(Year 2026)

Immersive reality is opening up new possibilities in education, transforming the way students engage with knowledge through interactive and participatory experiences.

In this context, the University of Barcelona and Layers of Reality collaborated on the project Journey to the Center of the Earth, an initiative inspired by the universe of Jules Verne that explores the educational potential of immersive environments and the metaverse when applied to learning.

The UB team played a key role in defining the pedagogical framework, designing the evaluation instruments and analysing the results, helping to validate the impact of immersive experiences on learning.

We interviewed Dr. Cristina Galván, professor at the Faculty of Education of the UB, to talk about this project.

How did the collaboration between the University of Barcelona and Layers of Reality begin within the framework of the Journey to the Center of the Earth project?

The collaboration began thanks to the mediation of the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation, which facilitated contact between Layers of Reality and our research team. From there, we started exploring potential lines of collaboration and quickly identified shared interests around evaluating the educational impact of immersive experiences.

What is the project you participated in about?

Layers of Reality is a company specialising in immersive experiences for the general public. In this case, the project is part of Jules Verne 200, an experience created as a tribute to the French writer, combining content about his life and work with virtual reality spaces inspired by his literary worlds.

What was the specific objective of your participation?

Our participation focused on analysing the educational experience designed for 5th and 6th grade primary school students. We studied a metaverse environment linked to the project, where students could learn more about Jules Verne and interact with scenes inspired by his works, while also engaging with curriculum-based content adapted to their educational level.

What challenges did this project present from an educational and pedagogical perspective?

The main challenge was understanding how to pedagogically analyse an experience that had originally been conceived as a recreational activity open to the general public. We were also interested in identifying which elements could genuinely support learning within an immersive environment. Furthermore, it was an innovative project, as there are still very few immersive experiences specifically designed for educational settings. Therefore, an important part of our work involved defining a rigorous evaluation framework and identifying the most appropriate dimensions for analysis.

What conclusions or lessons learned would you highlight from the study?

One of the main findings is that immersive reality can be a very powerful tool for fostering learning. Students showed interest in Jules Verne and were able to explain what they had learned after the experience. We observed that these environments enhance motivation to learn, participation and collaborative learning. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that immersive experiences can go beyond entertainment and become educational resources with a real impact.

What role did the UB research team play in the development and evaluation of the experience?

The University of Barcelona team participated in defining the aspects that needed to be analysed and in the pedagogical validation of both the educational proposal and the immersive environment. We also designed the evaluation instruments, such as questionnaires and data collection tools, and carried out both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the results to assess their educational impact.

How have you experienced this project on a personal and professional level?

It has been a highly enriching experience, both from a research and a knowledge transfer perspective. It allowed us to work in a real immersive environment and collaborate with professionals from a sector different from academia. These kinds of projects are particularly interesting because they make it possible to generate applied knowledge with real impact and build bridges between research and society.

More about… Cristina Galván

The greatest invention in history?

The sailing sail, because it has driven us to go beyond where we are and discover new contexts.

What would you like to see in the future?

A society made up of calm, happy people living in harmony with their environment.

Is there any future advancement that worries you?

What worries me is how we adapt to advances without reflection.

A role model?

John Dewey, an American educator. He said that we learn when we reflect on experience. This means that we have lived an experience, paused it, reflected on it and drawn learning from it.

What could be done to achieve equality between men and women?

Educating within today’s context of technological acceleration.

Knowledge transfer is important because…

It contributes to social, cultural and human progress.