Zurich Digitalisation Initiative : IMMERSE Theatre opens at PH Zurich
The IMMERSE Theatre at PH Zurich was officially opened in mid-March during the SGAB conference “Digitale Transformation konkret – Lerntechnologien in Berufs- und Erwachsenenbildung” (“Digital Transformation in Practice – Learning Technologies in Vocational and Adult Education”). The event featured gigapixel images in Deep Zoom, 2D and 360-degree videos, as well as immersive experiences using 3D glasses. The audience of around 260 people was impressed by the gigapixel images and participants soon began discussing initial applications in vocational education.
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IMMERSE Theatre is a prototype for immersive teaching and learning environments at educational institutions and was developed by PH Zurich together with the University of Zurich and Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). The facility offers a high-resolution, three-dimensional projection surface and a tracking system with laser technology. Gigapixel images with Deep Zoom, 2D and 360-degree videos, stereoscopic 3D videos, interactive 3D models and point clouds will be presented.
The collaboration between partner institutions will facilitate the joint development of applications and experiments in the fields of education, science and art. Martin Berger, project manager at PH Zurich, says: “We make the innovative technology available and help our partners to familiarise themselves with it and use it in an educationally meaningful way. Everyone is invited to try out their use cases at the IMMERSE Theatre.”
The IMMERSE project
The IMMERSE project – a collaboration between PH Zurich, the University of Zurich and ZHAW funded by the Zurich Digitalisation Initiative (DIZH) – develops and tests immersive teaching and learning technologies for initial and continuing education at universities and vocational schools. Together with partners from the education and technology sectors, use cases and formats are being developed to facilitate the integration of extended reality and AI-based methods into higher and vocational education. Philipp Fürnstahl, IMMERSE Project Initiator from the University of Zurich, says: “We are delighted to be working with PH Zurich to create this immersive learning environment and open up new opportunities for interactive learning.”
The IMMERSE Theatre at PH Zurich is a unique installation of its kind within the Swiss higher education sector. It is available to all interested parties. It was installed in cooperation with Deep Space/Ars Electronica (Linz). With the IMMERSE Lab, which opened in autumn 2025, PH Zurich offers another space in which PH Zurich, the University of Zurich and ZHAW can work with partners to test immersive technologies and develop future applications.
