Management

Arizona State University Welcomes New Zoom Innovation Lab

A new partnership offers students hands-on opportunities to build solutions and learn from Zoom developers.

Twitter

Andy Viano is a journalist and editor at EdTech: Focus on Higher Education.

Arizona State University and Zoom have announced a new five-year partnership that will create a student-led development program at the tier-one research university.

The Zoom Innovation Lab promises to give ASU students the opportunity to work with Zoom professionals and partners, gaining hands-on experience tackling major projects. Two of those projects are already underway, according to a university press release.

ASU’s Enterprise Technology and Learning Futures programs are spearheading the creation of a digital twin of the Tempe, Ariz., campus that the developers are calling the ASUniverse. The digital twin will be a 3D model of the physical campus where visitors using an avatar can attend courses, participate in extracurricular activities, take a campus tour or watch an athletic competition.

Click the banner below for exclusive content on emerging technologies in higher ed.

As part of the creation of the metaversity, students are working with Zoom developers to integrate the platform into the digital twin. According to the university release, more than 125 students were part of the project at its outset.

The second project adds a third collaborator to the mix: Phoenix Children’s. Students will work to improve the doctor-patient virtual experience using Zoom technology. Developers are collaborating on a new telehealth app that will allow doctors to virtually connect with patients who are inside the hospital.

To make that happen, student industrial designers and software developers will equip the TVs in patient rooms with cameras, allowing doctors to use the new Zoom-enabled app to conduct their rounds virtually.

Additional projects are also being planned through the Zoom Innovation Lab and the Zoom Collaboration Studio, also located on the Tempe campus. That studio space is open to all ASU students and includes a green screen and recording area, both equipped with Zoom technology.

The partnership is expected to “lead to the development of a talent pipeline” from ASU to Zoom, including opportunities for internships and employment, according to the university.

Pixelfit/Getty Images