Soft skills take centre stage in the government’s workforce agenda The government’s Get Britain Working White Paper published yesterday has made one thing clear: soft skills like communication, teamwork, and leadership are no longer just nice-to-haves—they’re essential. Further education November 27th 2024
What Student Champions Learnt from Deploying Bodyswaps at Bentley University (From left to right: Colin Minarik, Alden Shoemaker, Vinny Paratore, Andre Noonan, Lucas Fernandez de Assis) Bentley University, in Waltham, Massachusetts, serves over 5,000 students across a wide variety of degrees, both undergraduate and graduate. For those in Computer Information Systems... Higher education January 17th 2024
Advancing Education: Meta-Backed Research Projects Revolutionise Learning for Business and Healthcare Students In partnership with Meta, we are proud to reveal the list of schools selected for not one but two groundbreaking research projects. These initiatives promise to redefine the way students in business and healthcare sectors learn, using virtual reality to enrich their educational journeys. Soft... Brand updates November 6th 2023
Bodyswaps and Sage Unveil Negotiation and Conflict Management VR Experience for Business Education VR experience provides immersive learning for soft skills training in higher education We’re proud to announce we have collaborated with Sage to introduce a new series of innovative VR simulations designed for students in Business and related fields who need to master the art of negotiation... Brand updates October 17th 2023
Doctors to Harness Virtual Reality to Master Navigating Difficult Conversations With ever-growing pressures on the NHS, dealing with angry or frustrated patients and their relatives has become increasingly common for those working in healthcare. But what if doctors could practise navigating angry conversations with patients and their relatives in virtual reality before... Healthcare education Healthcare June 20th 2023
What does the Apple Vision Pro mean for the future of XR in Education? TL;DR: If the Vision Pro truly delivers what's promised in its grand launch, we can get ready to embrace the Third Screen - a revolutionary shift in the classroom, but more importantly outside of it. We're not there just yet. Much like Schrodinger's cat, until we've given it a thorough... Higher education Further education June 7th 2023
University of Saint Thomas - STELAR Brings Virtual Reality and AI Into the Classroom On a spring evening at the University of St. Thomas, two dozen MBA students learned what the task ahead of them was: to give feedback on a project to Jeremy, a valued member of their team. Higher education May 9th 2023
Sage and Bodyswaps to Create Virtual Reality Experiences to Support Business Education We're proud to announce our expanded partnership with Sage, a global academic publisher, to develop immersive experiences for soft skills training in business education. A newly planned series of modules will focus on various business-related soft skills, such as communication,... Brand updates May 2nd 2023
AI in Education: Atlantis or Armageddon? How do leaders in Education feel about the rise of large language models and generative AI? How are Edtech giants planning to use it? I just came back from the ASU+GSV Summit, the world's largest Edtech event attended by over 7,000 people including a good portion of Deans, Education... Higher education Further education April 24th 2023
How to Engage Students in Developing their Soft Skills – A Case Study About Located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, City of Wolverhampton College has 4,500 students enrolled as of 2010. Further education February 27th 2023
3 ways ChatGPT will transform soft skills learning in education “ChatGPT will change the world; the tech prophets say, but how is ChatGPT going to change the way we learn soft skills? Will Artificial Intelligence (AI), combined with Extended Reality (XR) technologies, make both e-learning and coaching obsolete? And can machines really help humans be... Higher education Further education Corporate February 2nd 2023
106 institutions to deliver soft skills training in VR through Bodyswaps and Meta Immersive Learning grant We’re thrilled to announce, together with Meta Immersive Learning, the final list of higher and further education institutions to participate in our Immersive Learning Pilot Programme!106 colleges and universities across the globe will receive access to virtual reality hardware and software with a... Brand updates January 26th 2023
3 Trends for VR in Higher Education in 2023 Let’s get right to it: here are 3 trends I expect to play out for VR in the Higher Education market in 2023. TL;DR: #1 - Acceleration of hardware adoption#2 - Multiplication of critical use cases driving stickiness#3 - Identification of best practices for scalable deployment Trying to avoid... Higher education January 20th 2023
