On 25 October, the "City of Fairy Tales" immersive virtual reality (VR) exhibition captivated audiences at the Maritime Silk Road Cultural Expo in Ningbo.
The exhibition featured virtual reality experiences of beloved fairy tales, such as soaring on Aladdin's magic carpet and diving into the ocean with the Little Mermaid, drawing a significant number of visitors.
This collaborative endeavor between China and Hungary builds a solid bridge to promote and deepen technological exchanges between China and Central and Eastern European countries.
A key contributor providing essential technical support to the VR exhibition was a student entrepreneurship team from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC).
In 2023, Bin learned of an opportunity from an alumnus networking with international businesses: VR PARK, a renowned Hungarian company in the industry, was seeking Chinese tech and business partners to expand into broader international markets.
Bin swiftly reached out and secured this promising collaboration. In August 2024, Bin officially became the sole technical service provider of VR PARK in China.
Bin’s team provided one-stop services for the "City of Fairy Tales" VR immersive exhibition and leveraged their international educational background to bridge the gaps in thinking and concepts between the Chinese and Hungarian parties.
Ultimately, the VR exhibition delivered a globally leading VR experience for visitors, marking a successful start to the cooperation between China and Hungary in the fields of cultural tourism.
"Three key aspects gave us the edge," Bin explained. "Firstly, our fluency in English as a working language. Secondly, we share similar perspectives on the future and development of VR. Lastly, our willingness to embrace challenges and explore new avenues aligns well with their strategic development goals in China." However, the most critical factor was the professional technical level.
The Wall Projection Show during the 2023 National Holiday in Xiangshan, Ningbo was one of the successful cases of the team.
"We were given only one month to plan and implement the project. The timeline was tight, and the requirements were high," Bin Jia recalled. They used the digital twin technology they had learned from internships in the university laboratory to simulate the expected effects of the castle wall projection, which reduced the time cost but also achieved excellent results.
Bin admitted that as a university student team, their current achievements are inseparable from the university's international orientation, strong alumni network support, as well as the platform and environment provided.
"UNNC has provided us with ample time and space to explore our developmental directions," said Bin. "It’s easy to find like-minded friends here. And because the university is not big, the connections between students and alumni are very close. The key is whether we have good ideas and the ability to execute them."
Several large collaborations have not only earned this student team a solid reputation in the industry but also provided them with a clear vision for their development direction—free-wandering VR and digital cultural tourism.
“As long as we take each step confidently in each project, there will definitely be opportunities for our development.”
Published on 28 October 2024