by Monika Theron & Dovile Dudenaite, Media & Learning Association.

On 2 July 2025, Erasmus University Rotterdam hosted National XR Day, themed ‘Shaping New Realities’. This vibrant event, organised by SURF, welcomed more than 350 participants from across the Netherlands and beyond. The programme was rich and varied, offering fresh perspectives as well as valuable opportunities to learn, exchange ideas, and connect with fellow professionals working with XR in higher education.

These are reflections and key takeaways from both Dovi & Monika from the Media & Learning team. The programme was extremely varied, and since many sessions ran in parallel, we couldn’t attend everything. So please bear in mind that this is just a snapshot of the event, not a comprehensive report. 😊

The day began with a warm welcome from hosts Barry Fitzgerald and Gül Ackaova, followed by opening remarks from Erasmus University Rotterdam’s rector magnificus, Jantine Schuit.

To kick things off on a high note, Steye Hallema invited the audience to take part in the Smartphone Orchestra— an interactive experience that transformed every phone into a musical instrument and a vibrant element of a collective performance (smartmob.io). Each device displayed different colours and instructions, producing a playful combination of movement and sound. It was a creative and energising way to bring everyone together.

Keynote: Frank Buytendijk

Keynote speaker Frank Buytendijk, Distinguished Vice President and Research Fellow at Gartner, as well as Chief of Research at the Gartner Futures Lab, delivered an insightful talk on digitalisation and the widespread expectation that it will create a fully connected world. He challenged the audience with a fundamental question: What kind of future world do we want to live in and what do we consider important?

According to Gartner, society has been digitalising for the past 25 years, driven by the promise that everything would eventually become connected. While personalisation is often presented as one of the most powerful benefits of digital technologies, Buytendijk argued that we must strike a balance between highly individualised experiences and collective, shared ones. Digital technologies should not only serve our personal needs – they should also help us engage meaningfully with others, strengthen our sense of community, and contribute to a shared reality in a responsible way.

He also explored one of his more cautionary “doom scenarios,” warning that if taken too far, a world where everything is connected could easily become a world where everything is controlled.

QUOTE:
“We need to let go of the idea that digitalisation is solely about customisation. People also want to feel part of something bigger. Only those who manage to combine both elements create technology that is truly meaningful.”

Breakouts

The programme offered five rounds of breakout sessions spread throughout the day, each running for between 25 and 60 minutes, with short breaks in between – an intense yet highly rewarding experience. With several sessions taking place at the same time, it was impossible to attend them all, but here are some of the highlights we were able to gather:

Jeanette Hadaschik from Maastricht University presented XR learning experiences designed to teach psychology students about systemic and community-level barriers to mental health. These immersive environments helped students understand how different social conditions can influence the effectiveness of interventions – and how some solutions might inadvertently increase inequalities. Evaluations showed that immersive learning supported a deeper understanding.

What happens to our data and privacy if AI‑powered XR glasses become everyday wear? And how might our perception of ourselves and others shift when we can each customise and augment our reality – or even be augmented by others? These thought‑provoking questions set the tone for The augmented gaze: data, privacy and the right to alter reality, a panel discussion moderated by Barry Fitzgerald from BW Science.

The session brought together Alina Kadlubsky from the Applied University of Mittweida, whose work in spatial computing and XR research focuses on shaping a human‑centred future in computing while contributing to key publications and standards; Rob Morgan from Wake the Tiger, Playlines and King’s College London, a spatial storyteller working across XR, immersive theatre and location‑based entertainment; and Kelsey Farish, an independent consultant and technology and media lawyer. The mix of expertise and perspectives made the session a clear highlight of the day, and the rich, engaging conversation more than lived up to the promise of its title. The discussion left the audience with plenty of food for thought: What does it mean to believe what you see versus seeing is believing? If XR glasses can block out spiders for someone with a phobia, what might it mean if someone chose to block out homeless people? How do privacy rights intersect with the right to control how others see us? And, in a world where game companies are increasingly data companies, what responsibilities come with that power?

Yue Li from the University of Twente shared findings from a study investigating whether VR perspective-taking as animals could inspire pro-environmental behaviours. Participants experienced life as a deer facing environmental challenges either through VR or traditional video. The study measured self-reported attitudes, biofeedback and donation behaviours. Results indicated that a strong sense of presence in the VR group influenced their donation behaviour, suggesting that VR’s immersive qualities can meaningfully impact environmental awareness and action.

Professor Dr. Ian Biscoe from the Design Academy Eindhoven, who describes himself as an “accidental professor,” introduced XR-IT: a software and systems platform designed for high‑fidelity collaboration in the Metaverse. In this technical workshop, participants were shown how XR‑IT makes working together in shared XR spaces far simpler. Rather than being tied to a single location, it links people and XR resources from multiple sites, merging them into one seamless, immersive environment. This allows teams to collaborate, create, teach and conduct research as if they were in the same room, even when they are spread across the globe.

Wilco Boode from Breda University of Applied Sciences presented a compelling project that uses mixed reality and publicly available GIS data to reimagine collaborative geospatial planning. In this innovative approach, users can explore the complex features of a sea basin within a shared XR environment – enabling not just visualisation but real-time interaction with spatial data. The goal is to make planning processes more immersive, accessible and collaborative. The relevance and potential of such tools were immediately clear: during the session, one participant expressed interest in using the approach for an upcoming urban planning project in Rotterdam, highlighting real-world demand for this kind of application.

Richard Evering from Saxion University of Applied Sciences shared the journey of setting up an XR Hub at their institution, which officially opened in January 2025. The hub, focused on healthcare and social work education, is supported by a team of seven (equivalent to 2 FTEs). All XR applications currently in use were purchased rather than developed in-house, and the team offers regular training to help teaching staff effectively integrate XR into their teaching. It was a valuable and practical walkthrough, especially for institutions that don’t yet have similar hubs in place, offering concrete insights into setup, staffing and adoption challenges.

To end the day, participants gathered in the Theil building hallway for a unique live demo – a fashion-meets-technology performance by Dutch designer Anouk Wipprecht. She presented three conceptual dresses that combined robotics, interactivity and wearable technology, leaving the audience inspired and full of wonder at the creative possibilities ahead.

We left National XR Day 2025 truly inspired by the creativity, research and collaboration on display throughout the event. It was a powerful reminder of how far XR has come and the exciting directions it is heading. We’re already looking forward to the next National XR Day!