Bodyswaps and Royal Society of Medicine to design healthcare training powered by AI and VR We’re proud to announce that we have partnered with the Royal Society of Medicine to create exclusive healthcare training simulations powered by artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Brand updates January 18th 2023
Bodyswaps and Meta Immersive Learning Partner to Launch Grant Bodyswaps announces exciting partnership with Meta Immersive Learning to empower 100 higher and further education institutions with access to virtual reality hardware and software across the UK, North America, France and Belgium. Brand updates November 16th 2022
Bodyswaps partners with Arbor XR to turbocharge VR deployment Bodyswaps is partnering with ArborXR to make it easier for institutions to deploy VR modules at scale, painlessly. Arbor XR is a tool to remotely manage VR devices, deploy content, and control what users can see and do in the headset. Through the partnership, any Bodyswaps' client can claim a... Brand updates September 7th 2022
The Top 5 Questions about VR & Soft Skills Training The following blog was originally posted on PIXO VR's website following an interview with Christophe Mallet, Bodyswaps's CEO. Companies often do not associate VR Training with soft skills, but the benefit of practicing real-world experiences without the risks and costs involved with... Higher education Further education Corporate September 1st 2022
Top 500 VR apps for education (2022) This resource was created by Rob Theriault, a pioneering VR educator currently working as Immersive Technology Manager at Georgian College. The list contains over 500 applications designed specifically for education across several categories including soft skills, business, architecture,... Brand updates August 11th 2022
Student interview: “How VR helped me get my first internship” Interview originally published on the University of Liverpool'scareers blog. Anna Martin, a second year Biological Sciences student, came into the Career Studio and took part in our VR Confidence Lab sessions. These sessions aim to develop interview skills and confidence through the engaging... Higher education June 21st 2022
20 universities and colleges join forces with Bodyswaps to explore VR for learning The Immersive Learning Research Programme aims to demonstrate the potential of VR for teaching students essential soft skills. London, May 17h, 2022 Over 20 Further and Higher Education institutions in the US, UK, EU and Canada have joined the ILRP programme, one of the largest research... Higher education Further education May 11th 2022
Download your exclusive demo on the Pico Store Bodyswaps just launched on the Pico store. To celebrate the launch, we're offering our 'Active Listening' module for free. Brand updates April 25th 2022
The Future of Job Interviews (BBC News interview) What's the future of the job interview? Bodyswaps' CEO Christophe Mallet, sat down with Elizabeth Hotson for the BBC News' 'Business Daily'. Christophe discussed how metaverse-related technologies and AI+VR-powered learning specifically can provide invaluable interview training to... Brand updates April 20th 2022
Bodyswaps’ complete Virtual Reality Anti-Racism experience available now British EdTech start-up holds up a mirror to the blind spots around our own biases and helps learners reflect on the behaviors that have been so prominent in shaping our societies today. London, April 4th, 2022Leading VR soft skills training provider Bodyswaps is releasing its first complete... Higher education Further education Corporate April 4th 2022
Bodyswaps is now available on the Pico Store The Pico version of Bodyswaps is now also available on the Pico App store. Alternatively, it can be sideloaded using SideQuest or another MDM of choice using this download link. For further instructions and info please visit our Help Centre here. Brand updates March 29th 2022
The Evolution of Higher Education: How VR Is Changing The Game When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, it forced the entire higher education field to reinvent the way we teach and innovate. Even prior to the pandemic, educators were already beginning to reassess teaching methods and make changes that fit our modern economy. The World Economic Forum... Higher education March 18th 2022
Bodyswaps delivers its first new Anti-Racism VR experience Learn to challenge racist microaggressions with this free new VR experience London, March 3rd, 2022Leading VR soft skills training provider Bodyswaps is releasing its first Anti-Racism VR experience today, co-developed with subject matter experts from George Brown College (Toronto, Canada). ... Brand updates March 3rd 2022
Bodyswaps at Ahead by Bett 2022 On 23-25 March 2022, Bett is back at the ExCeL London for three days of inspiring content, networking and innovative product demonstrations. Find us in the Ahead by Bett space (booth HB23), the new event for Higher Education leaders accelerating disruption to witness one of our live demos,... Brand updates February 23rd 2022
