INTERVIEW: LLInC’s Visit from the University of Helsinki
On the 11th of June, we at LLInC were delighted to welcome Digital Learning Specialist Esko Kuittinen from the University of Helsinki, demonstrating and discussing with him much of what we’re working on and have to offer within the sphere of XR and digital technologies.
In the following interview, Esko provides a glimpse into his experience at LLInC as well as his takeaways, placing these within the context of his further visits to Leiden’s faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences as well as to the InHolland University of Applied Sciences.
Visits such as these are a wonderful means of knowledge exchange in both directions and – just as Esko wishes to thank all those who took the time to meet with him during his trip – we would like to extend our thanks as a department for the conversations and insights shared!
With this in mind, on to the interview!
Can you tell us a little about yourself, your role at Helsinki, and what brought you to visit the Netherlands?
I’m Esko Kuittinen, digital learning specialist, from the University of Helsinki in Finland. I’m primarily involved in supporting teachers to produce videos and interactive materials for learning. Our university is currently exploring the possibilities of virtual reality in education so learning about other universities’ experiences and development is beneficial for us.
What made you decide to visit LLInC and from whom/where did you hear about us?
I was looking for a university with a lot of experience in virtual reality. Pretty soon, I found LLInC’s website with diverse interesting projects involving VR. Leiden University has a good reputation on educational technologies, but I didn’t know anyone from here before my trip. The projects I found assured me that it would be worth visiting so I decided to apply for an Erasmus+ mobility grant which enabled a week of benchmarking.
Can you talk us through the day you spent visiting us at LLInC? Was there any particular part which stood out to you? If so, why?
The first full day of my visit to Leiden consisted of getting to know a few of the LLInC team’s activities and services. First, I was introduced to the topic of data analytics which supports teachers in improving the structuring of online learning. Another type of analytics is being carried out with the help of generative artificial intelligence, aiming to summarise course evaluations. As I was not very familiar with data analytics in education, it was useful to discuss these projects.
I was fortunate to join LLInC’s bi-weekly meeting and hear about their ongoing efforts to develop their services and resources for the university’s faculties. The organisation of educational technologies’ development and support is different in Leiden from that at home in Helsinki. Both universities have a centralised team of experts, but the resources and objectives of the activities are somewhat different. At LLInC, for example, the faculties work proactively and closely with the department’s experts to develop appropriate and, indeed, quite specific solutions to be put into active use.
During this day, I was also introduced to 3D scanning with an iPhone, filmmaking, studio arrangements at the university as well as a shared coding platform for VR productions, a virtual 3D studio under construction, and the basics of Gaussian splatting in 3D visualisation. I was really amazed by the development towards virtual 3D production which was completely new to me. With LLInC’s physical studio and the digital twin up and running, I’m curious to hear further developments as they unfold and see if we at Helsinki could take the first steps on that path. The setup has great potential, especially for research, but also as an extended learning environment.
Thank you to all those at LLInC who I met during this day and who took the time to talk me through and demonstrate their work including, amongst others, Max, Adel, Donna, Erwin, Sebas, Nathan, Ludo, and Monika!
How, on the whole, did you find your visit to Leiden University?
The visit exceeded my expectations. I had several meetings each day, where I was introduced to a wide range of developments and use cases. My hopes of hearing about XR-related applications were fulfilled, but I was also presented with several other interesting projects on other topics such as data analytics, AI analytics, 3D scanning, filmmaking, VR coding, and 3D virtual studios. In addition to meeting members of the LLInC team, I also met researchers and other experts in the faculties of Social Sciences and Humanities and toured multiple studios. Moreover, I even had the opportunity to experience a few VR applications at Inholland University of Applied Sciences.
The program of my visit was overwhelming. My hostess, Data & Media Team Lead Monika Theron from LLInC, was very helpful and kindly offered me a week full of most interesting topics. I got a good overview of university’s innovation, consultation, and support services, and I was able to discuss a number of relevant pedagogical and technical issues with specialised experts.
Is there any particular aspect of your visit to LLInC and Leiden University which you’re particularly keen to explore further upon returning to Helsinki?
I heard about a few apps and saw solutions in the studios that deserve my attention at home. The apps could be useful in developing XR content, and part of the studio facilities could be considered in setting up new learning spaces.
As a professional in the field of XR in education, what is your greatest hope for the field as we move forwards? Is there anything which you believe we ought to be either particularly cautious or enthusiastic about?
I think it’s important to bear in mind the real added value of new technologies. It is easy to get excited about the possibilities offered by new applications but, as associate professor Carlijn Bergwerff reminded me, no single solution is always superior, so we should also critically assess when it is feasible to invest in XR from a pedagogical point of view. I still dream of a tool that would allow teachers themselves to create XR learning environments.
Is there any aspect of your work at Helsinki from which you believe the LLInC team (as well as perhaps Leiden University as a whole) might be able to learn?
I am convinced that we could learn from each other in many ways. I became jealous of LLInC’s wide range of skills within the team, including application development. As the teams in Leiden and Helsinki have slightly different priorities and objectives, the scaling up of services would also likely be different and the arrangements for development activities might need to be re-considered. The upskilling of academic staff is a key part of the resource management in Helsinki, enabling us to meet growing demands. That’s why we organise digital cafés online every week, for example.
Can you tell us about the other days of your trip?
My host at Inholland University of Applied Sciences was Jeroen Bottema. He took me to their office in The Hague where two Brios, father Brio de Groen and his son Brio, demonstrated to me the CleVR for training soft skills, mainly in the context of social work. After that we met Henk Kruizinga who let us experience first an aggressive customer and, second, an autistic child in a 360 VR video. Immersive and effective! Finally, after a ride with bikes, we were able to meet up with Koen Owerkerk (Inholland) who let me experience a flight simulator as well as an AR game developed by the aviation engineering students.
On Thursday I went to FSW to meet first Carlijn Bergwerff, then Rosanne van den Berg and her colleague Erik van Duijn in the studio, and finally, after a short bike ride, I met Maarten Struijk Wilbrink at the SSH labs.
On Friday I had a meeting with Annebeth Simonsz, Rob Goedemans and Victor van Doorn at Herta Mohr building (HUM), followed by a studio tour at the P.J. Veth building with Janessa Vleghert.
THANK YOU!
A big thank you to Esko from us at LLInC and Leiden University for coming to visit us and we’ll be sure to stay in touch!