Any university lecturer will tell you that getting students to come to their morning lectures is a real struggle.

But even the most hungover beginner is sure to be captivated by Albert Einstein’s physics lesson or Coco Chanel’s design masterclass.

This could soon be the case for students in the UK, with some universities inviting guest lecturers from around the world using the same holographic technology used to bring deceased singers back on stage. It’s starting to happen.

Loughborough University, which was the first in Europe to consider applying the technology, has used the technology to bring in sports scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to teach fashion students how to create immersive shows and teach management students how to create immersive shows. plans to test how to handle difficult business situations.

Professor Vicky Locke, dean of Loughborough Business School and who is leading the rollout of the technology, said students “absolutely love” the technology and want to take selfies with it. said. They would prefer “a guest speaker from the industry who walks into the classroom with a smile on their face rather than a two-dimensional person on the wall,” she added.

The Zoom calls made students “feel like they were watching TV… it felt distant,” she said. For them, holographic images are more appealing and realistic. ” The technology will be officially introduced into the curriculum in 2025 after a year of experimentation.

The box-based holographic unit is sold by L.A.-based company Proto. The company’s customers include companies such as his BT and IBM, and it is used in meetings to reduce the need for business travel. We are also collaborating with Stockholm fashion retailer H&M to create an interactive product display.

David Nussbaum, who founded Proto four years ago after working on holograms of deceased celebrities, says his company could soon bring some of the 20th century’s greatest thinkers back from the dead. Told.

He added: “Proto has technology that projects images of Stephen Hawking and other people to make it seem as if he’s really there. We use it in books, lectures, social media, etc. You can connect it to something you were attached to, a question you asked, an interaction you had with him, etc. AI Stephen Hawking looks just like him, sounds like him, and interacts as if it were him. To do.

“It’s awe-inspiring and mind-blowing. I’m shocked at how great the interactions are. Whether people like it or not, AI is part of our lives.”

He added that his company’s ambition is to prove that “you don’t have to be an eccentric billionaire or celebrity to have a hologram.”

Gary Barnett, Professor of Digital Creativity at Loughborough University, who is also leading the implementation, said:

“Students need to understand what it means to use them, to be in that world, to experience them, to interact with them, and all that they will need for their future careers.”

Professor Rachel Thomson, the university’s vice-chancellor and advocate, said the technology could reduce the need to bring in guest speakers at short notice, encourage international research collaboration and reduce the amount of teaching materials used by students. He said it will help achieve sustainability strategies. Building prototypes in engineering, design and creative arts.

It also allows instructors to display complex equipment, such as engines, more easily than over a video call.

Nussbaum said corporations and large institutions such as universities are the first step in his company’s plans, but he hopes to roll out mini-units costing less than $1,000 within the next 18 months, which It will show a miniature image that he likens to the movie “Wonka Vision.” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl.

He added that the technology’s AI capabilities meant it was possible to create an avatar that looked like anyone in the world, but noted that this could come with legal complications.