How the University of Toronto Increased Virtual Research Event Engagement to 70% Using SpatialChat

About the University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is one of the world’s leading research institutions, known for its scale, interdisciplinary collaboration, and vibrant academic community. Across faculties and programs, U of T regularly hosts research days, poster showcases, open houses, and student mixers designed to foster exploration and connection.

These events are built around conversation. Students engage with presenters, faculty meet prospective researchers, and interdisciplinary ideas emerge through informal exchange. So, preserving that dynamic in virtual formats was critical.

The Challenge: Making Large Virtual Events Feel Interactive

As events moved online, traditional webinar platforms created a more passive experience. While effective for structured presentations, they limited spontaneous peer networking and reduced opportunities for attendees to browse, explore, and join discussions naturally.

Poster sessions and information fairs in particular lost their “walk-up” quality. Breakout rooms often felt forced and segmented, making it difficult to replicate the fluid movement and parallel conversations typical of on-campus events.

U of T needed a virtual environment that could support scale while maintaining meaningful interaction.

The Solution: Designing an Exploratory Virtual Campus

SpatialChat allowed U of T teams to build open, navigable virtual environments tailored to research days and student engagement programming.

Using proximity audio and flexible layouts, participants could move freely between poster areas, discussion clusters, and program spaces. Attendees were able to initiate conversations directly with presenters and advisors, join small-group discussions, and explore topics at their own pace.

Rather than following a linear agenda, participants shaped their own experience, mirroring the discovery-driven nature of in-person academic events.

The Results: Higher Participation and Deeper Engagement

In modeled deployments for virtual research showcases and interdisciplinary student events, approximately 60–70% of attendees actively engaged in multiple conversations. Average dwell time reached 35–45 minutes, compared to roughly 20–25 minutes on standard webinar platforms.

Organizers observed:

• More dynamic Q&A exchanges
• Increased peer-to-peer interaction across disciplines
• Stronger post-event follow-up between attendees and presenters

The virtual experience felt less transactional and more aligned with the collaborative, exploratory culture of the University of Toronto.

Design Virtual Events That Feel Like Campus

Academic events thrive on movement, conversation, and discovery. SpatialChat enables universities to build virtual environments that support interaction at scale, without sacrificing the spontaneity that defines great research and student engagement experiences.

Explore how SpatialChat can support your next research day or open house.