**PRESS RELEASE**
Würzburg, 23 September 2023
Hawkins Consulting and the XR HUB at the University of Würzburg are setting new standards in the digital learning and training landscape.
Hawkins Consulting, a well-known company in the industry and a specialist in adult education for many years, and XR HUB Würzburg have combined their competences to realise a groundbreaking project. The aim was to develop an innovative virtual agents in 3D and 2D space, which can be used as an exercise and training partner in negotiation seminars by Hawkins Consulting.
This collaboration has produced a new type of application, which was initially developed iteratively by experts as a Wizard of Oz prototype. The virtual negotiation partner is currently controlled by a trainer via a backend menu. The training interaction takes place in real time and thus enables an almost realistic training environment. In the next stage of development, the training sessions will be AI-based in order to offer participants the greatest possible flexibility in terms of time.
The participants can carry out their exercises or role plays both with VR glasses in a three-dimensional virtual reality and via screen in a two-dimensional view. This new method of interaction and learning offers participants an unprecedented experience and flexibility. Trainers can also explore innovative training methods.
The new training method not only opens up new perspectives in the digital learning world, but also enables greater individualisation of the training and a wider range of simulated scenarios.
Hawkins Consulting and the XR HUB at the University of Würzburg are thus setting new standards in digital education and impressively demonstrating how the fusion of technology and education can shape the learning experience of tomorrow.
For more information on this exciting project, please visit the website of Hawkins Consulting and the INSTITUT MENSCH-COMPUTER-MEDIEN.
**About Hawkins Consulting**
Hawkins Consulting, founded and led by Sebastian James Hawkins, has been setting new standards in the professional training industry since 2008. As an experienced and qualified trainer and systemic consultant, Hawkins has used his extensive expertise and wide-ranging experience to successfully advise a variety of international companies across Europe.
The company's training focuses include negotiation skills, presentation techniques, conflict management and intercultural skills. These techniques are taught mainly in English to give participants confidence in the international arena.
In addition to the founder, the Hawkins Consulting team consists of two other trainers and a digital media manager. They all work closely together to provide their clients with innovative and effective learning and development experiences based on the latest technologies and learning methods.
**About the XR HUB Würzburg**
The XR-HUB Würzburg is funded by the Bavarian State Ministry for Digital Affairs and is located at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. It is headed by Prof. Dr. Marc Latoschik (Chair of Human-Computer Interaction) and Prof'in Dr. Carolin Wienrich (Chair of Psychology of Intelligent Interactive Systems). The XR Hub Würzburg uses the expertise available here to transfer scientific and technical know-how into application-oriented product developments. Above all they make basic scientific findings directly accessible to industry and thus to transport existing and emerging knowledge into companies. The focus is on the development of safe and human-centred XR applications as well as impact research on human cognition, emotions and behaviour. The XR HUB is one of the world's leading research centres in particular within the area of social XR applications
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