Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak

Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak


VR: The Human Connection

February 29, 2024

"Once we work together on projects,...we see that the differences between us aren't that great,' says Africa VR Campus and Center Co-founder and Associate Director Dr. Tom Nickel.


His vision? To empower people from all over the world, towards a better future.

Tom's work with Africa VR Campus and Center has been key to their outreach to students, covered in our earlier interviews with Founder/CEO Paul Simon Waiyaki and XR Girls Founder Diana Njeri.


Based in Seattle, Washington, Tom is both Chief Visionary at My VR Projects, as well as Executive Director for Continuing Education at Alliant International University.

"I've always been a media guy," he says.


His media expertise led directly to his involvement with Africa VR Campus and Center.


Tom hosts street art events for social good, creating environments on Wednesdays, middays, in Engage VR. In VRChat, Tom co-hosts a virtual weekly meetup, "Death Q & A", with Ryan Astheimer, where participants share their feelings on mortality. And on Engage, he also hosts "Saying Goodbye", a group session in which participants discuss the ways they're dealing with loss.


Tom talked about his experiences, offered a closer look at creating events in virtual reality and issued an invitation for anyone who hasn't yet experienced VR, to come and find out more.