
Dates, Times, Location
- Dates: MAR 24 | APR 28 | MAY 26 | JUN 23 | JUL 28 | AUG 25 | SEP 22 | OCT 27
- Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT
- Location: VIRTUAL (ZOOM WEBINAR)
Register
Participants who attend a minimum of 50% of sessions will receive a certificate of attendance from CIFAL York
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this monthly seminar series is to provide a platform for academia, education and industry in the field of Virtual Reality (VR) and Extended reality (XR) to share their knowledge and experience in using Virtual Reality based training and education. The seminar will focus on the latest trends and developments in VR technology and its applications in training and education in various fields such as healthcare, education, and more.
CIFAL York also aims to mobilize York University capacities in VR/XR and develop some VR/XR based training and education. In particular CIFAL York is partnering with DEXR Lab to achieve this and create new and innovative training with the use of VR technologies based on leading interdisciplinary research from all relevant fields.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The key goals and objectives of this speaker series are:
- To provide a platform for sharing knowledge and experiences related to VR/XR-based training and education in different domains.
- To create a community of practitioners, researchers, and educators who are interested in VR/XR-based training and education.
- To provide attendees with practical information and tools that they can use in their own work related to VR/XR-based training and education.
- To assess the use of VR/XR technology.
- To foster collaboration and networking among attendees, speakers and stakeholders.
- To stay up-to-date with the latest research, developments and trends in VR/XR-based training and education in public safety, public health, and disaster and emergency management.
- To provide attendees with an opportunity to test and provide feedback on VR/XR applications developed by different developers.
TARGET AUDIENCES
- Professionals, researchers, and students in the field of VR/XR training and education.
- Professionals, researchers, and students in the field of education, training, and educational material design with an interest in VR capabilities.
- Science and engineering professionals, researchers, and students.
SESSION 1 FRIDAY MARCH 24 12:00PM-1:00PM (EDT)

Moderator: Dr. Ali Asgary
Professor, Disaster & Emergency Management, School of Administrative Studies, York University
Director, CIFAL York, York University

Speaker: Benjamin Alsbury-Nealy
CEO and Co-Founder of SilicoLabs
Topic
Understanding Human Behaviour Using Extended Reality (XR) for Emergency Management

Speaker: Kyla Alsbury-Nealy
Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder SilicoLabs
Topic
Understanding Human Behaviour Using Extended Reality (XR) for Emergency Management

Speaker: Chirag Chopra
Chief Business Development Officer at SilicoLabs and Chief Innovation Officer at Airlift Emergency Response Operations (AERO)
Topic
Understanding Human Behaviour Using Extended Reality (XR) for Emergency Management
SESSION 2 FRIDAY APRIL 28 12:00PM-1:00PM (EDT)

Moderator: Dr. Ahmad Mohammadi
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University

Speaker: Dr. Eva Hava Peisachovich
Associate Professor, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing, York University
Topic
VR as a Medium to Education Deliverables

Speaker: Dr. Bill Kapralos
Associate Professor & Research Excellence Chair, Software Informatics Research Centre (SIRC), Ontario Tech University
Topic
VR as a Medium to Education Deliverables

Speaker: Gabrielle Hollaender
Graduate Student, Computer Science, Ontario Tech University
Topic
VR as a Medium to Education Deliverables

Speaker: Claire Culver
Graduate Student, Computer Science, Ontario Tech University
Topic
VR as a Medium to Education Deliverables
SESSION 3 FRIDAY MAY 26 12:00PM-1:00PM (EDT)

Moderator: Dr. Ahmad Mohammadi
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University

Speaker: Chris Adams
Director of Business Development, UP360
Topic
Lessons Learned Designing, Implementing, and Supporting VR Learning in Colleges

Speaker: Harrison Olajos
CEO & Co-Founder, UP360
Topic
Lessons Learned Designing, Implementing, and Supporting VR Learning in Colleges
SESSION 4 FRIDAY JUNE 23 12:00PM-1:00PM (EDT)

