Scaling VR & AI training to enhance soft skills development for healthcare students at Sheffield Hallam University

About

Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), one of the UK’s largest universities, serves over 32,000 students across more than 500 undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. 

SHU, supported by Digital Energy Group, began leveraging Bodyswaps in 2023, with the vision of engaging their healthcare
students with effective soft skills training. 

SHU’s Technical Operations Resources and Services team (TORS) spans the university, integrating across many subject areas to support the implementation of technology, including new and innovative tech like Bodyswaps.

Goals

• Enhance soft skill development for healthcare students through an engaging, technology-driven approach
• Utilise a software that truly captures students’ attention to ensure effective skill development

Deployment

Collaboration is key

Deployments always began with conversations with academics in the relevant departments, to help link Bodyswaps with the context of their specific specialisms. This ensures purposeful integration and demonstrates clear value to staff and students.

More than VR

For staff and students who wish to deploy or use Bodyswaps in VR, the XR team have a pool of managed VR headsets. But for scalability and accessibility, the team makes sure students know there is a browser and PC-based version. 

Results

• 82% of students would recommend Bodyswaps to their peers 
• 86% of students identified areas to improve on their skills
• 84% of students increased their understanding of the topics discussed within the module

Advice

• Form a good relationship with your IT department and get their buy-in with Bodyswaps to keep the technological side of deployment running smoothly 
• Engage key academic leads and heads of departments early on - highlight how Bodyswaps can help them address their strategic goals
• Phase your roll outs: run smaller scale cohorts, learn from them and gather feedback, then make adjustments before the next phase

Future plans

Daniel and the XR team at SHU are currently exploring how they can use Bodyswaps to support students from different courses.

They’re also considering experimenting with Bodyswaps’ Learning Management System integrations, to see the impact this could have for staff and students