Doruk Eker (XR Creators Connect): "The best ideas are born in informal conversations"

Strengthening the Dutch immersive sector is what CIIIC stands for. And if there's one initiative that shows how powerful community-driven collaboration can be, it's XR Creators Connect. This meet-up has evolved into the place where the XR sector comes together: creators, innovators, large organizations, and policymakers find each other in a setting that revolves around genuine connection. 

The upcoming event on Thursday, October 30, focuses on XR in larger organizations—a theme that perfectly illustrates how mature the sector is becoming. We spoke with Doruk Eker (Orb Amsterdam), one of the organizers of XR Creators Connect, about what makes the event so special.

What is XR Creators Connect, and who is it for? 

"XR Creators Connect is the largest community-driven XR meet-up in the Netherlands, where everyone connected to the field of extended realities (XR) comes together. It is organized by the three of us: Pieter Siekerman (DNA.inc), Jan Verwoerd (360Fabriek, DutchXR), and myself, Doruk Eker (Orb Amsterdam).

After the COVID pause, these kinds of informal meet-up settings did not return to our industry, and we all missed them. So we decided to set one up ourselves.

Every 3–4 months, there is a new edition. We invite speakers who are experts on the chosen theme of that edition. It is a physical gathering, with no recordings available afterward, and that's intentional. We believe it's important not only to come for the presentations but also to have face-to-face contact with the community. The best ideas and collaborations often arise from these informal conversations. That's why we always have an extensive drinks session at the end of each edition, and most people stay until security indicates it's time to leave."

Do you also expect visitors who may not be creators themselves, such as innovation leaders, researchers, policymakers, or consultants? 

"When we organised the first edition, we didn’t announce it publicly. We only reached out directly to our networks, which leaned more towards the creators’ side. But after the first couple of editions, word got out and people from many different fields began to attend... including researchers, policy makers, consultants, and tech vendors. Each edition also has a different theme, which influences the audience profile for that particular event."

Your next event is about XR in larger organizations. Do you see a significant shift towards organizations massively adopting XR, or are we still in an early stage? 

"For each edition, we ask ourselves: What is useful and/or interesting for our industry in the Netherlands? That's how we determine the theme.

A few years ago, we saw large organizations like KLM and the Dutch Police testing the waters with XR. At that time, they were mainly working with external parties. Today, we see these organizations building internal teams dedicated to developing immersive experiences.

We see this as an indication of the growing maturity of the industry. Having these teams on stage will be both interesting and useful for the broader community."

Many CIIIC programs also deal with the challenge of connecting creatives with organizations and companies that could benefit from developing immersive experiences. What opportunities do you see for improved collaboration in the broader IX community? 

"Although it's still a small sector, there's a lot of knowledge and experience if you know where to look. That's one of the things we hope to achieve with this edition: highlighting such expertise in larger organizations so that other organizations that aren't working with XR yet, but might in the near future, can learn from them and connect with them and the rest of the XR sector.

We are also working on a curated database of XR companies in the Netherlands. This will help XR teams to get to know each other better and make it easier for organizations to find and contact them."

Which presentation or session at your upcoming event are you personally most looking forward to? 

"The challenges faced by internal XR teams are very unique. On the one hand, they are working with a technology that is still rapidly developing. On the other hand, they have to align with the processes, guidelines, habits, and maybe even the mindset of large organizations; which are often decades old.

Finding this balance is not easy, and the speakers are generous enough to share their experiences with precisely that.

Creators from smaller organizations will have the opportunity to learn from these experiences. At the same time, participants from larger organizations planning to adopt XR in the coming period will hear valuable lessons learned."

Can you give us a hint about the XRCC edition after the next one, what it might be about? 

"Our main focus is on the 7th edition on October 30. We will dive into the details of the edition after that once we have left #7 behind. We maintain a mailing list to announce the details of each edition. Those interested can visit our website https://xrcc.network and sign up for updates."