An Immersive Technology Platform for Science Education

This project will deliver new technology for training university science students. The technology is based on virtual reality that immerses students in a simulation of a 'real-life' environment even if they are sitting in their own living room. The technology will enable deeper learning than current teaching practices allow because currently students learn through lectures, presentations and practical classes that take place in defined time slots and do not allow students to learn at their own pace.

With our virtual reality training platform, it will be possible for students to learn at their own pace and in a place of their choosing, meaning they will not have to travel to the university for a given time and day. This remote, immersive learning is particularly appealing in the aftermath of COVID-19, as university closures have prevented large numbers of students from being able to undertake the necessary laboratory training to gain the skills they need for future employment after graduation.

A VR platform that allows students to train at their own pace and in flexible locations will increase accessibility and inclusion because students do not all learn at the same pace and some do not naturally thrive with conventional book learning approaches. Other students have external responsibilities such as caring for family or undertaking paid work to support their studies. Therefore, flexible and remote learning that incorporates immersive, 'hands-on' experience will have enormous appeal for universities who want to increase the accessibility of their courses to a wider market. Moreover, the accompanying reduction in laboratory waste due to moving laboratory training into VR will have a positive impact on the environment and help universities to reduce their environmental impact.

Our project will bring together two West Midlands companies (FourPlus and Holosphere) and an academic partner (Aston University) to design and build a prototype VR training platform for bioscience students. Our team includes a talented 3D artist, software developers, instructional designer and academics who will collectively work to build and stress test the software. The prototype will then be tested on students to assess the user experience of VR and benefit on learning. We will write up the results of the study and also turn the prototype into a first-generation product so that universities throughout the UK can start benefitting from the VR platform. In addition to building VR training that can be experienced via a headset, we will also build a laptop-accessible alternative format of the training to increase accessibility even further.

This exciting project will help strengthen UKs position as a leading nation in the development of innovative education technologies.