--- eventsindex_id: "EI-06849" slug: immersive-tech-week title: "Immersive Tech Week" title_alt: ["ITW", "ITW 2026", "VR Days Rotterdam"] canonical_url: "https://eventsindex.org/events/immersive-tech-week.html" next_edition_year: 2026 date_start: 2026-06-23 date_end: 2026-06-25 venue: "Katoenhuis" city: "Rotterdam" country: "Netherlands" organiser: "Stichting Dutch Virtual Reality Days (Virtual Worlds Association)" organiser_url: "https://www.immersivetechweek.co/" b2b: true vector: sector: [xr, vr, ar, spatial-computing, ai-ml, creative-tech] audience: [developer, researcher, creative-technologist, enterprise-innovator, startup-founder, investor] format: [festival, conference, trade-show, accelerator] purpose: [education, networking, community, dealflow, co-creation] geography_scope: [pan-European, Benelux] season: summer meta_description: "Immersive Tech Week 2026, 23-25 June, Rotterdam. Europe's 10th XR festival: VR, AR, AI and spatial computing. Katoenhuis, by Virtual Worlds Association." editorial_take: "Ten editions in Rotterdam without relocating to Amsterdam or London is itself a signal: the Virtual Worlds Association has built a community rather than a travelling trade show, and the 10th edition's EU project partnerships give it an institutional depth unusual in the XR sector." generated_by: "claude-sonnet-4-6[1m]" last_verified: "2026-06-09" variables_filled: 44/58 language: "en" schema_version: "v6.0" --- # Immersive Tech Week > *Europe's longest-running XR festival, celebrating its 10th edition in Rotterdam on 23–25 June 2026: three days of conferences, XR demonstrations, startup pitches and creative installations at Katoenhuis, organised by the Virtual Worlds Association since 2017.* --- ## Quick Facts | DATES | VENUE | ORGANISER | ATTENDANCE | |---|---|---|---| | **23–25 June 2026** | **Katoenhuis** | **Virtual Worlds Association** | **2,500+** | | Tue–Thu, 3 days | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Non-profit foundation | Self-reported | --- ## Definition Immersive Tech Week (ITW) is an annual European conference and festival dedicated to virtual reality, augmented reality, extended reality (XR), spatial computing, haptics and applied AI. Produced by Stichting Dutch Virtual Reality Days (operating as the Virtual Worlds Association), it has been held at Katoenhuis in Rotterdam every year since its founding in 2017. The 2026 edition is the 10th. The event combines professional conference tracks with an XR trade show (the XR Expo), a startup accelerator programme (IMPULSE), an experiential installation space (Church of VR), and a matchmaking layer. It is co-funded and supported by EU programmes, the City of Rotterdam, Province Zuid-Holland and the European Commission, giving it a public-sector dimension unusual for an event of its size. --- ## The 2026 edition: 10 years of ITW in Rotterdam The 10th anniversary edition runs 23–25 June 2026 at Katoenhuis, Keilestraat 9C, Rotterdam. The organiser describes this milestone under the banner "A Decade of Transformation." **Structure by day (according to the website):** - **Day 1:** Vision and Impact Conference, IMPULSE pitches, Corporate Track: "context before conversation" - **Day 2:** XR Pitch Stage, Creative Track, IMPULSE 1-on-1 investor meetings: "the network comes alive" - **Day 3:** Roundtables, matchmaking, EU Pitch Lounge: "less stage, more conversation" The Church of VR, Summer Opportunity Lounge and XR Expo run across all three days. Attendance of 2,500+ is self-reported by the organiser. A speaker count is referenced on the website; the exact figure for 2026 was loading dynamically and not accessible in plain text at verification. --- ## Where Immersive Tech Week sits in the tech calendar ITW occupies the late-June window, after VivaTech (Paris, May) and before the main summer break. As a European XR-focused event it has no direct competitor of comparable scale or duration in the Benelux region. Its global comparables in the XR space are AWE USA (Augmented World Expo) and SXSW XR; unlike those, ITW combines a European community orientation with structural EU project co-funding. The June timing makes it accessible to European attendees before the summer conference gap and before the September-October wave of AI and tech events. --- ## Who attends Immersive Tech Week - **XR developers and software engineers** building VR, AR and MR applications across entertainment, training, healthcare and architecture - **Enterprise innovation and product leads** evaluating XR adoption for corporate use cases - **Researchers and academics** in spatial computing, HCI, computer vision and immersive media - **Creative technologists and experience