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Timisoara's Digital Spotlight Heritage Timisoara, winner at the European Cultural Tourism Network Awards in Dublin

The cultural project Digital Spotlight Heritage Timisoara, coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Timisoara, through the Department of ID/IFR and Digital Education and the Multimedia Center won the award European Cultural Tourism Network in section Advances in digitalization and digital transition in smart and sustainable cultural tourism. The international jury particularly praised how the project embraced and promoted the latest innovations in digital technologies. From the web and mobile apps to AR, VR, MR and NFTs, the project provided multiple platforms for 2.5 million people in over 10 countries to explore.

Part of Cultural Program Timisoara 2023 European Capital of Culture, Heritage in the Spotlight Timisoara aimed to increase the interest of the young generation and the general public for the historic neighborhoods of Timisoara, using the concept of digital storytelling. Combining personal memories from the past and present with historical and architectural data, through the digital overlay of intangible heritage, Digital Spotlight Heritage Timisoara offered a demonstration of cultural mediation, using all kinds of emerging digital technologies to provide multiple platforms for exploration.

Digital itineraries for 110 historical landmarks in Timisoara

Under the coordination of the Department of ID/IFR and Digital Education together with the Multimedia Center - Polytechnic University of Timisoara, over the last 5 years were created digital and physical itineraries of 110 historical and cultural landmarks from 5 neighborhoods in Timișoara, which reveal their stories through multiple layers: a web page (spotlight-timisoara.eu) mobile applications Spotlight Heritage Tim Timisoara, which can be downloaded from Android and Apple stores, online since 2019, with a new neighborhood being added each year. An virtual reality (history and heritage) has been created since 2021, with a new neighborhood added each year and a mixed reality appholographic 3D heritage artifacts has been available since 2022, with a new neighborhood added every year. At the same time, the SH Culture App augmented reality for heritage and panoramic views of Timișoara have been available since 2023, along with 3 NFTs cultural events, happenings and performances of dance and street theater with digital technologies, The International Digital Culture & Spotlight Heritage Festival, events and digital installations The XR Show in Timisoara and European cities, hybrid openings, cultural mediation and guided and virtual tours, International Spotlight Heritage Heritage Student Contest, international conference Digital Culture & Heritage Talks and a final catalog.

Digital artifacts developed by UPT students in international teams

The VR and MR applications were developed in two innovative contexts: as an interactive virtual mobility between three European partner universities in Italy, Norway and Denmark, whose students worked together with UPT students in international teams, integrated in International Spotlight Heritage Heritage Student Contest 2021, 2022 and 2023and as VR and MR materials dedicated to sustainable and virtual cultural tourism.

Among the partner universities that have collaborated with Timisoara Polytechnic University for the development of digital applications are Universita Modena e Reggio Emilia, Roma Tre University (Italy), Agder University (Norway), and Aalborg Universitet (Denmark).

The main developers of the digital applications participating in the International Spotlight Heritage Student Contest were Marius Tătaru and Emilian Porumb, together with Ilie-Silviu Berzescu and Radu Stamatoiu (Politehnica University Timișoara), who worked in mixed international teams, including Christian Bodskov, Oliver Engermann, Peter Guld Leth, Oskar Bill Zhou (Aalborg Universitet, Denmark), Eliana Maria Torre, Giulia Innocentini, Doresita Marino, Luca Contardi and Giulia Vigo (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy), Ilaria Filonzi - Università di Genova (Italy), Mara Valente - Università Roma Tre (Italy), Inge Johan Johannson and Minh Tuan Hua - University of Agder (Norway). The photo and video images were realized by Rafael Leucuța - Politehnica University Timișoara, the applications graphics by Sorina Gavriliuc-Voina, while the innovative realization of the 3 cultural NFTs belongs to the UPT PhD student Victor Holotescu.

Spotlight Heritage Timisoara VR App home page
Spotlight Heritage Timisoara VR App harta cartiere
Spotlight Heritage Timisoara VR App Biserica romano-catolică din Elisabetin Timișoara
Spotlight Heritage Timisoara MR App
Spotlight Heritage Timisoara MR App Opera Nationala Timisoara
Spotlight Heritage Timisoara MR App statuie
Spotlight Heritage Timisoara MR App Quest
Spotlight Heritage Timisoara MR App Quest

Digital components of Spotlight Heritage Timisoara are available online at https://spotlight-timisoara.eu/ and via mobile apps that can be downloaded from Android and Apple stores or by searching "Spotlight Heritage Timisoara".

Fierce competition at ECTN 2024

The 2024 edition of the Sustainable Cultural Tourism Destination Awards was organized by the ECTN in partnership with Europa Nostra, the European Travel Commission and NECSTouR, in the framework of the European Capital of Intelligent Tourism Dublin 2024The award was presented to the project coordinator from UPT, dr. Diana Andonein Dublin as part of the International Conference for Cultural Tourism in Europe "European Collaboration for Smart and Sustainable Cultural Tourism Destinations", and was awarded for the Advances in digitalization and digital transition in smart and sustainable cultural tourism

"We are very happy and honored that a flagship project of Timișoara has been awarded with a prestigious distinction at European level, especially because this project, future-oriented and given to the community, was actually thought, designed and implemented by our students, teachers and graduates from UPT"said conf. dr. eng. Florin Dragan, Rector of UPT

"This year's competition was very fierce, and we feel honored to have won as the competing international projects had a major impact in the community, were extremely well organized and had generous budgets, some of which were orders of magnitude larger than ours. What set our project apart from the traditional ones was the cultural mediation through digital innovation and the diversity of technologies used, with which we were able to create immersive experiences that allow users to explore the history and culture of the city in new and engaging ways across multiple platforms", explained dr. eng. Diana Andone, director of the Department of ID/IFR and Digital Education UPT and project coordinator.

Among the elements that impressed the ECTN jury were the international impact of the project, which reached over 2.5 million people over the 6 years, of which over 50 thousand people visited the exhibitions and participated in guided tours, more than 57 thousand took part in cultural events organized by UPT (conferences, workshops, webinars, performances and public events) and over 400 thousand people attended national and international events of the project. At the same time, through digital technologies, Spotlight Heritage Timisoara had an impact of almost 2 million users, both on the website, mobile apps and through AR and VR equipment, digital experiences that have been used by locals, tourists, virtual tourists, on the streets, in museums and at international festivals in 10 countries.

European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) is the only pan-European network for the development and promotion of cultural tourism. The joint jury for the pemii is made up of representatives from ECTN, Europa Nostra, the European Travel Commission and Dublin City Council - European Capital of Intelligent Tourism 2024, with the participation of ENAT - European Network for Accessible Tourism for the category "Accessibility to Heritage".

The project and related events are available via:

Spotlight Heritage Timisoara is a digital cultural initiative of the Politehnica University of Timisoara through the Department of Digital Education and Multimedia Center, carried out in partnership with the National Museum of Banat, part of the Cultural Program Timisoara European Capital of Culture 2023. Cultural project co-financed by the Project Center of the Municipality of Timisoara, Timis County Council, Ministry of Culture, Romania, EEA and Norway Grants. More than 50 partners, such as universities and high schools, museums, galleries, libraries, foundations and cultural centres, Romanian Embassies and Romanian Cultural Institute, student theater and DanceSport organizations from 11 countries - Romania, Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Serbia, UK, USA, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Serbia, UK, USA, contributed to the success of the Spotlight Heritage Timisoara project.