Media

OTTAWA, September 2, 2010  —  The University of Ottawa’s Centre for Mediated Teaching and Learning (CMTL) is pleased to announce the inauguration of its new immersive telepresence room, a state-of-the art addition to the CMTL’s video conferencing facilities. The University of Ottawa is the second Canadian university to acquire this technology.

This new technology includes a 16-foot seamless cinematic video wall in a room with an all-inclusive modular design and provides participants with a superior meeting experience. During a video conference, participants will have the impression that they are all in the same room. The immersive telepresence system delivers outstanding audio, visual and media quality, picking up every nuance of a conversation and enabling participants to see facial expressions, make eye contact and read body language, allowing for richer communication and collaboration.

Already a leader in the use of video conferencing for education purposes, uOttawa will now become a pioneer in the use of immersive telepresence technology for teaching and learning—an innovation that will contribute to an outstanding student experience.

“This new virtual learning environment should allow the University of Ottawa to embrace environmental sustainability goals through the reduction of travel, while extending the reach of university experts and attracting new students,” said Alain Erdmer, director of the University of Ottawa Centre for Mediated Teaching and Learning.

The room will be available to the entire University community. The flexible configuration of the space makes it ideal for many purposes, such as graduate and post-graduate courses, business meetings, thesis defences, meetings among researchers, CO-OP student interviews, allowing the facility to help meet the needs of the University’s various partners. With the room located right on campus, students will have the opportunity to become familiar with this technology, a precious skill that will give them a competitive edge in the workforce.

The new immersive telepresence room is an integral part of the University’s video conferencing infrastructure, which includes over 96 video conference rooms around the world.

For more information about the new immersive telepresence room at the University of Ottawa, watch the video introducing the facility.