Moderator: Dr. Ahmad Mohammadi
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University

Speaker: Evan Sitler
CEO & Co-Founder, XpertVR
Topic
XpertVR & The Future of Education
SESSION 5 FRIDAY JULY 28 12:00PM-1:00PM (EDT)

Moderator: Dr. Ahmad Mohammadi
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University

Speaker: Maaz Mohamed
Global Head of Sales, Meynikara XR Technologies
Topic
Virtual Reality (VR) Education Benefits for Students from Economically Disadvantaged Backgrounds
SESSION 6 FRIDAY AUGUST 25 12:00PM-1:00PM (EDT)

Moderator: Dr. Ahmad Mohammadi
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University

Speaker: Dr. Derek Jackson
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, York University
Topic
Making Virtual Reality a Reality in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Classrooms

Speaker: Dr. Kyle Belozerov
Sessional Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, York University
Topic
Making Virtual Reality a Reality in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Classrooms
SESSION 7 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 22 12:00PM-1:00PM (EDT)

Moderator: Dr. Ahmad Mohammadi
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University

Speaker: Muhammad Sajjad Ansar
Ph.D. candidate, Transportation Engineering, Laboratory of Innovations in Transportation (LiTrans), Centre for Urban Innovation, Toronto Metropolitan University
Topic
Driving in the Futuristic Traffic Environments: Exploring Digital Twins and Virtual Reality for Analyzing Road Users' Behaviour
SESSION 8 FRIDAY OCTOBER 27 12:00PM-1:00PM (EDT)

Moderator: Dr. Ahmad Mohammadi
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University

Speaker: Dr. Mojgan Jadidi
Associate Professor, Civil engineering Department, York University
Topic
Augmented & Virtual Reality Sandboxes as Digital Twins of Learning Spaces
SESSION 9 FRIDAY November 24 12:00PM-1:00PM (EDT)

Moderator: Dr. Ahmad Mohammadi
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University

Speaker: Dr. Ali Ahmadi
Associate Professor KNT University and Research Associate, ADERSIM, York University
Topic: A Virtual Reality Application for Diagnose and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Organizer & Partners

Organizer
CIFAL York is part of UNITAR's global network of training centres for knowledge-sharing, training, and capacity-building for public and private leaders, local authorities, and civil society. CIFAL Centres are local and regional hubs for innovative, participatory and co-creative knowledge exchange opportunities to support decision-making processes, build capacity, and accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals. Established in 2020, CIFAL York started its operation in June 2021 as the first CIFAL Centre in Canada. Health and Development training and knowledge sharing is among the key focusing areas of CIFAL York.
For more information or questions please contact: cifaldirector@yorku.ca

Partner
DEXR Lab - York University
The DEXR Lab is focused on researching and developing extended reality (XR) applications for public safety (PS), public health (PH), and disaster and emergency management (DEM).
Our interdisciplinary team of researchers from disaster management, management, health, science, and engineering will work together to create innovative and high-impact XR solutions for PS, PH, and DEM.
In addition to conducting research, the DEXR Lab will also be training highly qualified personnel (HPQs) in the field of XR for PS, PH, and DEM.
The DEXR Lab will be equipped with the latest XR hardware and software, allowing us to develop XR applications for various areas including structural firefighting, wildfire management, hospital emergency and intensive care units, first responders' collision simulation, virus transmission and spread, train derailment, and volcano eruption among others. The DEXR Lab will be based and supported by York University's Advanced Disaster, Emergency, and Rapid Response Simulation (ADERSIM), which has research and training connections and collaborations with a number of public safety, public health, and emergency management organizations. By contributing to the field of XR research and development, the DEXR Lab aims to enhance Canada's share in the XR market and put Canada at the forefront of XR applications in PS, PH, and DEM.
York University Map
