The Polytechnic University of Timisoara organized the third edition of the International Spotlight Heritage Student Contest (ISHSC) 2023 and Interactive Digital Media Student Contest (IDMSC) 2023, now in its 9th edition, on 17 November 2023, in the Multipurpose Hall of the UPT Central Library.

In the competition International Spotlight Heritage Student Contest (ISHSC) 2023, students from 3 renowned partner universities from Romania, Norway and Italy, worked together in international teams to develop projects that integrated mixed and virtual reality and created digital artefacts to enhance and celebrate Timișoara's rich cultural heritage as part of the Spotlight Heritage Timișoara project. The event is part of the Spotlight Heritage Timișoara digital cultural initiative, part of the Cultural Programme Timișoara 2023 European Capital of Culture and is co-funded by EEA and Norway Grants and the Municipality of Timișoara through the Project Centre.

Section winners International Spotlight Heritage Student Contest (eXtended Reality), part of Interactive Digital Media Student Contest, Marius Tătaru and Emilian Porumb - Polytechnic University of Timisoara (Romania), Inge Johan Johannson - University of Agder (Norway), Mara Valente - University Roma Tre (Italy), Ilaria Filonzi - University of Genoa (Italy), Giulia Vigo - University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy).

More details about the competition can be found at HERE.

They carried out the project Giroc & Timisoara 2023 in VRThe Spotlight Heritage Virtual Reality (VR) application is being further developed by including game and gamification elements, modifying the visual interface, adding new graphical elements, integrating the Jecza Museum, Triade Sculpture Park and Casa Tineretului as landmarks of the Giroc district with interactive elements and also adding an assistant to accompany users through the application. The team also created a game on the virtual reality stage of the Palace of Culture in Timisoara that validates the information, in an improvement of the user experience and participatory elements, internalizing the stories of the city. Second prize went to the mixed reality application

Second place went to the mixed reality application  Timisoara 2023 Quest in MR by Marius Tătaru, Emilian Porumb - Politehnica University of Timisoara (Romania) and Minh Tuan Hua - University of Agder (Norway), which included interface changes, new graphics and objects specific to contemporary art and the 1989 Revolution, integrated with the aim of stimulating users by personalizing the interaction with the artefacts and art objects.

"I am impressed by the work of the students in the international teams, especially the way they have managed to develop working online and in Timisoara. We also want to further develop a research component in the Human- Robot Teaming relationship, the humanization of robots and technologies, which also includes a culture and heritage component."said Filippo Sanfilippo, Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Agder (UiA), Norway.

Professor Antonella Poce from the University of Roma Tre, Italy said " It is an impressive project that allows co-creation with mixed student teams, highly innovative and unique in the context of museum experiences.”

”The elements of personalisation and gamification introduced this year, the way it changes the personal perspective of each user, I believe bring many benefits to virtual and mixed reality applications. Congratulations to students from three countries for their teamwork." said ISHSC 2023 Jury President, Dr Diana Andone, from the Polytechnic University of Timișoara.

The Multimedia Centre and the Department of ID/IFR and Digital Education of Politehnica University Timișoara congratulate all the participants of this year's Interactive Digital Media Student Contest, but especially the winners for their determination to carry out diverse projects and the innovative way they integrated convergent multimedia technologies.

The event is part of the Spotlight Heritage Timișoara digital cultural initiative, part of the Cultural Programme Timișoara 2023 European Capital of Culture and is co-financed by EEA and Norway Grants and the Municipality of Timișoara through the Project Centre.