Employing Virtual and XR Laboratories for Workforce Development

Today, we explore whether virtual and XR laboratories are an option to give students in developing countries pedagogical experiences necessary to develop practical skills. Hallie Applebaum (World Bank) speaks with Robert Dean (Associate Professor of Motion Arts Design and Virtual/Augmented Reality at Namseoul University in Korea), Jimmy Vainstein (Senior Program Manager leading the Word Bank’s program on interactive media with a focus on developing XR solutions for development), Marjorie Chinen (Education Specialist and focal point for AR/VR on the World Bank EdTech team), and Diego Angel-Urdinola (Senior Economist and Global Lead for the World Bank’s Skills Global Solutions Group and Manager of the Active Training Using Virtual Reality Program, ActiVaR). There is a strong need to provide students pedagogical experiences necessary to develop practical skills in education and workforce development programs, especially for training programs that require laboratories, such as auto-mechanics, nursing, and welding. Providing hands-on experiences and proper and up-to-date content allows students to learn technical skills, however this remains a critical challenge, mainly in developing countries. A potential solution to this is digitalization of laboratories. Employing non-immersive or immersive VR can enable learning experiences in a simulated or artificial environment so students can have personalized learning experiences. Our knowledge pack, a short comprehensive guide, can be downloaded here: https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/e441582311a6fa4678abb243416f2589-0140022023/original/KP-VirtualLabs-WFD-September6.pdf Read our blog 'Unleashing the metaverse for skills and workforce development': https://blogs.worldbank.org/education/unleashing-metaverse-skills-and-workforce-development