CREDERSI, a Manchester-based innovator in educational technologies, has joined COVID-19 testing solutions firm DAM Health, to build a virtual reality (VR) lab trainer, the company announced this week.
The new training programme will lead to an upcoming virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) platform to instruct future lab engineers in an eight-week immersive course in October this year.
The collaboration will provide training courses in science, data science, and analytical programming aimed at facilitating results from trainees and developing lab experiments for the course syllabus.
Students can join from any location in the world, according to the company.
People enrolled in the course can access a physical and digital twin of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine to view animated sequences to educate learners on conducting PCR tests via the module.
The programme will also allow access to additional schools and universities to educate young learners on STEM subjects and showcase careers in science.
The news comes amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has faced logistic and workforce crises.
Comments From Joint CREDERSI-DAM Health Partnership
Andy Lord, Chief Executive and Cofounder of CREDERSI, said the programme was a “real game changer”, stating:
“There is a huge shortage of skilled lab technicians at the moment, and we aim to address that imbalance by injecting a new army of talented and trained lab technicians. Demand for lab technicians is outstripping supply in the market. COVID-19 testing will be with us for the foreseeable future”
He continued, stating better PCR testing education could enable future lab technicians to prepare and tackle subsequent pandemics.
Mr Lord concluded the Prime Minister [Boris Johnson] could also potentially reinvest VAT charges from COVID-19 testing to fund the “next generation of lab tech students.”
Darren Coomer, Cofounder of CREDERSI, added:
“COVID-19 has been such a big part of everyone’s lives for the last 18 months. This course will teach and train lab technicians about how PCR tests are processed in the laboratory using the latest technology”
Mr Coomer explained he hoped to show young learners how careers in science were conducted.
He concluded “a lack of skilled resources” had driven high PCR testing costs, and CREDERSI’s work with DAM Health would “support the UK economy and travel” sectors by gradually reducing unit costs.
Liam Spence, Head Of Partnerships for DAM Health, explained how creating the virtual world to train future lab technicians in PCR testing was a “truly immersive experience.”
He concluded the Liverpool-based firm’s social responsibility programmes were important, adding:
“Our Patronage of the CREDERSI virtual world lab will not only help to recruit and train the lab technicians of the future but will also inspire school children to learn more about science and technology as an exciting career, this is a fundamental part of our vision”
The news comes amid several XR trainers have been deployed to instruct future workforces in crucial industries such as medical, firefighting, first responding, and others.
Fisk University announced it would open a VR ‘cadaver lab’ campus in autumn for students to learn human anatomy and biology, replacing the need for costly cadaver procurement and storage.
XR Today also interviewed members of Darley, Pico Interactive, and McKinzie Smart Technologies on XR solutions used to train firefighters and first responders amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