Bodyswaps selected to the GSV Cup Top 20 London, February 22, 2022Bodyswaps has been selected to the Top 20, the acclaimed list of finalists in The GSV Cup — the world’s largest pitch competition for EdTech startups at the 13th Annual ASU+GSV Summit. Companies selected to The Top 20 represent the top pre-seed and seed-stage startups in... Brand updates February 22nd 2022
The future is here and it’s looking pretty meta Chris Mallet explains how the latest advances in virtual reality could be game-changers for teachers in FE colleges For those in education who do not keep abreast of the latest tech chatter from the West Coast, news that Facebook and Microsoft are investing heavily in something called ‘the... Higher education Further education January 13th 2022
Top 10 VR Apps for Education in 2022 For obvious reasons, 2021 has seen a dragster-like acceleration of the adoption of digital technologies for education, consolidating the learnings of 2020 into long-term strategies. Amongst those, VR has moved from being a curiosity to being heralded as the most meaningful way to transform... Brand updates December 21st 2021
Tomorrow’s classroom, today Whether you think Facebook’s view of the ‘metaverse’ is a good thing, or prefer the more tongue-in-cheek assessment that went viral and even received a response from Mark Zuckerberg, technology has already had a seismic impact on the way we work, socialise and play. Educators have been... Higher education Further education December 13th 2021
Sandwell College students take part in global virtual reality study Students test innovative tech to improve their interview skills LONDON, December 2nd, 2021Sandwell College has been taking part in a global project involving students from Paris, London, and Toronto to help young people improve their workplace and career skills. The high-tech West Midlands... Further education December 1st 2021
Bodyswaps and SAGE Publishing launch Virtual Reality resource for Health and Social Care Training VR experience demonstrates benefits of immersive learning for soft skills training in higher education LONDON, December 1st, 2021Bodyswaps is partnering with SAGE Publishing, a global academic publisher of books, journals, and a growing suite of library products and services, to launch a... Brand updates November 30th 2021
No more classrooms – 5 best uses of VR in Education VR, as a learning medium, has been shown to increase memorability (Allcoat, 2018), boost emotional engagement (PWC, 2020) and even reduce unconscious bias (Salmanovitz, 2018). Moreover, with the ever-decreasing cost of headsets, VR promises to democratise learning by granting previously... Higher education Further education November 8th 2021
Bodyswaps takes part in prestigious immersive technology programme Earlier this year Bodyswaps joined the accelerator programme (ACE IT) developed by London College of Communication, University of the Arts London and London South Bank University to further enhance the AI-driven performance analytics of the platform. In this interview Bodyswaps' CEO... Brand updates November 8th 2021
Virtual Reality as a coaching tool Watch the recording of the 2021 CoachTech Summit to find out how VR can be used as a coaching tool. Bodyswaps' CEO Christophe Mallet demonstrates how coaches can leverage immersive simulations through in-situ experiential learning and behavioural feedback, supported by the latest use cases... Corporate October 26th 2021
Introducing Ben Naughton-Rumbo: Bodyswaps’ new Head of Partnerships We’re excited to welcome Ben to the team! Ben is an experienced sales professional (Growth Tribe Academy, The Marketing Society, HedgeBrunch) and start-up growth specialist with an Executive MBA in Digital Transformation. His mission will be to lead our partnership activities and expand our... Brand updates October 25th 2021
VR insights from educational institutions What training do you most want? Since May 2021, Bodyswaps has been working with a select group of partner organisations to pilot our Job Interview Simulator. The user-experience data they generated has been invaluable in the improvement of our product. The latest version of the Job Interview... Higher education Further education October 10th 2021
VR Simulator sets students up for job interview success in France Following the release of the Job Interview Simulator in May, we’ve started deploying the solution at a number of educational institutions all over the world in order to assess learning performance and optimise deployment modalities. As part of our Partnership Programme, we’ve recently piloted... Higher education Further education September 14th 2021
Bodyswaps now also on Pico The entire Bodyswaps platform is now also compatible with the Pico Neo 2 The Pico Neo 2 is a stand-alone VR headset with room scale VR (6DoF) and is ideally suited for interactive training, onboarding and simulations. It provides a viable alternative to Facebook’s Oculus Quest 1 and 2, which... Brand updates August 25th 2021
