For several years now, the students at the IUT Vesoul have had the opportunity to discover their future professional environment through various school-company partnerships, as part of tutored projects. To continue in this direction, the IUT of Besançon Vesoul has taken the gamble of Virtual Immersion with the Stellantis Vesoul site; the heart of the group’s international logistics, with no less than 3000 employees.
Turn the Quality and Safety training of newcomers into an immersive experience
The students worked closely with on-site experts to design a set of immersive modules to digitize the Security and Quality training for newcomers, and make it more engaging.
Through the testimony of Mathieu, 20 years old, a student at the University, discover how this win-win partnership allows students to discover the reality of the professional world and project management.
“The teachers briefed us on Uptale and I had already started to use the software on my own. I found the platform very easy to access, you just have to get into it.” explains Mathieu.
“I was in the Quality Box group and thanks to this project, I was able to really understand the issues related to Quality and Safety in the company. We were guided tremendously by Stellantis, who was with us and showed us around the company.”
What were the objectives of this tutored project?
“The objective of this project was to transcribe the quality and safety training of newcomers into an immersive experience, as opposed to PowerPoint. The aim is to train them, integrate them, and give them the best practices, all of this in Virtual Reality.” says Mathieu.
“We were a group of several students and we worked together on this project with Stellantis. They gave us the technical dimension of the field and it was very interesting for us.”
“We first set up the storyboard and then went to shoot on site, in the warehouse. Using a 360° camera is easy, I found it very simple despite having never used one before. The shooting lasted about half a day and it was very enlightening!” Mathieu told us with enthusiasm.
Can you describe the VR experience?
“Our experience is divided into 4 VR modules that last about 10 minutes and alternates between observations and interactions. At the beginning, the learner is immersed in an aisle of the warehouse. He starts with a quick tutorial that shows him how to navigate in Virtual Reality.” Explains Mathieu.
He continues: “Then we transcribed what the employees were learning in the PowerPoint into immersive games. For example, in front of a container, they have to choose which pieces are the right ones and explain why this or that piece is bad as well as the best practices to adopt.”
“The ‘win stars’ system is a way for learners and instructors to know what to focus on afterwards. We can see what paths they have taken in the experiment and what mistakes they have made. It is very useful. We also varied the activities, so that it wouldn’t be repetitive. ” Mathieu tells us.
What do you think are the advantages of Immersive Learning?
“The advantage of Virtual Reality over PowerPoint training is that since the learner is interacting and feeling like they are playing, they are much more engaged. The fact that they can act out realistic situations and make mistakes means that later when it happens in real life, they will know how to react.” explains Mathieu.
“It’s a very, very good solution for training: you don’t feel judged or like someone else is watching you and you learn at your own pace. The grading system also brings a gaming dimension, as you always want to get the best score (and it’s not stressful either with the star system), it motivates the learners to be all the more concentrated and diligent.”
What is your feedback?
“I learned a lot through this project. I understood the reality of the job, and was very impressed to see the logistics behind a plant as important as the one in Vesoul. It was also a real challenge as a student to work directly with true professionals who have expectations.” says Mathieu.
“Today we are proud of the result, proud to have succeeded in taking up the challenge. Stellantis is too, and it’s gratifying to think that each newcomer will be trained through our VR modules. We really did something useful, for a huge company like Stellantis. It’s a quality product, made by students and used internally. “
Mathieu also confides to us: “This project was an opportunity to get a foot in the door of the company to potentially get an internship or a work-study program later on. Which I did, by the way!”
Conclusion
This collaboration is a real win-win partnership. For the students, it is an opportunity to carry out a tutored project related to their professional training, and for Stellantis Vesoul, it is the possibility of training potential future employees.
Discover how this win-win partnership allows students to experience the reality of the professional world and project management through the testimony of Catherine Gérardin, Head of the GLT Department at the Bensançon-Vesoul IUT.
