Gian Dion Dubberke

EDUCATION - AR

Star Project
Cutlery Star

Topic

How can we revolutionize e-learning and create engaging experiences across the world?

Asyncronous Cave + Quest 2 lering platform

Goal

Exploring the opportunities for tutoring with a asyncronus experience based around a cave system (room-sized XR environment with monitors surrounding the user + motion tracking)

The application was built with the Cyprus University of Technology to imagine what a “university of the future” with the EUT+ Program could look like. Users could tutor an interactive history class through important archeological findings of Cyprus, interact with cave and VR users and explore how learning could be experienced.

Year

2022

Responsibilities

Project management
Research & Concept
Development
Scene design
3D Modelling

Patners

Brandon Collins
Daniel Mutuma
Noah Pfeifer
Cyprus University of Technology

Process

We developed a VR storytelling framework to make online learning more engaging and interactive. Inspired by EUt+’s mission and cultural heritage projects like Mnemosyne, our prototype presentation on the Antikythera mechanism empowers presenters with full control over a virtual classroom, while students explore, interact, and communicate in an immersive environment. The project demonstrates how VR can transform education by keeping audiences focused, involved, and inspired.

Struggles
One of the biggest challenges during production was managing the complexity of coordinating a large project under a tight deadline. As project manager, I was responsible for keeping the team aligned through tools like Git, Jira, and Discord, which wasn’t always easy when unexpected technical issues arose. Balancing research, concept design, and development while also ensuring clear communication meant I often had to shift between problem-solving on the technical side and maintaining team focus. My own scene work — designing and developing the Eclipse and classroom environments — also came with hurdles, from handling performance limitations to integrating interactions smoothly into the shared framework.

Overcoming Them
We overcame these struggles by adapting quickly and staying transparent about our progress. I focused on breaking down tasks into manageable milestones and made sure everyone documented their work so we could spot problems early and redistribute effort when needed. For my own contributions, I tackled the Eclipse and classroom scenes by prototyping iteratively, testing interactions in smaller chunks before merging them into the main build to avoid errors. By keeping both the workflow and the team communication structured, I was able to ensure we stayed on track and delivered a polished, immersive experience we were proud of.