‘Playful city’ Utrecht shows impact of serious gaming

A game that helps young people with brain injury recover, a simulation that makes the city safer, a virtual reality environment in which you learn to collaborate. The incontrovertible conclusion of EU ambassadors during a visit to Utrecht on 20 May: thanks to close collaboration between government, knowledge institutes and industry, Utrecht manages to address social challenges through games. And that means: Utrecht is gaming. Ambassador Wepke Kingma: “It’s an eye-opener to see the creative and innovative applications that are being developed to make the lives of people in Europe healthier and more comfortable.”

The ambassadors visited Utrecht because of the Dutch presidency of the EU. In the ‘Digital Playground’ at HKU Expertisecentrum Creative Technology in Fort Blauwkapel, they experience the wide scope of interactive applications: artificial intelligence, virtual reality, crowd simulation, and food design. The ambassadors were introduced to demos by Utrecht University, HKU and UMC Utrecht in the application areas sustainability, health, open, safe and inclusive societies, and adapting to a changing society.

Green, healthy, and smart

As a knowledge-intensive region and with an international network, Utrecht has a special place in the field of interactive applications on the themes of green, healthy, and smart. Utrecht University, HKU and UMC Utrecht have been working together since 1998 in research and development of interactive applications within the triangle of technology, design and research. “Today, we have personally experienced the added value of working across the boundaries of disciplines. We really complement each other, with special applications as a result,” said Marjan Oudeman, president of the board of Utrecht University.