Career simulation training is gaining a new layer of realism powered by advances in artificial intelligence and virtual reality, which provide students with a more responsive environment to test their technical and soft skills.
Since flight simulators first became a staple in aviation training decades ago, simulation technology has expanded into other highly technical fields, such as cybersecurity, law enforcement and healthcare.
Simulations expose students to high-stakes situations that require sophisticated care but that occur very rarely. In healthcare, these situations are called “HALO” (high-acuity, low-occurrence) events.
New technology provides a low-stakes environment where students practice technical skills, communication and problem-solving. Augmented reality headsets, combined with dynamic feedback from artificial intelligence bots, submerge students’ senses in a realistic environment where they must respond to an unpredictable situation.
“There are platforms out there that let you simulate an experience with an AI avatar where it’s like you’re interacting with a real person,” says James Colquitt, associate dean of research and clinical simulation at the Illinois College of Osteopathic Medicine at The Chicago School.
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For example, a student in a high-stress clinical conversation with an AI patient might inadvertently use a tone perceived as dismissive or overly directive. The patient could then react with defensiveness or agitation, escalating the encounter and prompting the student to calm the situation and restore trust.
Faculty at Chicago’s medical school are testing these technologies for the classroom. One of these platforms is DDx by Sketchy, which offers a rubric-based system for competency-based assessments created by leading medical educators.
New frontiers for career simulation training emerge
Virtual career simulation training is advancing across other academic programs. Marketing students at Miami University’s business school role-play in public speaking activities. Students advance to exercises focused on inclusive leadership in cross-cultural management.
“The field is where skills are applied. Simulations are where they’re built, refined and validated—safely, repeatedly, and for every learner,” said Gillian Oakenfull, a professor of marketing at the Ohio-based university, in an email.
A recent study by Pepperdine University found that virtual reality helps business and communications students develop greater empathy and understanding of ethical situations.
“This technology creates emotional access points that lectures and videos often can’t,” says Dr. Steven Bauer, the study’s lead author and a marketing professor at Pepperdine. “The immersion also adds to the student’s enjoyment.”
Career simulation training as a stepping stone
Simulation exercises ultimately serve as a stepping stone for more high-stakes experiential learning opportunities later in a student’s academic journey.
At Miami University, marketing students apply lessons from virtual reality role-plays to their capstone project, where they must solve real challenges for corporate clients.
Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy takes a similar approach in its graduate cybersecurity program. Second-year students complete an internship capstone project designed by employers.
“It provides them with an opportunity to verify and vet students’ skills and potentially hire some of them,” says Randall Trzeciak, program director of Carnegie Mellon’s graduate program in information systems.
The interns must demonstrate their technical skills while working in teams of five, mirroring the collaboration that takes place in professional settings.
“It’s not very often that a cybersecurity or a development team is a team of one,” Trzeciak says.
Earlier in the Carnegie Mellon program, group-based simulations let students practice the skills they must apply to real-world situations.
“We must provide students with opportunities to succeed as efficiently as possible when they go to work for those organizations,” Trzeciak says.