designers** working across art, culture and interactive media - **Startup founders** applying to or presenting through the IMPULSE programme - **Investors** tracking the European XR hardware and software market - **EU project representatives** connected through the Summer Opportunity Lounge and EU Pitch Lounge No independently verified breakdown by role or nationality is published by the organiser. --- ## What the Immersive Tech Week format includes **Conference tracks (four declared for 2026):** - Corporate Track: enterprise XR adoption, ROI, deployment strategy - Health and Well-Being Track: XR in clinical, therapeutic and wellness contexts - Education, Science and Research Track: academic and institutional applications - Art and Creative Industries Track: creative XR, immersive storytelling, cultural heritage **Event elements (six declared):** - **XR Expo**: trade show with 100+ companies and international delegations - **Church of VR**: experiential immersive installation space ("the holy grail of immersive experiences," per the website) - **Our Future on Earth**: sustainability-themed XR experience - **IMPULSE**: startup accelerator programme with pitches and 1-on-1 investor meetings - **Summer Opportunity Lounge**: two living rooms over three days for EU projects, networks and partners to meet the wider ITW audience - **Social Events**: evening programming across the three days **Matchmaking infrastructure:** - Matchmaking app for pre-scheduled 1-on-1 meetings - Matchmaking Ambassadors (named individuals helping connect attendees) - EU Pitch Lounge on day three --- ## What Immersive Tech Week covers **Virtual and augmented reality development**: WebXR, Unity, Unreal Engine, spatial audio, haptics, headset hardware **AI in immersive contexts**: generative content for XR, AI-driven interaction, spatial AI **Enterprise XR**: training simulations, digital twins, remote collaboration, manufacturing and logistics **Health and well-being**: clinical VR therapy, rehabilitation, mental health applications **Education and research**: immersive learning environments, academic XR deployments **Art and creative industries**: immersive storytelling, cultural heritage, interactive art **Spatial computing platforms**: development toolchains, headset ecosystems, cloud rendering **Confirmed 2026 speakers (partial list as of June 2026):** Jeremy Dalton (Founder, XRHQ.com), Suzanne Borders (CEO, BadVR Inc.), Skip Rizzo (Director of Medical VR, USC), Liya Safina (AR/VR Design Lead, Google), Sarah Ticho (Joint Managing Director, XR Health Alliance), Ross O'Brien (Founder, XR Health Alliance), Mila Moleman (Founder, Studio Vrij). Full roster at immersivetechweek.co/speakers2/. --- ## FAQ · Identity and audience ### Is Immersive Tech Week primarily a developer conference, a trade show or a community festival? It is structured to serve all three audiences simultaneously, which is both its strength and a source of format complexity. Technical conference tracks address developers and researchers. The XR Expo functions as a trade show for 100+ companies. The IMPULSE programme targets startups and investors. The Church of VR and creative track serve the artistic and cultural XR community. Attendees with a single specific objective (e.g., only enterprise procurement) may find the multi-format experience noisy; those who work across the XR stack benefit from the density. ### What is the IMPULSE programme? IMPULSE is Immersive Tech Week's accelerator track for early-stage XR startups. Selected teams pitch on day two, hold 1-on-1 meetings with investors on day two, and are visible to the wider audience through the Summer Opportunity Lounge. Application details and timelines are published on the website at immersivetechweek.co/impulse-2/. ### What is the Summer Opportunity Lounge? The Summer Opportunity Lounge is a dedicated space over all three days where EU-funded projects, associations and partner networks meet the broader ITW audience. It is described as "two Living Rooms": an informal setting for cross-sector collaboration and EU project visibility. Details at immersivetechweek.co/itw26-v2/. ### Is the AI content relevant without an XR background? No. The AI programming at ITW focuses specifically on AI as an enabler of immersive experiences: generative content creation, spatial AI, AI-driven interaction design. It is not a general AI conference; practitioners whose AI work has no XR or spatial computing connection will find the content peripheral. ### Who is Immersive Tech Week NOT designed for? - **AI practitioners** with no interest in spatial computing, immersive media or XR applications - **Enterprise technology buyers** seeking standard