Hydro-Quebec’s traditional in-class, three-day training used physical, and fragile models to demonstrate electromagnetic induction-related phenomena and to make learners aware of the risks of electrocution. Induction poses a critical health danger to workers that need to work close to power lines. Our solution was to develop a VR program that includes a virtual world controlled by the trainer to simulate real-life scenarios.
The VR demonstrations allow the workers to "see" the danger that is often unseen. and feel the results of induction with their own hands, while being immersed in a realistic work environment consisting of a power line being repaired. This simulation makes the invisible visible, thus making the learning more effective and preparing the learners to work in high risk environments safely.
*This program was awarded Gold in the prestigious Brandon Hall Group Excellence in Technology Awards competion for Best Advance in Gaming or Simulation Technology.
“You can do it in an office setting. You’re not outside on a construction site with risk all around you. It’s all done virtually, so you can’t get hurt. It is so vivid, so real and immersive, that the behaviour we want the learners to adopt is burned into their brains. They know what it feels like to get electrocuted; they know how to identify the danger signs. And they remember the experience.”
(Hélène Mayette, Hydro Quebec.)
BDC’s “100 days to efficient operations” program aims at improving the management capabilities of Canadian entrepreneurs through the development of key e-learning and transformative face-to-face learning initiatives and to increase Canadian entrepreneurs’ capabilities in the field of operational efficiency. Using scenario-based exercises and gamification elements, the learner is immersed in a fictional story that takes place over 100 days, receiving missions and challenges linked to rewards as well as several micro lessons.
This was followed by a deep dive into BDC's Financial Fundamentals program, an engaging game in which the participants around a fictional town, visiting the library to gain financial management knowledge and the gym to practice what they have learned. The goal is to support new entrepreneurs as they deal with unique financial and business challenges.
*Both BDC programs were awarded Gold in prestigious Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards competion in the Category of Best Customer Training Program.
The goals of the program were achieved, with over 1,400 registrations to date. Due to its success, BDC has released additional modules, including, most recently, “Financial Fundamentals”. The feedback received has been overwhelmingly positive, and building on this success, BDC, backed by the federal government, has expanded the program to include a series of new topics targeted to supporting and developing entrepreneurs across Canada.
Jazz’s global HR team, in conjunction with the executive committee, launched a global leadership and management initiative with one key goal: To align their managers and leaders across the organization under a common vision and mindset in order to build great managers and leaders at Jazz from the inside. We initiated the change management strategy with the launch of a digital magazine that featured the initiative, the journey, and perspectives from the CEO and key members of the executive committee.
What made this program unique is that the strategy was built from the bottom up, not top down. Using a collaborative platform to gather feedback from across the organization on what the ideal leader characteristics should be to support the organizational vision, we defined three simple key behaviors for leaders and managers, and modeled what they are as well as what they are not. Supported by a strong communication strategy focussed on mindset, the ecosystem was launched in the form of articles, spotlights, videos, micro-module series, open mic sessions, ongoing social networking and curated content and measurement tools. This ecosystem is now self-propagating, and is being populated by leaders accross the organization - built by the employees for the employees.
*This program was awarded Silver in the prestigious Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management Excellence Awards competion in the category of Best Learning Program Supporting a Change Transformation Business Strategy.
“I really enjoyed the size of the class and am glad to hear you are aiming to keep the number of learners at no more than 10–12.”
"More of this please!"
Through a grant funded by the ENCQOR 5G initiative (a transformational Canada-Québec-Ontario partnership focused on research and innovation in the field of 5G disruptive technologies), we created a prototype for a collaborative virtual and augmented reality classroom using OVA’s StellarX platform and integrated it into our Virtual Experience Platform (VXP). With a view towards deploying the SMART campus of the future, we designed a tested the virtual collaborative space to explore what it could look like in an educational context - where students from anywhere in the world could attend classes virtually and holographically. The research tests were conducted with the help of LaSalle College’s campus (a member of the LCI Education network) and its students to develop this classroom of tomorrow.
At the end of this first phase of research and development, we can say that the virtual classroom of the future and 5G learning not only fill a void in an environment that does not allow us as much physical freedom as before, but also has the potential to break down barriers and open the door to immersive infrastructures and global collaboration and learning scenarios.
The world has entered a new normal in the face of the pandemic, and the need for digital transformation in countless industries is at the forefront of this development. LaSalle College needed to quickly find a solution allowing them to host their annual Open House Events on the Montreal and Vancouver campuses, despite the restrictions linked to the health and safety protocols that have been put in place worldwide.
Our solution was to provide participants and organizers with an innovative and interactive experience by crafting a virtual environment for LaSalle College’s Open House Events.
We developed custom virtual and immersive experiences, built on our unique VXP platform, that aimed to recreate College LaSalle’s unique physical events within a dynamic virtual world. The Open House Event participants had access to live presentations and talks, Q&A sessions, individual and group sessions with tutors and administrative personal, 360-degree orientation tours of the campuses, downloadable information material, and department showcase videos. In close communication with the organizers, we designed, developed and tailored the platform, created its contents, hosted and monitored LaSalle College’s unique virtual ecosystem and provided hands-on pre and post event support.
The result: Over 100% increase of Open House event participants compared to the previous years!
Furthermore, our post event surveys showed that participants would recommend attending the next LaSalle College Virtual Open House to a friend, that their perception of LaSalle College as an educational establishment been influenced in a positive way and that The Virtual Open House has influenced their interest in registering at LaSalle College.
We work in collaboration with organizations of all shapes and sizes that are located all around the world and evolve in various industries.