Virtual Tour
The first step in my research was to explore how other universities have used virtual tours to engage prospective and current students. UCAS provides a dedicated webpage that lists virtual campus tours from institutions across the UK (click here to access it). I browsed many examples and selected four major universities as case studies. The table below outlines key essential features for an effective virtual tour and evaluates how each of these universities has addressed them.
| King’s College London | University of Oxford | University College London | Saint Mary’s University | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Tour Implementation | NO: The university doesn’t provide an embedded virtual tour. However, their website mentions that online virtual tour events are available on specific days and times. | YES: Several virtual tours are available, including facilities and student accommodations. | YES: Not a traditional virtual tour, but an interactive map with key campus locations, underground stations, and museums. Only 8 360-degree captures are available with embedded information. | YES: Not fully immersive, but the 360 captures are embedded into an engaging website that provides a good amount of information. |
| Image/Video quality | EXCELLENT: While no virtual tours are available, the YouTube videos showcasing facilities are of HD quality. | POOR: Image quality is inconsistent. Some are oversaturated or very dark, with a noticeable black-and-white rendering before fully loading. | FAIR: Image quality is average; some captures are too dark. Faces are not blurred, which could raise privacy concerns unless consent was obtained. | FAIR: Slightly above average quality. Some dark images could be edited. Faces appear unblurred, but likely with participant awareness as they are posed. |
| Mobile-Friendly | YES: Videos are hosted on YouTube, which is mobile-friendly and accessible via the app. | YES: The virtual tour is mobile-compatible, but controls overlap with navigation arrows, making it hard to use. | YES: The interactive map works well on smaller screens. | YES: The website and virtual tour interface are well-optimized for all screen sizes. |
| Multilingual support | YES: Audio is in English, but auto-generated captions can be translated into other languages. | NO: All information is only available in English. | YES: Not natively multilingual, but browser-based translation (e.g., Chrome) renders content accurately in other languages. | NO: Only browser-based UI translation works; however, most highlights are images, so text isn’t translated. |
| Interactive hotspots | NO: Videos offer minimal information, mainly just the names of areas described by the narrator. | YES: Some minimal information is embedded in the tour. | YES: Despite only 8 360 captures, many are enhanced with information. Highlights allow quick navigation, and can be hidden for an uninterrupted view. Some captures are sourced from Google Maps. | YES: Highlights open additional images with embedded text. However, on smaller screens, the layout crops important information. |
| Guided Tour/ Audio | YES: A narrator guides users through the main campus areas. | NO: No audio or guided navigation. However, an autorotation feature plays for each capture. | NO: Freely accessible tour without audio guidance. | YES: The first capture includes an audio guide by a student. Unfortunately, no captions are available, and it’s the only one with voice narration. |
| VR headset Compatibility | NO: Virtual tour not available. | NO: Not compatible with VR headsets. | YES: A VR headset option appears on smaller screens. It’s not visible from the desktop view, which could limit awareness. | NO: No option to view the tour with a VR headset. |
1. King’s College London
- Website link: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/series/virtual-campus-tours
- Campus tour video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbciag5oBfg
Insights: While the campus tour videos on their YouTube channel are not fully interactive or immersive, they are professionally produced and feature student narrators, which adds a relatable and authentic touch. Notably, the comment section initially served as an informal FAQ, with the university actively responding to common questions, enhancing engagement and accessibility. However, more recent comments from the past year have gone unanswered, which may affect the sense of responsiveness and ongoing support.
For this project, I initially considered including a comment section that could display previous questions and answers, offering a community-driven FAQ. However, open comment sections come with risks, such as the potential for inappropriate or harmful content, especially when not moderated. Additionally, responses left by admins or users may become outdated over time, particularly if more than a few months have passed. For these reasons, a chatbot provides a more reliable and controlled solution. By regularly updating its data, the chatbot can deliver accurate, timely information while ensuring a consistent and safe user experience.
2. University of Oxford
Insights: The overall experience is underwhelming. The image quality is low, and the navigation lacks fluidity and user-friendliness. Each location only features a single 360° capture, limiting the immersive potential of the tour. While some information is available, it is minimal and lacks depth. The tour is fairly extensive in coverage, including student accommodations, which is a positive aspect. However, the mobile version is not optimised (command buttons overlap and interfere with usability), making the experience less intuitive.
Although the experience was not ideal, this virtual tour highlighted how poor navigation and limited information can significantly reduce the sense of immersion. The low image quality further detracts from the overall experience. For my project, I will ensure that all captures are retaken if necessary and edited where lighting affects clarity, to maintain a high standard of visual and interactive quality.
3. University College London
Insights: Although a fully immersive virtual tour is not provided, the interactive map is highly engaging and informative. It includes additional features such as locations of university accommodations, nearby underground stations, and museums. Despite relying on a limited number of 360° captures—some sourced from Google Maps—it was the only tour tested that offered VR headset compatibility. Interestingly, this option appeared only when navigating the site on smaller screens, as shown below.
Although it wasn’t a fully immersive experience, the interactive map was still enjoyable and informative. Inspired by this, I plan to include a simplified London map in my project, highlighting key locations such as CCI buildings and UAL accommodation halls.
4. St. Mary’s University
- Website link: https://www.smu.ca/virtualtour/#homburgcentre
Insights: The website is well-designed, with guided navigation that connects each 3D capture smoothly. The introductory video does not play, which impacts the initial experience. While the student narrator feature adds a personal touch, it appears only in a few scenes. Adding the ability to pause audio and enabling captions would significantly improve accessibility and usability.
Although this is not the type of virtual tour I aim to create, reviewing it was helpful for understanding how the experience functions across different screen sizes. If I add extra images layered over the tour, I will ensure they remain visible and accessible on smaller screens. Time permitting, I would also like to incorporate an audio guide to enhance the user experience.
Analysing virtual tours from other universities helped clarify what is truly needed to create an immersive experience. Many of the tours relied on isolated 3D shots, limiting the ability to navigate freely and fully explore campus facilities. This project aims to create a more fluid and engaging experience, similar to Google Street View, where users can move naturally in different directions, simulating the feeling of walking through the campus.
To achieve this, I used floor maps available on the UAL website to plan the navigation flow. I then mapped out specific scan points to ensure that each 360° capture supports smooth transitions and coverage of key areas. This strategic layout enhances user orientation and contributes to a more realistic and intuitive virtual tour.
Chatbot
The course information chatbot will be built using a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) approach, which combines a retrieval model with a generative model. This allows the system to pull relevant, up-to-date information from a predefined knowledge base and then generate human-like responses. Unlike basic rule-based bots, RAG models enhance reliability by grounding responses from inaccurate sources, making them ideal for handling FAQs about courses, facilities, and services. This architecture also supports scalability, making it easier to update the bot as information changes over time.
In terms of tone and design, the chatbot will follow UAL’s branding guidelines to ensure consistency with the wider institutional identity. This includes using CCI’s colour palette, typography, and interface language, which will help maintain familiarity and trust for current and prospective students.
Website
For the website, I’ve chosen to closely replicate the UAL website’s structure and visual language, as the project is intended to support CCI and align with its internal communications. The site will include three main pages: a landing page with the embedded virtual tour and interactive map, a course directory, and individual course pages.
This decision was made in agreement with my supervisor to ensure coherence with UAL’s digital ecosystem. Mimicking UAL’s layout also provides a familiar user experience, especially for those already navigating university sites. It reinforces credibility while streamlining user navigation across both official and project-based platforms.
Below is the updated and polished comparative review of virtual campus tours at four major UK universities.