ACADEMIA MEET-UP
CONNECTING RESEARCHERS, EDUCATORS AND ACADEMIC INNOVATORS

Thu November 12, 2026 05:00 pm CET

What happens when researchers, educators and academics from around the world come together to share not only what they know, but what they are looking for?

Hosted by Karlshochschule International University at the beachfront of their virtual home, Karl’s Virtual Retreat, community builder Rachel Darden invites you to an informal, interactive meet-up to introduce yourself and your work, exchange experiences, discover common interests and make new connections across disciplines and geographical boundaries.

What are you researching, teaching or experimenting with? What opportunities do you see for immersive technologies – and what challenges arise as narratives, funding and academic priorities around XR continue to shift? There are no presentations and no panel: you are part of the program.

Bring your questions, projects and curiosity, exchange contacts and ideas, and meet people who might become future collaborators. Because reclaiming the future of XR also means connecting the people who are exploring it.

Format

Networking

App

ENGAGE

Location

Karls Virtual Retreat

Duration

45 min

Access via

Moderator

Rachel Darden
XR Podcast Host & Speaker, Health & Wellbeing Coach

Rachel Darden has coached health and wellbeing for over a decade and led sessions in VR for several Fortune 500 companies. She moved her practice into virtual worlds in 2020, starting with EvolVR in AltSpaceVR, later Tripp and Educators in VR, and now leads wellness talks, mindful sessions and yoga across Engage and VRChat. She hosts XR News: Medical & Health Edition in Engage on the first Wednesday of every month, and is Director of Partnerships at MedMicroMaps, a microbiology education platform built in VR. A long-term traveler, she takes her XR community with her wherever she goes, even meditating on the moon with The Clubhouse Network, co-founded by the MIT Media Lab.

Consent Management Platform by Real Cookie Banner