From haptics and avatars to digital twins and motion capture, those who work with or use virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) are immersing themselves in progressive technologies to devise content that would inspire unconventional thinking, creative interactions and problem solving in a variety of ways.
There is no limit as to how these technologies can be applied, or indeed in which sectors they may be most beneficial. Whether in healthcare, art, manufacturing, travel and hospitality, film and gaming, education or marketing – there are so many worthwhile possibilities with extended reality (XR).
The Innovate UK Immersive Tech Awards 2025 launched for a third year, and together with world-class brands and creative individuals, will continue to empower the XR landscape by providing a dynamic platform for students and emerging talents to showcase innovative projects to industry leaders, advancing their career opportunities.
Since its inception in 2023, this unique awards programme has been growing from strength to strength with more partners from across the ecosystem joining in support, and is proud to work closely with peers and world-class brands such as Soluis, Arup, Snap, Wales Millennium Centre and Sugar Creative, as well as highly esteemed academic institutions including the StoryLab Research Institute at Anglia Ruskin University.
Cited as ‘the perfect place to launch diverse talent and experience ground-breaking ideas from some of the brightest minds in the United Kingdom’s technology space’ by participants of the 2024 awards, this acclaimed programme excels in becoming well-known for driving innovations of new phenomena and ways in which people can see, feel, hear and even be.
Opportunities for university students
With a strong following from a vibrant community, it is no surprise that the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Awards have developed a notable reputation, and attract entries from aspiring XR stars across the UK. For university students, there are five award categories up for grabs – Best Immersive Game, Creative XR Storytelling, Sensory, Technical Innovation, and UX & UI Design – through which finalists may win one of the highly sought after paid internships.
“My internship with Arcade XR and the Wales Millennium Centre was an insightful blended experience of what to expect in an exciting collaborative immersive technology project. It was a great opportunity to gain experience on the various processes involved within XR projects in a professional context. The R&D phase was fantastic for experimenting with technologies and applying contextual research to a finalised experimental prototype, where I worked with a great team of creative technical professionals. The Innovate UK Immersive Tech Awards is an ideal experience for any creative working with immersive experiences to connect with like-minded individuals and enter the professional industry. This awards programme has had a supportive impact for me since I graduated.”
Bethan Hancock, creative technologist, artist and AI researcher
👉 Click to start your entry.
The unique internship prizes offered by leading XR organisations through the awards, connect diverse university talent with industry and innovation opportunities. Ayesha Williams-Bhatti, one of last year’s category winners, who is an XR and Computer Science Researcher at Birmingham City University, shares her successes since receiving an award:
“My experience as an applicant was very positive, it was easy to make the initial application, and I appreciated being able to present to the judging panel using online methods. It was an honour to win the UX/UI Design award in 2024 for my work on Sepsis Collab. I feel privileged to bring recognition to my research that is having a real-world impact in healthcare education. Winning the award also paved the way in broadening my network and allowed me to collaborate with partners who share the same passions and research aims/interests in the industry. Since the awards, I have been receiving invaluable mentor support that has helped to broaden my knowledge and confidence, as well as help me to identify my career aspirations and give me opportunities to achieve my goals.”
Consequently, Ayesha has also been involved in opportunities across our network and will be helping to evaluate entries as a member of our esteemed judges panel for this years’ awards.
Opportunities for non-degree talents
As well as raising profiles of university students, the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Awards Career Breakout Showcase category is well positioned to shine a light on fresh talent that does not come from the traditional higher education route.
Inaugural Career Breakout Showcase winner, Chipo Mapondera – a creative technologist who won with a prototype project “Futuristic Pagan” using VR to connect intangible Zimbabwean cultures through fashion, nature and spirituality – proudly shares her impressive accomplishments:
“As this was a career transition it was my first experience in the XR space. I came with a background in software engineering and marketing within luxury fashion, and although I didn’t know much about the industry, I had ideas that I wanted to produce and enough confidence to experiment with technology, as well as develop new production capabilities. Since winning the award, the Futuristic Pagan project has been in further development stage for CPH Lab, the residency in Copenhagen for CPH:DOX – who I met at the awards reception. The mentorship and community introductions have been invaluable! I’ve been able to expand my opportunities and identify new project collaborations with different studios in the UK, like Birmingham Open Media and Target 3D, as well as internationally. I had not anticipated when I was filling out that application form that I would get so much out of the awards programme. To have people in the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network to bounce off your big dreams and ideas, and say “we know someone who can help you with that” is something you can’t put a price on. It’s been amazing and I’d definitely recommend putting yourself out there, it’s so worth it.”
Hear more from Chipo about her collaboration successes since winning the Career Breakout Showcase award:
Feeling inspired? 👉 Click to start your entry for the 2025 Awards.
This pioneering awards initiative was launched through synergetic collaborations to address the talent pipeline challenge in the fast-moving XR sector, identified by the advisory board and Academic Working Group of the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network.
The award’s rising stars have not just shone in their internships and award category but have continued on to full-time roles, project work, forming startups, creative studios and tech consultancy; gained funded PhD research; won XR hackathons, residencies and prestigious awards/ nominations, and collaborated with other innovators to grow their projects and more.
“It is truly inspiring to discover new breeds of promising talents who use their creative and technical prowess to innovate for positive impact. Each year, our award entrants bring new ideas to the table that are solving real-world problems and tackling some of today’s big social, environmental and wellbeing issues. We cannot wait to see the talent from year three!” – Amy Chao, Immersive Tech Awards Lead
Key dates and useful links
Whilst you can find information about this years’ awards directly here, below is a quick recap of important dates for your diaries:
- 16 March – Application deadline
- 8 April – Finalists announced for Undergraduate to Postgraduate Competition and Career Breakout Showcase
- 23 April – Virtual Pitch Day for finalists in five categories of Undergraduate to Postgraduate Competition
- End of May / early June 2025 – Awards Reception with Showcase in London
To guide you through the entry process, please take a look at these resources:
- How to apply for undergraduate to postgraduate university students.
- How to apply for the Career Breakout Showcase award.
- Got questions? Please check the FAQs for answers first.
For inspiration …
- watch the recording of the launch info session webinar above.
- explore awards finalists’ projects from 2024 and 2023.
- browse the showcase projects from community members.
Finally, we welcome you to sign up to the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network newsletter for regular updates on latest opportunities in the XR space and expand your network by joining our community for free.