Meet the Expert, Saskia Groenewegen

"Sometimes I really feel like I've landed in a science fiction film"

During her computer science studies, Saskia Groenewegen first encountered virtual reality, an experience that would fascinate her forever. Now, more than twenty years later, she is Principal Expert Immersive Technologies at Sopra Steria and helps organisations apply extended reality (XR) in their processes. We talk to her about the possibilities of virtual reality, her transition from science to business and the role of AI in XR applications.

What exactly does a Principal Expert Immersive Technologies do?
"A Principal Expert Immersive Technologies specialises in advising and guiding organisations in the use of extended reality (XR), a collective term for technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) that connect the physical and digital worlds. VR creates entirely virtual environments, AR adds digital information to the real world, and MR combines both by placing virtual objects realistically in the physical world and enabling interaction between digital and real elements.

In this role, I am the first point of contact for customers who want to get started with VR and AR. I help them translate their challenges into concrete technical solutions, from concept to implementation. I also contribute to quotation processes and regularly give presentations on the possibilities of immersive technologies.

As technical lead of the development team, I connect the customer's needs with the team's implementation. I advise on application architecture, select the most suitable hardware and support developers with code reviews or as a scrum master, ensuring that projects are realised effectively and to a high standard."

How did you end up in IT?
"During my master's degree in Computer Science at a university in Germany, I first came into contact with virtual reality during my graduation project. I was so fascinated by the technology and its possibilities that I decided to pursue a second master's degree, entirely focused on virtual reality, which I completed with a graduation project at Delft University of Technology.

I then worked as a researcher at Utrecht University for a while, after which I made the switch to the business world. I started at Sopra Steria as a software architect and progressed through various roles to my current position as tech lead and principal expert."

How was the transition from academia to the business world for you?
“The big difference is the immediate impact. When you do scientific research, you may be able to apply it in 10 or 20 years' time. It's very theoretical, and the academic world is also a world of its own. In business, you see immediate results. You help a customer, solve a problem and get direct feedback. That visible value makes the work enormously satisfying.”

What makes your work challenging?
"It's the variety of assignments and the opportunity to work with the latest technology. That's also why I became a researcher in the first place. I love working with new, unfamiliar things and experimenting, because that often leads to surprising insights. And working with XR continues to surprise me. Sometimes I really feel like I've landed in a science fiction film. I'm also active in the international community around VR and AR, where I can brainstorm with other experts. Within Sopra Steria, we share knowledge with teams in other countries."

What kind of customers come to Sopra Steria with XR questions?
Our customers are very diverse, but it often revolves around applications for training purposes, complex workflow optimisation and enabling teams to work more safely and efficiently. VR is particularly suitable for education and training purposes because, with the help of glasses, you can train in virtual environments that are difficult to access in practice or do not yet exist. For example, we built a virtual naval ship for the Ministry of Defence so that the crew could train in advance. And for Landstede, we developed an advanced VR training programme for nurses that allows them to practise realistic care situations. This project has been running for five years now. We develop a number of new levels or environments each time to keep the training programme attractive to students.

We mainly use AR to support people in their work. For Alliander, we developed an AR solution that helps engineers resolve malfunctions by guiding them step by step with instructions via glasses. Another interesting project was in collaboration with Nedap. For this, we created an AR application that gives livestock farmers real-time insight into the location and health of their herd, with detailed data on the condition and exact location of each cow.

Another interesting project was for ProRail, where we developed a web application for future traffic controllers based on serious gaming. This game allows them to train all kinds of aspects of their training in a playful way, for example, what to do if a major malfunction occurs on a particular route and they have to reschedule all trains on that route. Normally, ProRail uses seven simulators for this training, but because a large number of new students had started the course, there were not enough trainers and simulators. ProRail contacted us to see if we could help with a solution in the short term. With our solution, ProRail was able to train twice as many traffic controllers.

What are the latest developments in the field of XR?
"It's a field that is still constantly evolving. Every few months, a new headset or development kit is released. The hardware in particular has made enormous strides. Until recently, the hardware was always the bottleneck, but you can see that the hardware is now getting better and better. Headsets are becoming lighter, displays sharper and batteries better. Meta's latest smart glasses, for example, are no bigger than sunglasses.

In addition, AI is on the rise. AI is very useful for creating large 3D environments. That used to be an endless amount of work, but with the help of AI, we can generate them much faster. We mainly use AI for deploying avatars in Landstede's VR training programme. Students have conversations with virtual patients and, thanks to AI, those conversations are much more natural than with hardcoded scripts, which has significantly improved the learning experience for the students."

You have now received the Microsoft MVP Award five times. What does that mean to you?
"It remains special. It is a confirmation of your craftsmanship and the work you contribute to the community. Together with a colleague from Avenade, I host the YouTube video podcast Lost in a Lightfield about new technologies. We also organise an annual event with a large number of speakers and a monthly expert discussion. The MVP Award certainly has its advantages. For example, you gain insight into Microsoft's roadmap and are sometimes asked to test new technologies."

You are also chairman of the SIGGRAPH Immersive Pavilion. What does that entail?
"SIGGRAPH is the world's leading conference in the field of computer graphics and interactive technology. On average, 20,000 visitors attend the conference. Twenty years ago, I signed up as a volunteer and have been going almost every year since. During the event, the latest prototypes are demonstrated and there are all kinds of sessions by leading special effects studios, tech & gaming companies and film studios showing what they are working on.

The SIGGRAPH Immersive Pavilion focuses on the most innovative XR experiences. As chair, I am responsible for the creative and technical direction, selecting submissions and coordinating the organisation. It's a lot of work, but also incredibly inspiring. You get to see the latest technologies up close and get a unique behind-the-scenes look at major film and tech companies."

What advice would you give to someone interested in going into IT?
"If you're interested in a career in IT, start by exploring the different sub-areas, such as software development, data analysis, cybersecurity or XR, to find out what appeals to you most. Build a solid foundation in programming languages, databases and networks, and gain practical experience through small projects or internships. Continue to develop yourself by taking courses and specialisations, and invest in soft skills, such as collaboration, communication and problem-solving. Networking is also important: talk to professionals, attend meetups or conferences and learn from practice. This will give you a strong foundation for a flexible and sustainable IT career."