Enhancing Students’ VR Job Interview Practice Experience through Oculus Software for Business Students and Beyond

The present project aims to enhance the VR learning experience created by a VR job interview practice application, I'm IN - HKUST, funded by CEI in 2021. It targets students in a Business Communication Course (LABU2060 Effective Communication in Business will be phased out in one year’s time) and students of other disciplines. It was found from the first TLIP project that students considered the VR job interview practices engaging as any distractions were minimal/non-existent. They found the 360 environment totally immersive, much conducive to their learning practices. Students also highlighted the flexibility of practicing with the VR application which satisfied their need for more job interview practices, filling the gap where not enough resources/ manpower was available for arranging teacher-to-student or student-to-student learning opportunities. Also, it was found the stress was less compared with practicing with real people. However, some students commented that the VR application could not assess their non-verbal performances, e.g., body movements, which plays an integral part in any given communication situations, while the authenticity of the VR interviewer avatars and the ease of choosing options in a VR environment with eye gaze has room for improvement. Therefore, the project hopes to investigate the use of Oculus software, designed by a consultant/ UST (part-time) staff, in a Business Communication course to provide realistic VR job interview practices for students to enhance students’ communication skills.