Dr Chris MacDonald, a Fellow at Lucy Cavendish College, has won the Technological Innovation of the Year award at the Times Higher Education Awards 2025 for his Virtual Reality public speaking platform. The award ceremony took place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
The platform, which is free to use and described as a first-of-its-kind, offers virtual reality training environments and support from an AI coach. It is designed to help individuals with public speaking anxiety build their confidence and improve their presentation skills.
Dr MacDonald explained: "Prior to a presentation, most students tend to practise on their own, in a highly controlled environment – normally in their bedrooms – to an audience of zero. As a result, it will feel like a significant step up when they present to even a small group of people, and even a subtle audience gesture can throw them off."
He continued: "By contrast, those who use my VR platform can practise in a different venue every night to a wide range of increasingly distracting audiences and fear-inducing scenarios. They can, for example, practise in a stadium in front of 10,000 animated spectators, with loud noises, stadium lights, and flashing cameras. Accordingly, a subsequent presentation to a small group can feel like a step down. I call this overexposure therapy. It could be thought of as psychological weight training. And it has been shown to build extra adaptability, grit, and resilience."
He also stated: "The goal in my lab is simple but ambitious: build high-impact transformational tools and make them free to all. By working with truly visionary philanthropists, I believe we can make that a reality and transform millions of lives."
In addition to Dr MacDonald's win, other University staff were recognized at the event. The PROFILE trial team from Cambridge was shortlisted for Research Project of the Year: STEM for its work on early biologic therapy for newly diagnosed Crohn’s disease. Technician Development Advisor John Nicolson was also shortlisted for Outstanding Technician of the Year due to his leadership within the technical community.