Virtual reality partnership leads to award for digital innovation

The Virtual Worlds Project was created by Dr Jacqui Houghton, Dr Dan Morgan, Dr Geoff Lloyd and Clare Gordon with colleagues from Leeds College of Art as a tool for developing geological fieldwork and mapping skills in the classroom. It uses a virtual landscape populated with rocky outcrops and employs game-based learning to build students’ understanding of geological features. View a demo of the project here.

The award was presented by actor Richard E Grant at a ceremony at Grosvenor House Hotel in London with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine winning University of the Year for its work on Ebola.

Times Higher Education editor John Gill said: “Universities face major challenges as a result of Brexit. But the THE Awards serve as a timely reminder of just how strong they are as a group: ‘world class’ is a cliché, but an apt one in this case.”