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From 10^th until 12^th September 2025, The University of Pisa (Department of Information Engineering and EndoCAS Center) through Prof. Vincenzo Ferrari and Dott. Marina Carbone hosted the PhD fellows’ kick-off of INSIDE: INSIGHT project, MSCA funded EU Doctoral Network (Grant Agreement 101168715) dedicated to integrating XR technologies into medical and healthcare education. The event was full of inspiration, vibrant energy and exciting collaborations across Europe, Canada, and South Africa to explore the future of immersive learning in healthcare.

The consortium includes experts from biomedical, medical, computer, and educational sciences fields. During the event, they shared their knowledge on eXtended Reality (XR) development, ethics, and implementation of XR in medical and healthcare education. The six recently recruited PhD students had the opportunity to get to know each other, present their research projects, and aspirations. The students that were not yet formally recruited could follow the entire event online. The PhD students received a full day of training in XR development and integration for educational purposes, exploring the benefits and challenges of immersive learning. They strengthened their understanding of interactive simulation-based training terminology and fidelity, enhancing realism and consistency in virtual simulations, while building foundational skills in XR technologies along with training on responsible research, data management, career planning and transferable skills.

The coordinator, Prof. Evie Vereecke (KU Leuven), was very enthusiastic about the Kick-off. “This was the first time I was able to meet all consortium partners in person and there was such a good vibe!”. “There was plenty of interaction between professors, researchers and PhD students and I think are off to a successful start with a lot of synergies between partners.”

The INSIDE:INSIGHT network will continue to support doctoral students through hands-on training, workshops, and collaborative research, aiming to integrate XR technologies into healthcare education across Europe and beyond.

Follow us on social media to stay tuned for the upcoming network-wide training event – in Enschede, The Netherlands!