Abstract

Virtual reality (VR), defined as three-dimensional immersive and realistic environment, is pushing its way into becoming the mainstream in many aspects of daily life. It promises to provide more engaging and immersive experiences in several areas, including training, safety and education. In the education sector particularly, it can increase student engagement, provide active and constructive learning, and provide a platform for visualizing complex concepts concretely. Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), one of six American university campuses in Qatar, was one of the first in adopting the virtual reality technology in the education and research in the region. It acquired its first immersive VR system in 2008 and the second more sophisticated system in 2016. It organizes an annual project competition to promote the use of virtual reality and 3D visualization in the academic community. This paper describes the salient VR projects completed in last few years at TAMUQ.

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