Dr Chris Macdonald’s groundbreaking Virtual Reality public speaking platform won the Technological Innovation of the Year category at the Times Higher Education Awards 2025.

Those who use the VR platform can practise in a stadium in front of 10,000 animated spectators, with loud noises, stadium lights, and flashing cameras.

Dr Chris MacDonald

Dr Macdonald – a Fellow at Lucy Cavendish College – was among a number of University staff recognised for their innovative contribution to research and academia during a ceremony at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Cambridge’s PROFILE trial team were shortlisted in the Research Project of the Year: STEM category, for their transformative work on early biologic therapy for newly diagnosed Crohn’s disease. And Technician Development Advisor John Nicolson was shortlisted for Outstanding Technician of the Year, for his leadership and commitment to the technical community.

Dr Macdonald’s free, first-of-its-kind platform provides Virtual Reality (VR) training environments, as well as support from an AI coach, to build confidence in people with public speaking anxiety and transform them into skilled and confident presenters.

He said: “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.

“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 added: “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.”

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