the programme matched my research interests. The summer course schedule was perfect for me. What's more, I learnt a bit of Dutch several years ago, and this was an excellent opportunity for me to practise it.
What do you think are the advantages of taking part in a Summer School? What did you get out of the experience?
Firstly, you have the chance to meet some very well-known people from industry and academia who are working on the topic of VR. Renowned VR film producers and directors, game designers, artists, academics and philosophers have had the opportunity to speak and share their ideas.
Then there's the chance to try your hand at VR production and create a full-scale VR experience in less than a week. It may sound like I'm making things up, but I was really impressed by how easy and user-friendly it was to produce a VR experience.
Certainly the whole VR development process would be very difficult without the help, advice and care of the summer school lab staff who were willing to share their experience with us and show us the know-how and way of life of programming, animation and motion capture.
Thirdly, the VR lab at the University of Antwerp is undoubtedly a place of great interest. It is a very well-equipped research facility that is suitable not only for university-level research, but also for the large-scale development of complete VR projects. The laboratory is equipped with motion capture facilities, numerous state-of-the-art headsets, professional 3D scanning and modelling equipment and sound recording equipment. So, if you're interested in creating VR content, this is definitely the place to go!
Last but not least, this summer school was a great place to network. The other participants all had different profiles, ranging from cartography and neural science to shipbuilding and game design. It was very interesting and rewarding to discuss our views and ideas on VR and to learn more about the very different applications of this technology.
Can you share a telling anecdote from your experience?
Imagine that our team of four people, in the space of four days, and without any significant experience of game design or programming, managed to create a playable VR simulation that, graphically and in terms of animation, was comparable to titles such as GTA V.
Why would you advise your fellow students to attend this Summer School next summer?
You should definitely consider attending this Summer School if you are interested in virtual reality, game design, experiential marketing or digital technologies in general. The Summer School offers a unique opportunity to understand and try out the latest advances in VR, as well as to create your own VR project.
The Summer School is very well organised and you won't feel bored for a second. The after-school programme is also very interesting and varied. It's full of rather unusual activities, such as a boat trip in the port of Antwerp, a graffiti tour or yoga on the rooftops.
