NextUp: XR – Brigham Digital Innovation Hub

About

The NextUp initiative aims to support the adoption of emerging technologies such as Extended Reality (XR) by developing expertise, producing informational materials and resources, supporting the development of ideas and use-cases, and by hosting a series of events focused on the technology. We intend to develop a repeatable process to efficiently build internal expertise on any emerging technology and use that expertise to engage, inspire, and support staff and their innovative endeavors.

The core activities in this process include:

Perform landscape scans (internal & external)
Take deep dives into promising companies, products, projects
Develop relationships, both internal and external to MGB, to develop and support new use-cases
Attend relevant events and conferences
Convene events and meetings focused on the technology
Research, compile, and digest relevant literature and news
Highlight internal projects & innovators making use of the technology
Compile a list of promising potential use-cases to serve as a starting point

Over the next year, the focus of NextUp and our first event series will be XR in healthcare. The events in this initial XR series are designed to gather and connect people at Mass General Brigham who are interested in the idea of using XR in their work.

Events

In summer 2022, we will kick things off with our inaugural event in virtual reality using AltspaceVR (accessible from laptop/desktop as well)
In the future, we hope to have events of the following nature.
- An in-person overview event
- Facilitated workshops to develop ideas and potential use-cases
- An event co-hosted with an industry partner
- Regular drop-in events where staff can try out new XR gear
- Department/division-specific versions of any of the above

Get Involved

Mass General Brigham Community
For interested MGB individuals, we have created a mailing list to capture those who are interested in our NextUp: XR efforts. We will use this list to identify people who are interested in XR and will send them event invites, resources, and updates on our other NextUP: XR activities and opportunities.

Sign Up

Vendors and external companies
For vendors, companies, and groups outside Mass General Brigham working in XR, please complete our XR community intake form. By completing and submitting this form you will make your company profile available to our team as we seek out and evaluate compelling XR solutions.

Please note that this is not an application to a startup accelerator or incubator program. Submitting a profile does not guarantee you an engagement with Mass General Brigham. Should we see a fit between your profile and an active need within a Mass General Brigham institution, we may reach out with next steps.

Intake Form