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Best Paper Award 2025

IT²EC 2025 Best Paper Award: Celebrating Excellence in Innovation and Presentation

Each year, the Best Paper Award recognises outstanding contributions to our Conference that push the boundaries of innovation and insight within the IT²EC community. This year's Conference had a high-calibre thought-provoking and forward-leaning technical programme, which delivered immense value to our delegates but also made the competition difficult for our Best Paper Award Committee.

During the conference, this committee evaluated six extended abstracts and accompanying presentations to determine the 2025 winner. The award was present to the contribution which most exemplified IT²EC's 2025 theme, 'Accelerating the Technology of Tomorrow into Today’s Training', while also recognising a speaker whose passion, expertise and engaging stage presence truly set them apart. 

 

Best Paper 2025: 

Accelerating navy readiness with mobile virtual reality (VR) and handheld gaming PC simulations in the fleet

Key takeaways

  • Shipboard-Friendly VR and Handheld Devices Enhance Training Accessibility Attendees will understand how mobile VR and handheld gaming PCs bring immersive, high-fidelity simulations directly to Sailors in the flow of their daily operations, improving skill retention and making training accessible at the point of need.
  • Reducing Skill Decay Through Spaced Repetition By leveraging the power of spaced repetition, akin to language learning apps like Duolingo, these training technologies ensure Sailors can frequently practice essential skills in a safe, realistic environment, combatting skill decay that typically occurs after classroom-based training.
  • Cost and Time Savings for the Navy The shift from traditional classroom training to on-demand, shipboard simulations reduces congestion in training pipelines and cuts significant costs associated with travel and facility-based instruction, contributing to more efficient resource allocation.
  • Future Potential with AI-Driven Training Support The manuscript highlights the future potential of incorporating AI-powered tutors and after-action review systems to personalize learning experiences, provide real-time feedback, and further enhance Sailor readiness through intelligent, adaptive training solutions.
Download Paper

Please note: only conference delegates will be able to access the paper. If you have not received the password please contact us here.

Author details

Dr Anders Gronstedt, President, The Gronstedt Group 

Dr. Gronstedt is a pioneer in XR training simulations and president of The Gronstedt Group, he leads the development of simulations that accelerate learning at scale for the world's largest employers, including the U.S. Navy, Walmart, Pfizer, Novartis, Takeda, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Dr. Gronstedt, a former marketing professor at the University of Colorado, is a thought leader in the industry, regularly contributing to conferences and publications. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Gronstedt

It’s an exciting time to reimagine military learning—moving beyond classrooms to deliver high-impact training at the points of need. I’m grateful to IT²EC for recognizing how portable VR and handheld gaming PC simulations can transform readiness at sea and beyond.
Dr Anders Gronstedt
President |  The Gronstedt Group
Anders Gronstedt

Please note: For 2026 the new theme is yet to be announced. 

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