Meet Gatis Zvejnieks, one of the GRACE mentors connecting XR education with real industry experience

How do you prepare students for a field that is still developing rapidly, where technology, client needs and market conditions constantly influence each other? For Gatis Zvejnieks, Co-founder of Overly and an expert in augmented reality, and one of the mentors in the GRACE programme, the answer is clear: students need direct access to real industry practice.

Overly has collaborated with Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences for nearly ten years. This made the connection with GRACE a natural next step.

“We’ve worked with Vidzeme University for 10 years. When GRACE came along, it was a natural next step. We wanted students to see what XR actually looks like in practice, not just in theory.”

A realistic view of the XR industry

Gatis believes it is important for students to understand both the potential and the current limitations of XR. While immersive technologies continue to offer strong opportunities for education, training, communication and industry, adoption still depends heavily on accessible and consumer-friendly hardware.

“Our observation is that the industry is stagnating at the moment. Everything depends on hardware, and consumer-friendly AR/VR hardware is still a challenge, especially AR hardware.”

At the same time, Overly continues to explore practical ways forward, including WebXR and software-first solutions. This perspective is especially valuable for GRACE students, who are preparing to design XR and gamified applications that can respond to real-world challenges, not only technological possibilities.

Why mentorship matters

For Gatis, the value of GRACE lies in the direct connection between academic learning and professional practice. Through mentorship, students gain insight into how clients think, what problems occur during production, and which skills are currently relevant in the market.

“Direct access to people solving real problems right now. Students see what clients actually ask for, what challenges come up in production, and what skills the market values. That’s hard to get from a classroom.”

This practical connection is central to GRACE. Students do not only study XR, gamification and innovation in theory. They apply their knowledge in projects, work with external partners, and learn how to develop solutions that are technically feasible, meaningful for users and relevant to professional contexts.

By working with mentors such as Gatis Zvejnieks and Overly, GRACE aims to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry reality. This helps students build the adaptability, problem-solving skills and hands-on experience needed in a changing XR sector.