Students from the University of Winchester were asked by the city’s Cathedral to design an app to improve the visitor experience at the famous landmark.
Visitors now seek more engaging, interactive experiences, a shift that requires the integration of modern technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) without compromising the Cathedral's historical integrity.
Sixty-two second-year students from several Digital Technologies programmes took up the challenge.
Divided into 13 teams, the students acted as innovation consultants and at the end of the project presented their tenders to the Cathedral marketing manager Lauren Bolter-Booth.
The students’ presentations had to include a project plan including the key features of the new app, what software would be required and a timescale for the project. Their tenders also had to take into account security and data protection requirements and a disaster recovery plan.
Lauren said: “Many students had gone above and beyond, having visited Winchester Cathedral to take photos, gather details, draw maps, record videos - all in the spirit of creating the best app.
“The winning team, Group 5, had created an extremely impressive app, including features such as 'virtual choir', navigated tours, AR camera feature and more, communicating this with the upmost professionalism in their well-rehearsed presentation.”
Group 5 - made up of Tyler Moore, Ronny Chen, Joshua Glover and Alexander Hilliker - were presented with their winners’ certificates by Lauren when she re-visited the University’s West Downs Centre recently.
The task formed part of a module called BS2201 Integrated Projects and is just one example of the University’s commitment to providing real-world experience to students.
Dr Sabine Bohnacker-Bruce, the Faculty of Business and Digital Technologies’ lead for collaborative projects with Winchester Cathedral, commented: “We work with our external partners to give students opportunities to tackle real-life issues and projects and to develop their professional skills. At the same time, our partners profit from students’ fresh perspectives and ideas. These collaborations are mutually beneficial, and we are always keen to work with local and regional partners.”
Pictured: The winning team members (from left) Tyler Moore. Alexander Hilliker, Joshua Glover and Ronny Chenn flanked by Cathedral Marketing Manager Lauren Bolter-Booth (left) and Dr Sabine Bohnacker-Bruce.
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