Lawrie Phipps, Users and Innovation Programme Managerl.phipps@jisc.ac.uk

Emerge is an innovative, 28 month, user-centred, investigation-led, consortium-based project, funded by the JISC and guided by the principles of appreciative inquiry. There are about 28 institutions, 45 project teams and 210 individual participants.

The aim is to support the formation of an “effective and sustainable community” around the Users & Innovation Development Model, using Web2.0 technologies.

Emerge is the support project for the JISC Capital Programme, Users and Innovation

Number of JISC ‘development’ projects that we know are using Second Life

But if we do fund some projects…

• WHY?

• Transferability

• USPs

• Added Value

The Emerge Island

• Primarily a focus for the Emerge Community

• Also a sandpit

• We are currently developing a set of ground rules and community guidelines

An ‘emerging’ JISC position

Second life could be the critical point of transition between the passive, corporate designed and driven game play of video games created over the last 20 years and a new hegemony dominated by user imagined, created and supported virtually 3D interactions.

Over the past year SL has 'opensourced' it's client allowing projects such as OpenSim to create a servers that use the client for an entirely user controlled environment. It is at this critical point that the JISC can step in and help users and innovators to stretch out and take the opportunity that a simple, understandable platform like SL has allowed us. By supporting those innovators who are trying to bridge the gap between collaboration in both research and learning, gaming and technology.

What we hope at this stage in the Users and Innovation programme is that we are about to receive a number of high quality project proposals that will consider the nexus between teaching, research and administration, in the context of these new 3D medias, including well known platforms such as Second Life but also some of the new emergent platforms.

Come and say Hi!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Emerge/118/78/112