Highlights

Abstract

Graphical abstract

Abbreviations

Keywords

۱٫ Introduction

۲٫ State of the art

۳٫ Technological opportunities and challenges

۴٫ Educational implications

۵٫ Economic and social challenges

۶٫ Conclusion and future directions

Declaration of Competing Interest

Acknowledgements

References

Abstract

With the advent of digitalization and industry 4.0, education in chemical and biochemical engineering has undergone significant revamping over the last two decades. However, undergraduate students sometimes do lack industrial exposure and are unable to visualise the complexity of actual process plants. Thereby, students might graduate without adequate professional hands-on experience. Similarly, in the process industry, operator training-simulators are widely used for the training of new and skilled operators. However, conventional training-simulators often fail to simulate reality and do not provide the user with the opportunity to experience unexpected and hazardous scenarios. In these regards, virtual reality appears to be a promising technology that can cater to the needs of both academia and industry. This paper discusses the opportunities and challenges for the incorporation of virtual reality into chemical and biochemical engineering education with an emphasis on the fundamental areas of technology, pedagogy and socio-economics. The paper emphasises the need for augmenting virtual reality interfaces with mathematical models to develop advanced immersive learning applications. Further, the paper stresses upon the need for novel educational impact assessment methodologies for the evaluation of virtual-reality-based learning. Finally, an ongoing case study application is presented to briefly discuss the social and economic implications, and to identify the bottlenecks involved in the adoption of virtual reality tools across chemical and biochemical engineering education.

۱٫ Introduction

With rapid advances in technology, digital solutions are being widely embraced for teaching and for learning purposes (Quintero et al., 2019; Radianti et al., 2020). This includes the use of online learning platforms, interactive digital applications, and collaborative environments in education. Furthermore, the easy availability of portable digital devices including notebooks and smartphones fostered the digital embracement for education. Recently, immersive virtual environments are also being considered as a viable option for education and training owing to the availability, affordability, and rapid advancements in these technologies (Akkoyun, 2017; Jensen and Konradsen, 2018).

In academia, growing student numbers combined with the limited availability of physical resources is leading educational institutions to explore novel teaching alternatives that are, primarily, cost-effective in nature. Moreover, force-majeure situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic advocates for more educational robustness and distance learning options. Similarly, in industry, with increased automation and complexity of modern process plants, advanced training methods are becoming more desirable for the effective training of operators. In this regard, three-dimensional (3D) virtual reality environments, similar to those being used in the gaming and film industry, can be effectively utilised to generate learning environments (Schofield, 2012). Even though virtual reality is not a new technology, recent advancements have aroused increased interest among scholars (Akbulut et al., 2018). With the arrival of low-budget head-mounted displays (HMDs), immersive virtual environments are becoming more accessible for the purpose of education (Jensen and Konradsen, 2018).