Salvador University inaugurates first virtual reality laboratory in the country
Authorities at the University of El Salvador (UES), the only public higher education centre in the Central American country, officially inaugurated on November 11th, the first virtual reality laboratory to reinforce students’ learning process in medical careers.
The project called Minerva VR Lab is part of the virtual transformation programme that the UES has been implementing since 2021, as explained during a press conference by the rector of the centre of studies, Roger Arias.
According to the rector of UES, this laboratory is the first technology center of its kind in the country and the second in Latin America after Mexico.
The Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Chemistry, and Pharmacy at UES will be able to develop new learning models and generate more dynamic and interactive classes through the VIROO, the VR Platform in which is based the new lab.
The students can create VR content on their own, and connect and collaborate in real-time in person or remotely from the new 90 m2 space, located on the first level of the shared building, or remotely from anywhere, with the aid of VR headsets and a computer.
The educational innovation and the implementation of this VR initiative will allow students to develop new digital skills while helping prepare them for the current labor and professional market, in which collaborative and multi-user virtual reality content is increasingly common.
“This laboratory is the first laboratory in the entire country, there is no other public or private institution that has this technology. We are working in a new one at the Wester Multidisciplanary Faculty and planning on two other virtual reality laboratories in the UES facilities outside San Salvador”
Roger Arias, UES rector