Last month, Leeds Trinity University was proud to take part in a roadshow to test out new Virtual Reality (VR) software in collaboration with the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Bodyswaps and JISC. We are a career-led university with an ambitious Strategic Plan including employability and research as two key pillars, so this chance was not to be missed.

We had the opportunity to trial innovative interview and soft skills training through the VR platform, Bodyswaps. This platform brings real-world scenarios to life through the magic of a VR headset and provides Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled feedback in a safe and immersive experience.

Once the headset is put on, you are introduced to a simulated corporate world and greeted by your two virtual mentors who will help you work your way through the module. After a basic systems tutorial, you choose your avatar who appears on a screen behind your mentors. Every move you make with your hands and head is mirrored through the avatar, taking away the awkwardness of watching yourself.

A series of tasks allow you to find out more about yourself and prepare you for answering interview-based questions. The magic of the platform ends with you having the opportunity to answer an interview question, as you would in real life, before swapping bodies with the interviewer and watching your performance through the avatar. You can identify improvements in your response, with assistance of a score provided by the platform, before trying again and watching back.

Although still early in development, there are real positives to using this platform as opposed to the traditional mock interviews or recording and watching yourself back. The platform is virtual, meaning the characters inside it don’t have any emotions or judgement – providing you with a safe place to experiment without the anxiety of saying the wrong thing. The headset and headphones provide a completely immersive experience where the outside world is blocked out as you enter the virtual world. And if VR isn’t for you, or you start to experience the nausea and fatigue sometimes experienced using this technology, then Bodyswaps can be completed through a laptop or even on your phone.

A group of 30 students and eight staff experienced Bodyswaps (including me!), and all found the platform interesting and could really see its potential. Low student confidence and a hybrid approach to teaching can sometimes make engagement with careers services a challenge, however, the immersion and excitement of using technology could encourage more students to get involved and learn more about their potential future careers.

Bodyswaps is very close to the real thing, but there are still some hurdles to overcome before a rollout of the software is made easier, including AI improvement and the potential cost of acquiring headsets, licences and the provision of a comfortable and private space. That said, it is hard to not think this is the future, and at Leeds Trinity we have been very lucky to not just sample it, but also provide a voice in its future direction.

Tim Feather is Graduate Employment Manager at Leeds Trinity University.