Professor Sunny Choi and her co-authors have received the Best Paper Award at the 9th International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction Research and Applications (CHIRA), held in Marbella, Spain, on 20–21 October 2025. The award recognizes their paper “Interaction Design and Divergent Paths in VR Learning: A Structural Modeling Approach,” which offers a rigorous investigation into how immersive learning environments shape user experience, performance, and motivation.

The study brings together expertise from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Lingnan University, Hong Kong Baptist University, and Soqqle Hong Kong Limited, demonstrating strong cross-institutional collaboration across design, education, and computational research.

A Structural Modeling Approach to Immersive Learning

The award-winning paper examines how technical design, perceived usability, embodied presence, and task structure converge to influence learners’ performance in virtual reality. Using a combination of structural equation modeling (SEM), generalized additive models (GAM), and multivariate regression, the authors mapped the interactions among several key variables:

• Technical Efficacy (TE)

• Technology Adoption (TAM)

• Embodied Presence (PRES)

• Dizziness/Discomfort (DIZ)

• Effort and Performance Metrics (EFFSYS / PERFSYS)

• Interaction Path Design: Linear vs Exploratory

The findings show that TAM fully mediates the effect of technical fluency on perceived presence, indicating that immersive experiences strengthen only when learners find the system meaningful and worth engaging with.