Immersive Virtual Work Integrated Learning: A Scoping Review

Undergraduate students were not spared by the negative effect of covid 19, some could not access placement, and some were dismissed from doing their work integrated learning (WIL) curriculum. The application of Virtual Reality (VR) in education training, has lately shown a tremendous interest, several authors have investigated the benefits and applications of this technology in various scenarios. However, fewer scoping review studies presently exist on how researchers have applied immersive virtual reality (IVR) for work integrated learning purposes in higher education institutions (HEI). A total of 25 published studies in the period of 2015-2022 were selected for screening and selection to analyze the topic. This scoping review present how IVR supported instructional design methods, development tools and evaluation criteria for virtual work integrated learning (VWIL). The result of the review highlights that IVR has greatly aided in providing solution to the scarcity of placement-based WIL, the negative effects of Covid 19 and has exposed the need to adopt industry 4.0 technology in academia. It furthermore inspires researchers on the path to follow in conducting relevant immersive virtual applications that benefits the undergraduate students, higher institutions, and industry. Future work is to incorporate soft skills and collaborative engagements in ensuring VWIL is effective and efficient in this era.