BEIJING, September 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today HTC Vive announced its partnership with online education leader Udacity to train and certify a new generation of virtual reality content creators, marking the first certified online training program in the industry. As the VR industry expands exponentially in the coming years, one of the scarcest resources will be trained professionals with VR development expertise. This new VR Nanodegree program is intended to help alleviate this issue.
HTC Vive and Udacity are joining other global VR players, such as Google VR and UploadVR, in passing on the technical knowledge needed for online students to seize new opportunities in this rapidly expanding industry. Udacity is also working with Unity Technologies to integrate their 3D engine into key projects and lessons within VR development environment.
Under the program, students only pay US$199 a month to master skills needed to develop content for a variety of areas. Students who graduate from the program within 12 months will also receive a 50% refund of the tuition fee. This includes mobile phone-based VR, PC VR and highly immersive room-scale VR utilized on the HTC Vive. An emphasis is placed on one-on-one coaching, mentorship and career guidance services. Application to join the program will begin right away and courses will start in Q4.
HTC Vive, that was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona 2015, has won rave reviews while delivering on its promise to create a "room-scale experience" for consumers. People now have the freedom to move around while being immersed and actively engaged in a computer-generated environment that is both real and imagined.
"We are excited to work with HTC as leaders in high-immersion VR," said Clarissa Shen, Vice President, International, Udacity. "Their expertise in this area helped to inform our curriculum, together with other industry luminaries from Google, UploadVR, and more. With HTC's input, our students will be able to not just get into this fast growing field from the ground up, but also specialize in high-immersion development."
"VR will be the best medium for education and learning, and is going to create millions of new jobs for content creators just like the Internet did for web developers in the 1990's," said Alvin W. Graylin, China Regional President of Vive, HTC. "Vive is very excited to be working with Udacity to make quality VR education available to students around the world in order to build a new generation of VR creators."
Graduates of this Nanodegree program will be fully prepared for a wide range of career opportunities -- from joining industry leaders to building their own startups. Key program updates including the official date of enrollment will be provided to students who sign up for the VR Nanodegree program from today. For more information, please search "VR" on: www.udacity.com.
About the Vive Virtual Reality System
Vive is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality system developed in partnership by HTC and Valve. Designed from the ground up for room-scale VR, Vive allows true-to-life interactions and experiences thanks to an adjustable headset displaying stunning graphics, two wireless controllers with HD haptic feedback and 360o absolute motion tracking. For a convenient and safe experience, Vive incorporates essential functionality from your phone and features a front facing camera that blends physical elements into the virtual world. Working in concert, this system immerses you visually, physically and emotionally in the virtual world. For more information on Vive, please visit www.vive.com.
About HTC
HTC Corporation aims to bring brilliance to life. As a global innovator in smart mobile and virtual reality devices and technology, HTC has produced award-winning products and industry firsts since its inception in 1997, including the critically acclaimed HTC One and HTC Desire lines of smartphones, and is now leading the VR industry with the Vive line of products. The pursuit of brilliance is at the heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and game-changing mobile and virtual reality experiences for consumers around the world. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). www.htc.com.
About Udacity
Founded in 2012, Udacity (www.udacity.com) is an online university, "by Silicon Valley", that offers cutting-edge courses built in partnership with leading companies like Google, AT&T, and Facebook on everything from mastering web design to tech entrepreneurship. Its flagship Nanodegree programs set the standard for industry-recognized credentials. Now Udacity is growing team of educators and engineers on a mission to change the future of education by bridging the gap between real-world skills, relevant education, and employment. In November 2015, Udacity raised $105 million in Series D round led by international media, services and education company Bertelsmann at a valuation of $1 billion.
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