VR breathes new life into ‘boring subject’

By Lethbridge Herald on September 5, 2025.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Extended Reality developer with START, Austin Hatch demonstrates one of the training scenarios designed for TALEO Project Services Thursday at Lethbridge Polytechnic's motion capture space.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

The Spatial Technologies Applied Research and Training (START) Centre at Lethbridge Polytechnic has completed a series of virtual reality (VR) training scenarios for a Calgary-based company.  

The scenarios are designed to make project management training more engaging and practical for TALEO Project Services in Calgary.

Tyler Heaton, industry liaison and research advisor for START, says it’s a great accomplishment to see the VR project being used in real-world applications. 

“It is a very rewarding experience to see this technology being used and to see a product get developed by our students, and by our team it is great to see it out there in the industry and to hear the positive feedback that TALEO is getting from their different partners,” says Heaton.  

Based in Calgary, TALEO comprises a group of experts who help business operators solve complex problems and find success in their businesses. The company approached Lethbridge Polytechnic in 2022 to explore how spatial technologies might reshape their clients’ learning experiences.

“Having opportunities to work with business partners is critical for what we do here at the START centre,” says Heaton. “Our goal is to allow people to realize new business opportunities through the adoption of immersive technology.”

Working with TALEO allows START Centre to showcase the power of the technology to make those positive changes in business operations. 

“It’s critical for us to have this type of partnership because we are able to learn what businesses need and how it can affect the positive change in the business community,” says Heaton. “And it’s always nice to work with somebody who is open and really excited using a new technology to try something different.” 

Laurel Sim, managing partner and president of TALEO Project Services, says since project management by its nature is often a boring subject, but it’s crucially important to organizations. That’s why TALEO decided to actively encourage young people to learn more about project management. 

“But with its boring topic, we chose virtual reality to engage them and entice them to learn in a little bit different way,” says Sim. 

When they started using virtual reality, every learner had an opportunity to grow and understand the subject in a safe environment. 

“We learned about START from a client of ours who was already using START to help them with their training program for electricity, which is far more powerful and dangerous than project management,” saiys Sim. 

The two-year collaboration produced three fully interactive scenarios that will be used in TALEO’s project management certification programs. Aimed at learners ages 16 to 25, the scenarios are designed to bring energy and engagement to personal and professional development.

The project was supported by Alberta Innovates and reflects a growing trend of industry-academic collaboration to test and validate emerging technologies.

With the project complete, START is now looking to expand its industry partnerships with other companies interested in applying VR/AR solutions across education, training and industry.