Reimagining Online Academic Conferences: The Promise of Social Virtual Reality for the Return of Co-Presence
Reimagining Online Academic Conferences: The Promise of Social Virtual Reality for the Return of Co-Presence

Summary/Abstract: New technologies and societal shifts are profoundly influencing communicationand conducting meetings. Over the past few years, the number of online conferenceshas increased. The body of literature indicates that online events allow forcost and social inequalities reduction. Despite this, they also present challenges innon-verbal communication, and diminish the sense of co-presence, thus affectingnetworking. Current academic discussions on the advantages and limitations oforganizing remote academic conferences are typically confined to those conductedvia video-conferencing systems. The aim of this research is to explore the potentialof virtual reality (VR) technology and social VR platforms as alternative methodsfor organizing online academic conferences. The authors present the course ofone of the first academic conference conducted entirely in social VR (Wirtualium2.0), along with the survey outcomes regarding the potential of this environmentfor hosting academic conferences. Our findings indicate that, compared to videoconferencingsystems, social VR platforms offer for most participants a highersense of co-presence, facilitating networking and engagement in informal conversations.In this context, the identified limitations of social VR platforms encompasslimited device accessibility, technical challenges, and impediments to efficientnote-taking. Nonetheless, the majority of users consider social VR as suitable forhosting academic conferences. This suggests that even though academic eventsvia social VR platforms encounter technical challenges and will not be the sameas in-person conferences, they should exploit the potential of VR technology toachieve what is unattainable in a physical setting.

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