From track and field to student government, graduating Redbird Aneel Gillan is used to running—and winning.
This fall, he added to his victories by earning first place at Illinois State University’s Startup Showcase for VRtual Playbook, a virtual reality (VR) sports software that aims to enhance the film-watching and training experiences for elite athletes.
Originally from White Rock, British Columbia, Gillan was the Canadian Indoor National Champion in the pentathlon as a high school junior. He was recruited to join the Redbird track and field team and arrived on campus in fall 2020 aiming to make the most of his college experience. His sister, Priya Gillan, was already a member of the soccer team.
“Illinois State seemed like a perfect balance of athletics and academics,” Aneel said. “From the moment I stepped on campus, I knew this was home.”
In addition to competing in the heptathlon for the Redbirds, Gillan served brief runs as student trustee and student body president, as Cybersecurity Club president for two years, and as a sales engineer intern at Dell for 10 weeks last summer.
Gillan will graduate December 16, a semester early, to continue his work full time with Dell in Austin, Texas.
“I think embracing change is a big thing I try and apply to everything, whether that’s moving to a new city, a new country, or even technological changes with business,” said Gillan. “If you’re able to do that, you’re going to be successful.”
Gillan was a pace setter during his time on the track and in his studies, applying what he learned to his passion for business. This fall Gillan won the Startup Showcase, a Shark Tank-style competition hosted by Illinois State’s George R. and Martha Means Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. His $10,000 prize will go toward developing and launching VRtual Playbook.
The VR software is designed to immerse basketball players in a virtual environment for them to review and practice plays. While developing VRtual Playbook, Gillan spoke with Redbird basketball staff who told him VR could be an effective tool for teaching and reviewing plays.
“We’ve created an application that transforms the film watching experience from watching on the tablet or whiteboard to seeing the X’s and O’s move in real time,” said Gillan. “You put on VR goggles, and you can see the X’s and O’s as real players moving on different spots of the court.”
Gillan sees the application as the natural next step for sports technology.
“Ten years ago, we never would have thought players would be looking at tablets in a timeout. In 10 years from now they could be putting on VR goggles,” he said.
For Gillan, winning the showcase was yet another way he’s felt supported and encouraged as an Illinois State student.
“The school’s been a really big help in terms of the technology, the hardware, and the equipment,” said Gillan. “It felt good winning because I knew that this was something we now have a legitimate shot at doing, and that’s why I credit the school. With the Startup Showcase, it goes from working on it in the basement to, ‘OK, let’s actually make this a reality.’”
After graduating, Gillan is looking forward to living in his dream city to start a job he already knows he’ll love.
“If you asked me a year ago where’s your ideal place to live for an internship, I would have said Austin, and if you’re asking now what the ideal place is to live after graduation? It would be Austin,” said Gillan. “It’s a growing city. Google, Amazon, Dell, Microsoft—they all have offices down in Austin, and the startup side of things is growing a lot too. I think when you’re in a city with like-minded people like that, you’re bound for success.”
Along with starting his full-time career at Dell, Gillan intends to continue developing VRtual Playbook by spending his evenings and late nights working on the startup.
As he enters the home stretch of his Illinois State journey, Gillan’s graduation is bringing family from across the country to watch him cross the finish line.
“It will feel good to have everyone there,” Gillan said. “It means a lot to have everyone come back together and celebrate as a family. I credit all my success at ISU to my parents and two siblings. Having them watch me walk across the stage will be one of my greatest memories.”
This story is one of a series of profiles on Redbirds who are graduating this December. Two commencement ceremonies to recognize more than 1,300 graduates will take place Saturday, December 16, at CEFCU Arena. For more information about how Illinois State is celebrating commencement, visit the Graduation Services website.
