Virtual reality

Your connection between real and virtual world

Faculty of Management in Tourism and Hospitality from Opatija is starting to use VR systems in education!

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VR at FMTU Opatija

The Faculty of Management in Tourism and Hospitality from Opatija, University of Rijeka, is undergoing a digital transformation of education as it will soon provide its students with lectures in virtual and extended reality.

After the global academic community has become accustomed to various online platforms in the past few pandemic years, new technological waves now offer even better opportunities for students. Virtual and augmented reality are rapidly impacting all segments of society, and this time the academic world in Opatija is at the forefront of the technological revolution.

In Croatia, the Faculty of Management in Tourism and Hospitality has decided to introduce this innovation in education and has successfully implemented a VR system in teaching this week. They have chosen to offer some of their courses in virtual and augmented reality. To accomplish this, they have equipped themselves with five MetaQuest2 devices and one VR 360 camera, for which they have received specialized education tailored to the needs of their courses.

“We are pleased that we have managed to implement the VR system into the teaching process in a relatively short period. Currently, several professors are working on implementing VR headsets and cameras to modernize the teaching process. We are all surrounded by technology, and students think and process information in a significantly different way, so we want to incorporate technology into the educational system and meet the students’ needs,” explained Prof. Dr. Sc. Marinela Krstinić Nižić, Vice Dean for Development.

Several professors will also start developing software solutions for their courses, aiming to offer their students everything that technology can currently provide for the academic community and potentially become attractive to future students who want to develop in this field.

“We are aware of the need for constant technological advancement in the teaching process, which is why we constantly adapt to the students’ needs, to Generation Z, who were born with digital technologies but can now implement them practically in their studies. We have improved our courses to develop digital skills in students and adapt them to the requirements of the modern job market. Tourism is developing strongly in the digital direction, and we want to continue to be leaders in educating professionals in tourism and hospitality, including the use of smart technology,” concluded Dean Prof. Dr. Sc. Sandra Janković.

In collaboration with Prilika Grupa agency, subjects such as Virtual Experience, Digital Marketing, Smart Tourism, Tourism Projects, Business Innovations, Event Tourism, and Specific Forms of Tourism will be further enriched with virtual content and examples of related technology applications in business. During the education itself, professors from other courses also found examples of application in their everyday work, not only in study programs but also in lifelong learning programs.

Virtual reality technology can enable participants to experience things that would be difficult, expensive, or somehow uncertain in the real world. Some examples include traveling to distant locations, language exercises, device management, public speaking exercises, sales conversations, and visualization of various content.