Interview- and fear of public speaking training in Virtual Reality

Purpose and goal

The collaborative project between Mimerse and Arbetsförmedlingen aimed to develop a VR app where the user in a simulation gets the opportunity to train in different situations that arise during a job interview. The VR app, which included an interview and speech anxiety module, is intended to be used, among other things, at Arbetsförmedlingen´s activities as a scalable and quality assured training and coaching tool for the Arbetsförmedlingen´s future partners. The project objective is to support vulnerable groups to quickly be able to participate in working life.

Expected results and effects

The project resulted in a VR app with an interview training and a fear of public speaking module that was tested by Arbetsförmedlingen and their suppliers and can act as a test platform for future development of the technology. The social benefit purpose is to support large vulnerable groups faster and more effectively with a tool that is scalable and takes into account their mental health and enables a shorter and individualized process back to society and the labor market. This means significantly less suffering and exclusion for individuals, as well as lower societal costs.

Planned approach and implementation

- Planning and start-up meeting - Creation of a requirements specification for the application - Creation of a project plan - Development - 2 status reports and final report - Arrange test sessions together with Arbetsförmedlingen and its suppliers to get valuable feedback from the target group. Meetings every two weeks were held together with Arbetsförmedlingen to ensure the quality of the application and to ensure that it meets Arbetsförmedlingen´s needs. Under the circumstances, we have not been able to carry out a final presentation of the completed modules for Vinnova.