09 Sep 2026
One week. One historic city. The Grand Canal. And a new generation of digital heritage storytellers.
The XR Heritage Summer School 2026 brought together fieldwork, creative practice, and emerging technologies to explore new ways of experiencing cultural heritage.
Organised by the Design School at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), the summer school was endorsed by the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee, CIPA Heritage Documentation, and supported by the ICOMOS China Heritage Conservation and Digitalisation (CHCD) Committee.
From the Grand Canal and historic streets of Suzhou to collaborative XR projects, participants explored how technology can help us see heritage differently.
Suzhou as a classroom
The Grand Canal was at the heart of this year’s programme. Participants explored canals, historic architecture, and urban life, gathering stories and observations to inspire their projects.
From fieldwork to ideas
Back in the studio, observations became ideas. Working across disciplines, participants experimented with heritage research, storytelling, spatial design, and XR technologies.
Along the way, they also asked bigger questions: How can XR communicate memory and atmosphere? What happens when heritage becomes an immersive experience? And how should we think about authenticity in digital heritage?
Bringing the Week Together
The programme concluded with guest lectures from CIPA-HD Honorary President Professor Mario Santana Quintero and CIPA-HD Expert Member Ms Chloe Pei, who discussed the potential, future, and ethical dimensions of digital technologies for conservation, preservation, and storytelling in a heritage context.
The lectures were followed by closing remarks from Prof. Marc Aurel Schnabel, the Dean of XJTLU Design School and an exhibition of the summer school's outcomes during a cocktail reception.
Participants presented their work, shared their ideas, and exchanged perspectives with guests - bringing together the research, fieldwork and experimentation that had shaped the week.
What Comes Next?
The summer school was about more than learning XR. It was about looking differently at heritage - noticing the stories, memories, and layers of history embedded in the places around us.
Building on these experiences, articles reflecting on the outcomes of the summer school are being prepared for the CIPA 2027 Conference in Abu Dhabi and the UHC-HEI 2027 International Conference in Seville, organised by the International Network for Urban-rural Heritage Conservation in Higher Education Institutions. Through these contributions, we aim to share our approach and experience, and to inspire and inform the development of more innovative heritage education programmes around the world.
Looking ahead, we will also actively engage with ICOMOS committees and other organisations working in digital storytelling and heritage interpretation to contribute to the development of principles and guidelines for the responsible use of XR for the protection, conservation, and presentation of heritage places.
We see particular opportunities to exchange knowledge and explore collaboration with the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites (ICIP), building on the principles of Ename Charter and the Committee's ongoing work to advance heritage interpretation and presentation in response to new technologies and practices.
09 Sep 2026