WINNIPEG, MB – High-school students, adult learners, the public and media are invited to attend The University of Winnipeg’s annual Open House on Wednesday, February 17, 2016 where the first made-in-Manitoba Virtual Reality (VR) university campus tour can be viewed.
You could be in Hong Kong and feel like you are lifting weights with students inside UWinnipeg’s Duckworth Centre fitness facility or standing in the middle of the University’s library. Thanks to an innovative mobile app developed by Campfire Union, a Winnipeg company founded by talented UWinnipeg graduates, The University of Winnipeg is introducing an immersive experience that can give potential students anywhere a visual panorama of life on campus.
The VR tour is viewed with 3D goggles, and the wearer is transported visually to UWinnipeg locations such as the Duckworth Centre, Axworthy Health and RecPlex, the library, and Richardson Science Complex. Multiple videos or still photos are stitched into a seamless whole to create the virtual space. A less immersive but entirely 360-degree experience is also available without a VR headset, simply by viewing the content on a smartphone or computer. Desktop users can click and drag the images found at uwinnipeg.ca/vr, while mobile users can get a first-person 360-degree experience by viewing the files through the YouTube app or the Facebook app.
“It’s like being inside the picture,” says Lesley Klassen, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Campfire Union. “This is an area of technology that is exploding in the next few years. It is super-cool; we can share the beauty of UWinnipeg with prospective students, donors, visitors — and even alumni who have moved away. For me there is something about coming back to where I had my awakening moment…now I can help get others excited about UWinnipeg.”
Klassen graduated from UWinnipeg in 1999 with a Bachelor of Business Administration and is a former University of Winnipeg Students’ Association (UWSA) president. His colleague Vinay Iyer, Business Developer, is also a former UWSA president who graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Science.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Campfire Union to pioneer this new immersive technology, which provides a unique way to let people visit The University of Winnipeg and get a real sense of place before they actually set foot on campus,” said Kevin Rosen, Executive Director, Marketing and Communications, UWinnipeg. “We’re proud of our new facilities and the interesting, innovative things happening here; we hope this virtual sneak peek will entice people to learn more about us or come here in person to experience the real thing.”
Open House 2016 allows future students to meet with professors, talk with current students, find out about student financial aid and apply on the spot for admission. Those attending can enter to win a $5,000 tuition credit and other great prizes.
WHEN: Wednesday, February 17;
9:00 am to 2:00 pm and 5:30 to 8:00 pm
WHERE: Duckworth Centre, UWinipeg Campus
400 Spence Street
For more information, visit http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/openhouse/index.html