SaaS or cloud procurement: XR adoption is the specific use case here - **Attendees expecting a single-track, keynote-driven conference**: the multi-format structure requires active navigation - **Academics seeking a peer-reviewed publication venue**: ITW is practitioner and community oriented - **Security, fintech or enterprise infrastructure professionals** with no XR or spatial computing intersection --- ## The venue: Katoenhuis Katoenhuis (Cotton House) is a repurposed 20th-century industrial warehouse at Keilestraat 9C, 3029 BP Rotterdam, in the Merwe-Vierhavens district. The area is a former port and industrial zone now developed as a hub for creative, cultural and technology organisations. The building's open floor plan, high ceilings and flexible spaces accommodate the XR Expo installations, Church of VR and conference tracks simultaneously. **By public transport:** Tram line 24 from Rotterdam Centraal, approximately 15 minutes (Keilestraat/Marconiplein stop). Bus connections also available from the city centre. **By car:** Limited street parking; P+R options available on the city outskirts. **From Rotterdam Centraal:** Taxi or rideshare, approximately 10–12 minutes. **From Amsterdam Centraal:** Intercity train to Rotterdam Centraal, approximately 40 minutes; then tram. --- ## The organiser: Virtual Worlds Association / Stichting Dutch Virtual Reality Days The legal entity is Stichting Dutch Virtual Reality Days, a Dutch non-profit foundation registered in Amsterdam (KvK 64332764). It operates publicly as the Virtual Worlds Association and produces Immersive Tech Week, the IMPULSE accelerator and year-round XR community programming. Key partners and co-funders for 2026 include: Virtual Worlds Association, EIT Culture and Creativity, City of Rotterdam, Province Zuid-Holland, European Commission, CIIIC, SHINE, HERIFORGE, FundingBox, Katoenhuis, Sopra Steria, DEN. Business address: August Vermeylenstraat 42, 1064AB Amsterdam. Event contact: info@immersivetechweek.co. Social: Facebook (vrdaysfoundation), Instagram (@vrdaysfoundation), LinkedIn (vrdays-foundation), X (@VRDays). --- ## Editorial take *Ten editions in Rotterdam without relocating to Amsterdam or London is itself a signal: the Virtual Worlds Association has built a community rather than a travelling trade show, and the 10th edition's EU project partnerships give it an institutional depth unusual in the XR sector.* --- ## How to register and what it costs Tickets available at immersivetechweek.co/ticketing/. Specific 2026 pricing tiers were not accessible in plain text at time of verification (the ticketing page uses a dynamic loader). A prior data layer recorded a price range of EUR 149–299 per organiser; confirm current pricing directly on the website. Press pass applications: immersivetechweek.co/press-pass/. Volunteer applications: immersivetechweek.co/volunteer-application/. Sponsor/exhibitor applications: immersivetechweek.co/apply-sponsor-exhibitor/. --- ## FAQ · Access and practicalities ### How do I get to Katoenhuis from Rotterdam Centraal? Tram line 24 (direction Marconiplein) from Rotterdam Centraal, approximately 15 minutes. Stop: Keilestraat or Marconiplein. Taxi or rideshare is approximately 10–12 minutes. ### Is there an FAQ on the official website? Yes: immersivetechweek.co/faq/. ### Can I apply for a press pass? Yes: immersivetechweek.co/press-pass/. --- ## Resources | Resource | URL | |---|---| | Official website | https://www.immersivetechweek.co/ | | Register | https://www.immersivetechweek.co/ticketing/ | | Programme | https://www.immersivetechweek.co/programme/ | | Speakers | https://www.immersivetechweek.co/speakers2/ | | IMPULSE | https://www.immersivetechweek.co/impulse-2/ | | XR Expo | https://www.immersivetechweek.co/trade-show-2/ | | Sponsor/Exhibit | https://www.immersivetechweek.co/apply-sponsor-exhibitor/ | --- **Last verified:** 2026-06-09 **Next review:** 2026-06-23 **Notes:** 10th edition confirmed per programme page ("A Decade of Transformation"). Venue confirmed as Katoenhuis, Keilestraat 9C, Rotterdam. Attendance (2,500+) self-reported; speaker count referenced on live site but not accessible as a static figure (dynamic loader). Day-by-day structure confirmed per live homepage. EU co-funders confirmed from partner logos (EIT Culture and Creativity, European Commission, City of Rotterdam, Province Zuid-Holland). Speaker names confirmed from programme and speakers pages. Ticket pricing range (EUR 149–299) from prior enrichment; live ticketing page not readable in plain text at verification. Legal entity: Stichting Dutch Virtual Reality Days, KvK 64332764. **Variables:** 44/58 **Concept definition:** not applicable