VR Collab With Barclays: Through One Student's Eyes

With the help of Senior Lecturer Dr Juan Hiriart Vera, a prototype which allows businesses to experience what working in the lab looks and feels like, was developed by Salford students Matthew Harrison, Thomas Whittle and Glenn Watts.

Glenn said: “My work with Barclays involved me recreating a highly detailed Virtual 3D Eagle Lab space that has the main goal of educating people about what a working Eagle Lab looks like.

“I also worked on highlighting what is possible with Virtual Reality technology with the latest Oculus Quest 2 VR Headset.”

Glenn also commented on how engaging and supportive Barclays were throughout the process.

“Working with Barclays was an opportunity I could not pass up, my skill pathway into VR immersive technology aligned perfectly with the proposal brief from them. Right from the beginning, they were supportive and engaged with the prototype development.”

Mike Brown, Director of Strategic Industry Partnerships, commented: “During initial discussion with the team at Barclays it quickly became apparent there was a shared vision, and the student VR project was both challenging and innovative and would give our students a real-world project they could really get their teeth into.

“The support and feedback from Barclays, throughout the project, has been exceptional and much appreciated by the students and their Lecturer. Building on the success of this project, I’m keen to explore other opportunities with Barclays.”

Glenn thought that working with Barclays while he was a student was a unique opportunity to grow as a person.

“The project helped with my degree by giving me that time to grow into learning and implementing VR into a live client brief. And because of who the client was, It gave me great motivation as I felt I needed to impress and give my absolute best throughout the project. This project also helped me further define who I am as a digital designer."

He added: “I was so excited to get this opportunity through Salford, it was a huge part of my development as a student and a digital designer.”