The crew from UWC's Innovation Hub. Image: Supplied

Supported by the Department of Higher Education and Training and merSETA, UWC's Immersive Zone is using virtual and augmented reality to preserve heritage, train skilled workers, and even make dentistry less painful.

Imagine learning to clean a patient's teeth by feeling the resistance through your instruments, before you ever touch a real mouth. At UWC's Immersive Zone (UIZ), a Dentistry PhD student is doing exactly that, combining virtual reality with haptic devices that give realistic feedback. The aim is better-trained clinicians and less pain for patients.

It is one of many projects under way at what UWC describes as the biggest immersive zone in sub-Saharan Africa. Launched by the Rector in June 2023 at the UWC Innovation Hub in Bellville, it lets visitors try augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) through live demonstrations, then step into the studio where developers, researchers, animators and immersive artists build them. More than 1,850 tours and events for industry, government, schools and international visitors have been held there in just over two years.

Funding made it possible. Investment from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and merSETA funded the equipment and software for a fully functional studio and exhibition space. It helped establish UWC's teaching in immersive technologies. Since its AR/VR lab opened in 2019. UWC has produced 80 graduates through its postgraduate diploma, three master's graduates, and a registered PhD candidate, and has launched a BSc Honours programme in 2025 with electives in Immersive Technologies.

A visitor explores the possibilities of immersive learning using virtual and augmented reality technology at UWC’s Immersive Zone, supported by the Department of Higher Education and Training and merSETA. Image: Supplied

That skills pipeline now serves real clients. With the Robben Island Museum, the UIZ created Unboxing Mayibuye in AR, as part of their digital archive. With Iziko Museums, supported by the French Government, the UIZ, led by a PhD student, is designing 'Lucid Dreams' as part of the permanent Amanzi exhibition opening in December 2026 in the Company Gardens. For UWC's own nursing students, it created an interactive 3D emergency trolley accessible via a QR code. And to educate young children in environmental education, a UWC Master’s student is illustrating her thesis, through an AR experience, on the perilous journey of tiny Loggerhead Turtles from the KZN coast to Cape Town.

The UIZ's vision is "to be widely recognised as a leading educational facility for augmented and virtual reality in Africa, where UWC innovators partner with the public and private sector to develop applications and solutions that address contemporary challenges, transform lives and serve the greater public good,'' according to the strategic lead of the unit, Dr Laurine Platzky.

The next chapter is already taking shape. As one of UWC's revenue-generating units, the UIZ is bidding for funding to update its facility and expand. Planned projects include VR-based rehabilitation for physiotherapy, collaboration with neighbouring universities, and immersive training in the safe assembly of batteries for new electric vehicles, in partnership with UWC's South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry, home of the ESIL battery lab.