The VeLoCiTy project aims to produce a 3D virtual world learning tool to simulate real interviews, real-life scenarios, and interview processes in order to familiarise Europeans with the diversities in the theories and practices applied across Europe mainly due to different ethnic and cultural backgrounds among the European states. The main objectives are as follows:- To explore and apply traits of multicultural interview behaviours and diverse ethnic characteristics into the simulation learning tool in order to maximise the skills and the competence of Europeans- To maximise the capacity and the ability of Europeans to take an active role and gain confidence in their self-presentation and job preparation process- To eliminate physical barriers and create equal opportunities for adults from heterogeneous ethnic backgrounds to collaborate, broaden their views and mind, exchange ideas and engage in constructive dialogue- To provide the opportunity to adult learners to adapt to diverse working environments, and interviews- To motivate adults to re-learn and be exposed to a learning-by-doing approach to engage in role acting, self-presentation, and teamwork scenarios- To increase the understanding of Europeans about the diversities in the interview cultures across the EU in order to expand or attain interview skills, boost self-confidence and personal performance, maximize employment potentiality, and learn about common interview patterns, quality and practicality traits, communication techniques, and best practices- To enhance the immersive experience and extend the pedagogical techniques and didactics to expose European adults to several realistic and student-centric situations in order to better visualise and conceptualise real interviews and strengthen applicable preparation skills- To influence, motivate, and provide the opportunity to interested stakeholders to utilise and extend the scenarios, and deliver a scalable and expandable open source virtual learning tool in terms of functionality and learning materialTarget Groups:- Unemployed and misemployed adults- Older peopleSector of target groups:- Business sector- Adult education- Higher EducationProfile of participants:The Project brings together a well-balanced consortium of partners consisting of one University, one Research Institute, an NGO, and a consulting firm from four European countries collaborating to produce an innovative virtual learning tool targeted at European adults.- University of Cyprus (Educational Institute, Cyprus)- Computer Technology Institute & Press (Research Institute, Greece)- Business Foundation for Education (Non-government Organisation, Bulgaria)- FyG Consultores (Private for-profit Organisation, Spain)Activities:• Identification of job interview best practices and case studies,• Identification of the interview scenarios and the learning procedure specifications • Creation of initial & final version of Interview case scenarios• The creation of the Guidelines/tutorial for the interviewees • A Study on 3D virtual world’s platforms and technologies • The initial & final version of the Virtual Learning Environment • The creation of the Demonstration video of the Virtual Learning Environment• Training of the learners via webinars• Pilot testing of the interview case scenarios and of learning environment • Evaluation of the pilot testing • Creation of final version of Interview case scenarios• The final version of the Virtual Learning Environment Project Results:VeLoCiTy will deliver 3D learning environment, learning material and didactics aiming at expanding on the soft interview skills of Europeans; skills required to be successful and self-confident during the process of interviews and the preparation stage. The tool will be innovative in that it will incorporate diverse and heterogeneous ethnic characteristics and behaviours. Adult learners will benefit directly in order to be effective, confident, versatile, and advantageous during the interview preparation process in the European job market.Upon completion, it is expected that the project will receive valuable feedback or interest from stakeholders and affiliated businesses or networks of the partners considering extending the life and the functionality of the learning environment. It is expected that interested parties will add European and business value to VeLoCiTy by expanding and adopting the learning scenarios and features into a broader European educational and lifelong training scheme, material, and tool.
Background: The project deals with the problem to find a job in another country which is derived from culture and ethnic differences. It aims to eliminate these barriers, providing equal opportunities to remotely attend a series of consulting courses through an innovative platform, and therefore facilitating the transition to world of work. In detail, the project aims at providing people with different age and economic backgrounds with the opportunity to explore the techniques of interview, through an innovative virtual world environment, offering high quality learning opportunities for unemployed and misemployed adults to adapt to different working environments and interviews. Main objectives: To explore and apply traits of multicultural interview behaviours and diverse ethnic characteristics into the simulation learning tool to maximise the skills and the competence of Europeans; to eliminate physical barriers and create equal opportunities for adults from heterogeneous ethnic backgrounds to collaborate, broaden their views and mind, exchange ideas and engage in constructive dialogue; to provide the opportunity to adult learners to adapt to diverse working environments, and interviews; to influence, motivate, and provide the opportunity to interested stakeholders to utilise and extend the scenarios, and deliver a scalable and expandable open source virtual learning tool in terms of functionality and learning material. Participants: 1) University of Cyprus (coordinator) - Higher education institution (tertiary level) participating in the project through the SEIT Lab, an integral part of the Department of Computer Science 2) Computer Technology Institute & Press Diophantus - Research Institute/Centre, a research and technology organization focusing on research and development in ICT with particular emphasis is placed on education, such as developing and deploying conventional and digital media in education and lifelong learning 3) Business Foundation for Education - Non-governmental organisation/association/social enterprise is a Bulgarian NGO with the mission to facilitate the development of the civil society through initiatives that enhance human resource competitiveness and contribute to economic development and prosperity. 4) FYG Consultores - SME, specialized in entrepreneurship, Strategy and Internationalization of start-ups and SME’s. Main activities: IO1: Reviewed most popular theories of job interviews tips, techniques and case studies; defined learning activities specifications, the pedagogical approach and the conceptual model; specified the interview scenarios (questionnaire with 144 participants was used in this process). IO2: Development of 7 interview case scenarios in English based on the results from IO1 and tutorial/guidelines which explain the case scenarios, thus guiding the interviewees and interviewers in the procedure of executing each scenario. IO3: A virtual learning environment was developed based on Opensim, a open source 3D technology which was chosen from the Study on 3D virtual world’s platforms and technologies. The interview scenarios are simulated in the 3D virtual environment and all required information for the users are available in the welcome area of the VW platform. A detailed manual of the platform as well as a Demonstration video is also available. Impact: Maximize competence and skills of European adults in self-presentation and job-preparation related skills; create opportunities for adults from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds to come together in constructive dialogue and exchange ideas; eliminate geographical barriers by providing equal opportunities to adults in distant areas across Europe to engage in participation; motivate and encourage adults to relearn and collaborate via a learning-by-doing approach and learner-centred means; increase the understanding of Europeans about the variations in interview cultures across EU nations to boost self-performance and maximize employment potential in the EU job market; expand interview skills and cultural awareness of participants; enhance the immersive experience and expand on the pedagogical techniques and theories to educate and expose individuals to numerous realistic and student-centric scenarios thus better visualizing real interviews and strengthening preparation skills. Long-term benefits: For future and interested stakeholders, national communities, etc. to adopt the learning material proposed and evaluate the pedagogy approach and its influence, the didactics, and the virtual learning environment to expand its value and its use and thereafter to sustain the life and the prosperity of the project itself. It is expected that the embodiment and re-use of the tool will maximize the number of the European participants leading to a wider and long-term educational and life-long learning training process where cultural awareness on interview, competencies, skills and techniques is achieved and enhanced.