How award-winning VR and AI software are revolutionising scientific education & global collaboration

The Hilton group at UCL School of Pharmacy uses VR and multilingual AI avatars to develop immersive, inclusive, and sustainable training platforms, transforming education and research globally.

30 January 2025

Since 2020 the Hilton group at the UCL School of Pharmacy have been pioneering accessible, immersive, and sustainable platforms for scientific education in Virtual Reality (VR).

These programs, delivered via Oculus 2/3 headsets, feature environments that are designed to mimic real-life scientific research settings complete with interactive, true-to-life equipment models. These allow students to gain hands-on experience with complex scientific instruments, reducing anxiety, mitigating costly breakages, and expanding access to advance training.

VR teaching is now widely employed at the UCL School of Pharmacy. Each year, up to 200 MPharm students are trained in VR on High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), an essential scientific protocol widely used in research. Ordinarily, students wouldn’t have access to this equipment until their final year, if at all. The ease and availability of VR training allows for students to gain new insights into this analytical technique beyond what they may learn in traditional lectures.

Building on this success, the group has expanded its VR applications to include pharmacist training, healthcare programs, and digital institutes that enable colleagues from anywhere across the globe to meet in a shared virtual environment 24/7. Recently, the group have explored the cutting-edge incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) avatars, that a fluent in over 20 languages and can act as on-hand subject matter experts, or simulate patient interactions for the development of essential soft skills for healthcare practitioners.

The software has attracted international attention. It has been featured in Nature, spotlighted by Meta, showcased by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, and has recently been awarded prestigious prizes such as the ACEEU Triple E Award, the RSC Horizon Prize for Education, and was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education ‘Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year’ prize.

The Hilton group at UCL School of Pharmacy are world-leaders in developing Virtual Reality solutions, helping to remove educational barriers and develop globally connected, inclusive research environments for future scientists and patients.

Please check Dr Hilton’s page https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/21504