CATCH_VR Team Organizes Awareness Seminar ‘Immersive Technologies: Exploring the Future of AR/VR and AI in STEM Education’

An engaging and insightful Awareness Seminar on Immersive Technologies was successfully held at Hayat School, Hyderabad. The event was organized in collaboration with Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET) and QUEST teams as part of the EU-funded CBHE project, CATCH_VR. The seminar aimed to educate participants on the transformative potential of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and digital technologies in shaping the future of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education.
The event was made possible with the generous funding and support of the CATCH_VR Project. Prof. Dr. Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry, S.I., expressed gratitude to Prof. Wahid Bux Shaikh, Director of Hayat School and College, for providing the venue and encouraging student participation, which significantly contributed to the event’s success. Prof. Chowdhry also mentioned that the goal of the “Capacity building in Teaching of AR/VR (CATCH_VR)” project is to enhance the capacity of higher education institutions through Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) using Digital Twinning. This project, with a consortium of educational institutions from both Europe and Asia, focuses on Graduate Engineering Education. The initiative involves a participatory learning approach, practical demonstrations, and hands-on experience with physical equipment and digital twins. Ultimately, this project aims to produce trainers who will train the workforce in STEM-based education using cost-effective Digital Twin technology. He also presented a memento from MUET to Prof. Wahid Bux Shaikh on behalf of the Vice Chancellor of MUET.
The seminar featured a distinguished lineup of speakers who shared their expertise and insights. Prof. Dr. Pardeep Kumar Harani, Chairman of the Software Engineering Department at QUEST, Nawabshah, discussed the role of immersive technologies in advancing software engineering education and national initiatives. Dr. Shoaib Soomro, Assistant Professor in the Electronic Engineering Department at MUET, Jamshoro, provided valuable insights into the optical engineering applications of VR/AR technologies, drawing from his extensive research experience. He also interacted with the school students and staff, demonstrating a prototype for interactive 3D visualizations of STEM concepts. Prof. Dr. B.S. Chowdhry (Sitara-e-Imtiaz), Professor Emeritus at MUET, Jamshoro, highlighted the intersection of immersive technologies with these fields and their societal impact.
The seminar concluded with a vote of thanks from Saba Umrani, the host and Research Assistant at the National Centre of Robotics and Automation and Artificial Intelligence (NCRAAI). Saba expressed heartfelt gratitude to all the speakers, participants, and the team behind the event for their enthusiasm and active engagement.
The seminar emphasized the importance of exploring immersive technologies as tools for education, innovation, and problem-solving in the context of Industry 4.0. Participants left the seminar inspired to delve deeper into AR, VR, and AI technologies and their real-world applications.
Finally, souvenirs were presented to the speakers by the Director of Hayat School and College.