The Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, located within the College of Business and Economics, recently partnered with the College of Arts and Letters’ Department of Television, Film and Media Studies to host a collaborative workshop called, NextLevel VR. This event was designed to highlight and introduce students to the industry potential within the world of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) by showcasing VR products designed and created by current students, recent alumni, and industry professionals.
During this NextLevel VR event, students highlighted their recent work and progress on an augmented reality game that provides new students with an introduction to the Cal State LA campus. After their presentation, the students joined a panel to discuss trends, ideas, and issues with other industry experts like Christian Nobel from FutureFestVR and Brian Conyer from Giblib.
As the industry starts to develop accessible virtual reality applications it will be turning to creatives to conceptualize and build innovative content that will not only meet growing market demands but create a sustainability within the field that will appeal to larger companies and audiences. Virtual reality is already making its way into the entertainment, health, sports, hospitality, and behavioral science industries as its practical applications increase and the price of VR hardware decreases. The popularity of Pokémon Go speaks to the collective interest of using a different type of technology with an added social aspect, a first look into a larger audience’s use of an augmented reality game that allows developers the opportunity to better observe user behavior to strategize for the next level, virtual reality.
When asked about the importance of collaborating with the College of Arts and Letters' Barney Santos, Head of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation said, "Entrepreneurship and innovation isn't soley resitricted to business because it is the one subject that is truly interdisciplinary in nature and because of the ethos of the College of Arts and Letters is Creativity; we knew this would be the perfect opportunity for truly original and innovative thinking to thrive.”
We hope events like this incite student motivation to keep pushing the boundaries. To do anything new in academia, business, or art you need to approach it in a collaborative and interdisciplinary way. Approaches and events like this can lay the foundation for resilient pathways between all colleges that serve our students in a way that will support Cal State LA as one of the most innovative public Universities in the region.
Thank you to all the faculty involved in making this vision a reality, Professor Sylke Meyer, Professor Kristinna Hackel, Instructor Justin Wolske and Barney Santos.
The Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation's mission is to inspire and empower the entrepreneurial spirit of Cal State LA students, faculty, and alumni in order to accelerate upward mobility and deepen the economic impact of innovation within underserved communities.
For The Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation partnership inquires please contact, Barney Santos.