Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Purdue University Global Pilots VR Graduation

Purdue's vr headset

Photo: Kaplan Higher Education/Chad Skelton

Graduates at Purdue University Global recently had the option to participate in their commencement ceremonies virtually, thanks to a pilot program using virtual reality to provide an immersive remote experience of the event. While around 400 students attended in-person, about 75 donned VR headsets to see and hear everything as if they were there — including marching in the procession line, sitting with fellow graduates, hearing their name announced and more.

The ceremony was captured in 360-degree video using an Insta360 Pro 2 camera, and streamed live on YouTube 360. In addition, a traditional single-view video feed was broadcast via Facebook Live. Virtual participants received a Purdue Global branded VR headset as well as a commencement program, tassel and other ceremonial accoutrements.

"We are proud to be the first university to offer students who otherwise would not be able to attend the opportunity to share the excitement of graduation in a virtual setting," said Patti Pelletier, director of the learning and leadership community for Purdue Global, in a statement.

The development team for the virtual experience included George Takahashi, lead visualization scientist for Purdue's Research Computing Envision Center, as well as a number of students at the center.

"Our undergraduate and graduate students at the Envision Center are deeply involved in exploring new technologies and the development of interactive visualization and simulation tools for research and learning," explained Takahashi. "Through our time working with Patti, five of our students explored consumer virtual reality platforms and enterprise 360 video recording and streaming technologies with the objective of providing an accessible immersive graduation experiences to those who would otherwise be unable to attend."

The Purdue University Global commencement took place on Thursday, Feb. 27 in Los Angeles.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • abstract quantum computing glowing circuits

    Nvidia Unveils 'Ising' Quantum AI Model

    Nvidia has announced a new family of open source AI models, dubbed "Ising," designed to accelerate quantum computing by improving calibration and error correction.

  • Dana Brunson facilitates a roundtable discussion with research and higher education IT leaders

    Internet2: Closing the Access Gap for Research Cyberinfrastructure

    Internet2's Research Engagement Team brings CIOs and other campus technology leadership together with research computing and data facilitators, forming a community that enables research cyberinfrastructure at institutions of all types and sizes.

  • Digital cyberspace with particles and Digital data

    Report: AI Is Moving Faster than Data Trust

    AI agents are already in use or pilot at most organizations, but data visibility, governance and precision recovery capabilities have not kept pace, according to Veeam's new Data & AI Trust Gap report.

  • Abstract futuristic digital network with glowing padlock icons

    Microsoft Intros New Agentic AI Security Multi-Model Defense System

    A new multi-model agentic AI security system built by Microsoft's Autonomous Code Security team helped researchers find 16 new vulnerabilities across the Windows networking and authentication stack, the company anounced in a recent security blog post.