Bodyswaps now on Vive The entire Bodyswaps platform is now available for the Vive Focus 3 The Vive Focus 3 headset provides a viable standalone alternative to Facebook’s Oculus Quest 1 and 2 which have dominated the market in the last couple of years. The headset focusses solely on B2B use cases, a strategy... Brand updates July 28th 2021
From Greek Gods to Superheroes Destiny and demographics As the job market stagnates and employers create ever-dwindling numbers of entry-level jobs, young people face increasingly fierce competition for every available position.All too often, demographics determine a young person’s destiny, with social background being a... Higher education Further education July 26th 2021
Virtual Reality helps students build skills for the modern workplace Results are in after 5 FE colleges trial immersive ‘Career Mindset Development’ programme LONDON, July 6, 2021 Following the completion of a groundbreaking study with students at 5 FE colleges, results published today show that 81% of students would recommend the experience to peers. Nearly... Further education July 5th 2021
VR helps colleges tackle soft skills crisis While schools have been working hard to maximise academic achievement, new research shows that soft skills are equally, if not more important than hard skills in terms of employability. In response to the “soft skills crisis” that is threatening the UK’s future economic prosperity, Bodyswaps... Further education July 5th 2021
Bodyswaps partners with TDP to accelerate behavioural transformation LONDON, June 15th, 2021 We’re delighted to announce our partnership with TDP, a leading transformation, development and technology consultancy. By joining forces, our offering will help accelerate behavioural transformation within a range of organisations and make realistic experiential... Brand updates June 15th 2021
VR increases students’ access to careers guidance UK job opportunities for young people are in crisis Even before COVID-19 struck, young people were already bearing the brunt of the job shortage. Of 3.5m jobs created in the last decade, over 73% were considered too senior for students fresh out of school or university and 15% were classified... Higher education Further education June 3rd 2021
Learning with VR: challenges and impact Watch Alex Bishop, Investment Manager at Ufi VocTech Trust catch up with Christophe Mallet, Co-founder & CEO of Bodyswaps on: the company’s journey to date the key challenges learners are facing to develop soft skills in the current market how the Job Interview Simulator can boost learner's... Higher education Further education Corporate June 3rd 2021
Virtual reality simulator set to transform job interview training Bodyswaps launches immersive interview simulator to help young job seekers land their first job LONDON, May 27th, 2021 Bodyswaps’ first-of-its-kind virtual reality Job Interview Simulator helps students learn interview techniques, perfect their pitch and practise answering interview... Higher education Further education Corporate May 26th 2021
Bodyswaps partners with Immerse to help bridge the soft skills gap Bodyswaps helps bridge the soft skills gap through immersive training experiences LONDON, May 13th, 2021 Bodyswaps is excited to announce its new partnership with leading VR software provider Immerse to deliver lasting behavioural change. Virtual Reality is transforming the way we... Brand updates May 13th 2021
Project (VR)² = Vocational Rehabilitation Meets Virtual Reality How virtual reality transforms vocational rehabilitation services LONDON, March 31th, 2021 Bodyswaps has partnered with Viability, Link To VR, CleanBox and the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) to deliver Project (VR)², a virtual reality training initiative designed to... Corporate March 29th 2021
Five ways VR scenarios can enhance your soft skills training blend If there’s one thing Covid-19 has shown us, it’s the value of incorporating digital components in remote education and training. And while many students returned to college campuses this week, blended learning looks to be here to stay. Models of blended learning are as varied as the topics... Higher education Further education Corporate March 11th 2021
Bodyswaps launches its Career Mindset Development programme Several FE colleges to deploy Bodyswaps' latest career development simulations LONDON, February 22, 2021 Bodyswaps is proud to announce its partnership with Writtle University College, Harlow College, South Essex College, Bridgend College, Sandwell College and the London Screen... Brand updates February 16th 2021
Bodyswaps nominated as finalist for Accenture’s Blue Tulip Awards LONDON, January 26, 2021 We're delighted to have been nominated amongst the Education & Employment Top 5 by The Blue Tulip Awards Team (formerly known as the Accenture Innovation Awards). This year the jury focussed on innovations that seek to improve education through experiential learning,... Brand updates January 27th 2021
