Among the aims of the VET VR projects was to raise awareness for R&D and innovation among students; thus, EUROTraining organized a pilot event in order to present the virtual reality applications that were produced during the lifespan of the project, to the students at the Culinary and Physiotherapy Departments.

The students had a unique experience attending exercises through virtual reality. For most of them, it was the first time that they experienced virtual reality in a class, and it seems that they were enthusiastic and found it a fruitful experience.

After the implementation of the pilot, EUROTraining conducted a survey in order to collect 20 students’ feedback, asking their opinion about the pilot. The survey was divided into two parts, with the first focusing on their opinion prior to participating in the pilot and what they knew about R&D and innovation, and the second on their experience with the application and whether they found it beneficial to learn, whether they believe it is a more effective method of learning than traditional teaching, and whether they intend to use it in their future career.

Most of them knew the terms “R&D” and “innovation,” but they were not familiar with virtual reality, and only half of them could call themselves “innovators.”. After the pilot, they learned more about “R&D” and “innovation”, and understood how virtual reality could help make the teaching method more vibrant. They mentioned that it was easy to use the goggles and the joystick. All the students gave extremely positive feedback about how beneficial it was to learn, and they also believed that it could be a useful teaching method, making them desirous of following courses with VR. Finally, they mention that it is possible to use it their future career.

This feedback added value to the project goals because, firstly, we helped many students become familiar with virtual reality, opening a new window to their education methods and their future careers, and secondly, it is a recognition of our project’s goals.

Christina Stamataki