Hologram Professors to Deliver MBA Lectures At Imperial And 5 Other B-Schools

The latest in the changing face of MBA classroom is hologram professors not only delivering lectures but also interacting with students located in various cities across the world at the same time.

The Imperial College of Business School has teamed up with five other members of the Future of Management Education Alliance, to deliver hologram lectures in an effort to bring a more interactive and classroom-like atmosphere while cutting the travel and accommodation costs of the faculty. Apart from the novelty aspect, hologram lectures also help the traditional programs compete with online courses offered at cut-rate tuition fees.

Imperial College Business School students have become the first in the world to have live lectures delivered to them via hologram, the school said in a press statement.

The technology, developed by Toronto based hologram company AHRT Media and adapted by the school’s Edtech Lab, will enable faculty and guest speakers to present to students in real time, via a hologram link, from studios located in a variety of global locations including the US, Canada and Singapore.

The hologram will enable lecturers and visiting speakers to appear as 3D, life-size entities within one of Imperial’s lecture theatres. Rather than simply projecting a pre-recorded message, the technology enables those appearing via hologram to engage with their audiences in real-time, responding to audience reactions and taking questions via a camera link in the same manner as if they were physically present in the lecture theatre.

The technology will also make it possible for Imperial College Business School to host lectures in multiple classes and locations simultaneously, as well as discussion panels and round-table events with a mixture of both in-person and virtual speakers present.

“Introducing hologram technology to the classroom will break down the limitations of traditional teaching by creating an interactive experience that benefits both students and academics.” Edtech Lab Director Dr David Lefevre said.

Technology venture Insendi is involved in digitising existing degree programs offered by the other alliance members, ESMT Berlin, BI Norwegian Business School, Singapore Management University’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business, France’s Edhec Business School, and Ivey Business School in the US.

Edhec dean Emmanuel Métais says the initiative also aims at changing the perception of digital education as a sub-standard alternative to classroom-based programs.

The system is also claimed to be cheaper than others in the market as the holograms could be created using a standard broadband internet connection along with conventional cameras and projection equipment.

The technology will also make it possible for Imperial College Business School to host lectures in multiple classes and locations simultaneously, as well as discussion panels and round-table events with a mixture of both in-person and virtual speakers present.

Other recent innovations at Edtech Lab include a new robo-tutor, an AI chatbot to support distance-learners on Imperial’s MBA programmes and an online Masters in Business Analytics.

“Investing in new technology is a vital part of our strategy to create more flexible and inspiring learning experiences for our students. Being part of Imperial College London, we are keen to grow our digital visibility as a business school and the new hologram represents the pioneering work our Edtech Lab is undertaking in this area,” Dean Prof Francisco Veloso said.

The hologram technology was debuted on November 1 at a special event for Imperial students, “Women in Tech: The Inside Story”.  A number of guest speakers participated via hologram from Los Angeles, New York and London. They included Marily Nika – Google Woman of the Year 2018 and Imperial alumna, Tracey Welson-Rossman – Founder of TechGirlz and Co-chair and founder of the Women in Tech Summit and Diane Morgan – Global MD of Trilogy and member of the Board of Directors at the Forte Foundation.

The hologram will be used to teach students at Imperial College Business School during the current 2018/19 academic year.