Bodyswaps wins Bronze at the Learning Technologies Awards 2020 BODYSWAPS wins Bronze at the Learning Technologies Awards LONDON, November 18, 2020 Safeguarding VR, the project BODYSWAPS developed with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy has won the Bronze in the "Most innovative new learning technologies product" category. Here's what the awards judges... November 18th 2020
Ruth Hill joins Bodyswaps as Head of Learning Design Introducing Ruth Hill: Bodyswaps' Head of Learning Design We're very happy to announce that Ruth Hill has just joined us as Head of Learning design. Ruth is an extremely talented and experienced learning designer with a knack for new tech, (Brightwave Group, Mind Tools and The Open University... November 6th 2020
Bodyswaps partners with Viability to launch (VR)² (VR)² = Vocational Rehabilitation x Virtual Reality How can immersive learning help students transition from school into adult life? We're proud to announce that we're partnering with Viability to launch (VR)² : Vocational Rehabilition x Virtual Reality. Viability is US-based agency... Corporate October 27th 2020
Bodyswaps finalist at the LPI Awards LONDON, October 21, 2020 It's been a pivotal year for the L&D sector. The spotlight has been put on technologies to help rebuild learning, not only to prepare for the future of work (remote, automated, soft skills-heavy) but also to take more responsibilities in making the workplace more... Brand updates October 21st 2020
Bodyswaps has raised £470k BODYSWAPS has raised £470k in Seed funding led by Ufi Ventures BODYSWAPS, the leading VR platform for soft skills training, has raised £470k from Ufi Ventures, Haatch and D Moonshots. BODYSWAPS is developing a learning platform and content library offered as a service to businesses that uses... Brand updates October 13th 2020
Bodyswaps now available on mobile & PC BODYSWAPS Gender Inclusion now available for iOS and Android BODYSWAPS' is now accessible on mobile and PC and we've made our Gender Inclusion training scenario available for free on the App Store and Google Play. Making BODYSWAPS a cross-platform experience not only enables our clients to ... Brand updates October 8th 2020
David Ripert joins Bodyswaps as non-exec director Introducing BODYSWAPS' first non-executive director: David Ripert We're pleased to announce that our long-term friend and advisor David Ripert has officially joined the team as a Non-Exec Director. David is currently co-founder and CEO of Poplar, Non-Exec Director for Save The Children UK and... Brand updates October 5th 2020
Bodyswaps shortlisted for 2 Learning Tech Awards LONDON, September 10, 2020 Safeguarding VR, the project we developed with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy has been shortlisted today for 2 Learning Technologies Awards: Best use of simulation and virtual environment for learning Most innovative learning technologies product The Learning... Brand updates September 10th 2020
Bodyswaps: a success story for VR soft skills training This post was originally published on Digital Catapult's website in June 2020 Bodyswaps® pivots and obtains investment for VR soft skills training solution What began as a virtual reality (VR) marketing agency transformed to become Bodyswaps, an innovative VR soft skills... Brand updates July 9th 2020
Safeguarding VR wins European Future of Work Awards! We're proud to announce that Safeguarding VR, the project we developed with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy has won an IDC European Future of Work award. Here's the official press release: LONDON, June 23, 2020 — International Data Corporation (IDC) has announced the winners of the first... Brand updates June 23rd 2020
Interact interview with Christophe Mallet, BODYSWAPS’ CEO This post was originally published on Interact's website in June 2020. BODYSWAPS had partnered with Interact, a London-based learning provider to co-develop a scenario around challenging sexism. You can watch the trailer here. Could you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do? Brand updates June 9th 2020
VR and the future of learning in the post-Covid world (Keynote) This keynote was originally given as part of EdtechX 2020: a global online education conference focused on the future of learning in a world disrupted by Covid 19. What's the right spot for VR in the future of learning? Based on several interviews conducted in April and May... Brand updates May 14th 2020
VR & mental healthcare training This article was originally published in Laval Virtual's magazine special edition on Health which can be downloaded in full here. In the world of mental healthcare, poor soft skills can have dire consequences, and the current semi-supervised learning on the job approach leaves students... Healthcare education Healthcare April 24th 2020
VR Soft Skills Training: How to Deploy It VR for Soft Skills: moving from "Why" to "How" Academic research results and case studies have firmly established VR as a powerful tool to accelerate behavioral change. In the past 6 months, the conversation around the use of immersive technologies for soft skills training has... Higher education Further education Corporate April 7th 2020
