11 EYES ON TRAINING We have two overarching goals. One is to make business students prime candidates for future employers. The second is to help support the rest of the university. Branded virtual-reality applications can advance both. When exposing students in a meaningful way to experiential learning, traditional intern- ships are an option. Class projects are another. In the one-year M.B.A. program we launched last year, for example, students worked with key leaders at CITY Furniture to help the company solve real-world problems. But there’s always some time-lapse between students’ first exposure to a setting and starting the work. Group projects for class also typically occur in an unobservable vacuum. So, we asked, “How can we expose students to settings and scenarios so they are experienced before they even embark on an experiential learning assignment? And how do we empower the trainer and learner in unprecedented ways?” Prelearning appli- cations became an answer, because virtual reality can offer a wealth of data and the opportunity to experience things without being there. Linda Kidwell, Ph.D., associate professor, led the creation of an inventory observation task application. Accounting students put on a headset and conduct an inventory observation in a warehouse setting, like one they would encounter working for any public accounting firm that has clients who are manu- facturers or retailers with inventory. When NSU graduates become employed by a big-four firm, for example, they’re going to have an edge because they will have performed inventory observa- tions in as close a setting as you can get while standing in a classroom or your own home. Additionally, a transcript is one output that helps facilitate unbiased participation evaluations. There are additional benefits as well. We plan to build a suite of virtual-reality applications that not only help NSU students, but through licensing, can also help companies and organizations train employees or even broaden the horizons of students at other colleges and high schools. ANDREW ROSMAN, PH.D. Dean, H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship
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