IIT Roorkee Launches Metaverse Zone with Support from 1981 Alumni Batch

IIT Roorkee has inaugurated a state-of-the-art Metaverse Zone facility, made possible through the generous support of its 1981 alumni batch.

IIT Roorkee Launches Metaverse Zone

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has inaugurated a cutting-edge Metaverse Zone at Rethink! The Tinkering Lab. This pioneering initiative, made possible through the generous support of the Alumni Batch of 1981, reflects their continued commitment to fostering technological innovation and future-ready education. The project was led and coordinated by Prof. Karun Rawat, Coordinator of Rethink! The Tinkering Lab.

IIT Roorkee Metaverse Zone

The Metaverse Zone is a state-of-the-art facility equipped with advanced extended reality (XR) technologies, including full-body haptic suits, gesture-recognition gloves, 360° cameras, VR headsets, 3D LiDAR scanners, and high-performance computing systems. Leveraging industry-standard platforms such as Unity, Unreal Engine, Maya, Blender, and the Adobe Suite, the zone empowers students and researchers to design, interact with, and experiment in hyper-realistic virtual environments.

The Metaverse Zone will act as a versatile platform for a wide range of applications, such as immersive simulations for infrastructure development, disaster response, and smart city planning. It will support virtual product design and rapid prototyping, helping turn ideas into reality. The facility also enables high-quality remote collaboration across fields, removing geographical barriers in research and education. In addition, it provides realistic training environments for safety-critical areas, improving preparedness and decision-making.

The inauguration ceremony was graced by dignitaries, including Prof. Akshay Dvivedi (Dean, SRIC) and Prof. R.D. Garg (Dean, DORA), who emphasised the Metaverse Zone’s role in promoting interdisciplinary research and industry-academia collaboration. Distinguished members of the 1981 Alumni Batch, Alok K Agarwal, Sanjay Randhar, Sharad Bajpayee, Pankaj Rastogi, Rakesh Verma, and Narendra Singh were present, reaffirming their vital support. The event was coordinated by Prof. Karun Rawat and supported by Sonika Srivastava, Media Cell Incharge.

Prof. Kamal Kishore Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee, stated, "The Metaverse Zone at IIT Roorkee represents a bold step into the future of education. It creates a powerful ecosystem for immersive learning and research, allowing our students and faculty to solve complex challenges using cutting-edge digital tools."

Alok K Agarwal, representative from the 1981 Alumni Batch, added, "We are proud to support a facility that blends creativity, technology, and purpose. This zone will inspire the next generation to think beyond boundaries and lead global innovation from Indian soil."

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