5 Best Uses of VR for Soft Skills Training As the World of Work rapidly evolves towards greater automation, organisations and individuals are looking to upskill what can’t be automated: mindset, behavior, interpersonal skills. In other words, soft skills. A raft of academic studies have demonstrated that Virtual Reality has the power... Higher education Further education March 26th 2020
EdTechX Interview EdtechX interview with Christophe Mallet, CEO of BODYSWAPS. 1. Tell us a little about BODYSWAPS BODYSWAPS’ mission is to democratise transformative soft skills training. To do that we’re building a “soft skills simulator”: a platform powered by a unique combination of VR and AI that can be... Brand updates March 13th 2020
BODYSWAPS® wins £200k grant from Innovate UK We are thrilled to have won a £200k grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, as part of its Immersive Technology Investment Accelerator Programme. Over the course of 2020, this will allow us to research, measure and improve the behavioral impact of our BODYSWAPS® technology. Brand updates January 23rd 2020
BODYSWAPS®win 2 awards at Virtuality Paris Last Friday, France's leading immersive tech show Virtuality organised their first XR awards ceremony, for which 60 judges evaluated over 150 projects in 11 categories. Safeguarding VR, which we developed with the Human Leadership Academy, was a finalist in the "Best XR Project in Training... Brand updates November 25th 2019
3 Key Studies About VR & Behavioral Change Learning is experience, the rest in information. Immersive Learning is much more than a cost-saving strategy for organisations looking to scale soft skills training. It's even more than the "Empathy Machine" described by Chris Milk. Immersive Learning, and more specifically embodied... Higher education Further education Corporate September 16th 2019
BODYSWAPS® shortlisted by the VR Awards! We're proud to announce that BODYSWAPS®, our soft skills simulator, has been shortlisted for a VR Awards in the "VR Education and Training of the Year" category. The ceremony will take place on November 11th in London. Fingers crossed until then! BODYSWAPS® leverages Virtual Reality (VR) &... Brand updates June 20th 2019
5 Questions about VR & Soft Skills Training Interview with Christophe Mallet, co-founder of Somewhere Else. 1. How do you think VR can develop key soft skills in leaders? In VR, you can step in anyone’s shoes and be immersed in true-to-life simulations of workplace scenarios where you have to act and make choices. It’s leadership... Higher education Further education Corporate June 17th 2019
First Pitch, First Win for BODYSWAPS®! On September 24th, we were invited by ISG to compete in their Start-Up Challenge organised as part of the Future Workforce Summit. For the first time, we unveiled BODYSWAPS®, our Soft Skills simulator powered by VR and AI. After a stressful live-voting session by... Brand updates April 26th 2019
Training for the Future & The Future of Training The Context: Industry 4.0 We are living in a very special time. We live in the age of self driving cars, where computers read X-Rays better than humans, and where AI is taking care of customer-service inquiries. These are symptoms - symptoms of the convergence of exponential trends in... Brand updates April 16th 2019
The Future of How We Think Immersive technologies are at the forefront of fundamental learning and development transformations. People and organizations need to continuously learn. Rather than a sequence of jobs, 21st century careers will be more like a series of developmental experiences focused on lifelong learning.... Higher education Further education December 11th 2018
Extended Mind Vol 2: Experience Tomorrow’s Learning, Today Today, virtual reality is in the perfect position to address the challenges of the training industry. VR presents us with a unique opportunity to reduce costs, minimise risk and improve knowledge transfer and retention. In the second article of the Extended Mind Series, we look at how virtual... Higher education Further education August 29th 2018
The Extended Mind 1: Our Brains Are Spilling Out The Future of How We Think: Part 1 You don’t only think with your mind. Your notebook is part of your thinking. So is your pen, your smartphone - your whole environment. That’s why Immersive Tech is a powder keg, waiting for a spark. Today, virtual, augmented and mixed reality are changing... Higher education Further education May 16th 2018
3 Ways VR is Transforming Learning & Development Immersive tech and training go back 50 years, but how has that relationship changed? VR Training VR Training by Immersive tech: Are we in for disruption or just another buzz-term? As VR is evolving, we’re not only learning skills safely through simulations anymore. We have started to improve... Higher education Further education April 25th 2018