You know things are getting serious around a nascent technology when the major players with major names decide to band together under the banner of an association. That happened a couple weeks back by way of the new Global Virtual Reality Association, which is a non-profit organization made up of international headset manufacturers to promote the growth of the global VR industry. They include Acer Starbreeze, Google, HTC Vive, Facebook’s Oculus, Samsung, and Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Another sign of the changing virtual reality times is a new training center announced this week by EON Reality and Lehman College, which is part of the City University of New York (CUNY). They reportedly have established an Interactive Digital Center (IDC) as part of Lehman College’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. The center’s aim is to train new virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) professionals and to support the development of VR and AR applications that will assist in teaching Lehman’s students. The new program will be housed in the college’s satellite campus, CUNY on the Concourse, and is slated to open in the second quarter of 2017.

“Lehman College is a perfect partner for EON Reality. New York City is a place where our unique combination of training and education can make a difference in people’s lives, especially when combined with Lehman College’s expertise,” Dan Lejerskar, chairman of EON Reality, says. “Virtual reality and augmented reality let people learn by doing. This speeds up the entire learning process, improves retention, and helps learners make the right decisions in stressful situations.”

The first phase of the IDC is a VR and AR training facility and development lab. Students will reportedly engage in a yearlong program that involves three months of classroom training followed by seven months of project-based learning that includes work done for real customers. Additionally, the facility will include an Icube Mobile from EON Reality and a four-wall immersive VR room.

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