While the health crisis has accelerated the process, the idea of implementing an immersive teaching environment has been gaining ground for several years now in the Executive Education department at HEC Lausanne. This is mainly due to the growing demand for continuing education and as a sustainable project it is part of HEC’s internationalization strategy. Under the pressure of the pandemic situation, the project was finally implemented on the UNIL campus in less than 3 months.

To be able to realize this project in such a short time, two factors were very crucial: The fact that the best-selling TVF series video wall displays in Europe are manufactured in the production facility in Presov, Slovakia, ensured a short lead-time. The other decisive factor was the cooperation with Projection Nouvelle who is a very reliable and technologically capable project manager and integrator.

Specially designed to reproduce the dynamics and interactivity of a face-to-face mode, this room, among the first in the world in the teaching sector, offers teachers an impression of immersion in the image of a classroom or an auditorium.

A hybrid solution for entities with international reach

In addition to the 49 online participants, there are about 20 physical places (when sanitary measures permit), which offer the possibility of hybrid teaching. "Imagine an international organization, a association or a multinational company with head offices in French-speaking Switzerland that wants to train its executives based all over the world. Thanks to this new infrastructure, it is now possible to train locally based participants face-to-face, while simultaneously bringing together executives from around the world in virtual mode. The gains in terms of sustainability and travel costs are considerable. This solution is being applied at HEC Lausanne," explains Thomas Rouaud, project owner and head of marketing for the continuing education department.