--- title: "Mater Immersive Learning Pilot: VR for safe conversations" description: "How Mater Education used VR to teach psychologically safe conversations, with the program's own reported outcomes and a link to the full pilot report." canonical: https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/research-evidence/mater-immersive-learning-pilot --- [Our Work](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work) / [Research & Evidence](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/research-evidence) # Mater Immersive Learning Pilot Mater Education's own program evaluation of "Speaking with Good Judgement: Through the Looking Glass," the VR training PTR built for its psychologically safe conversations program. [Download the Mater case study PDF](https://peopletechrevolution.com/uploads/docs/people-tech-revolution-mater-immersive-learning-pilot-case-study.pdf) A nurse sits beside the Start Speaking prompt. ## What was built "Speaking with Good Judgement: Through the Looking Glass" was co-designed with Mater Education, the SWGJ team leads, and the Centre for Medical Simulation at Harvard, with custom branding, characters and environments. It places participants in familiar Mater rooms recreated in VR. Guided by a narrator, they observe animated characters navigate difficult feedback situations, then make branching choices and see the consequences play out. ## Backed by Advance Queensland Advance Queensland, the Queensland Government's innovation program, part-funded the pilot alongside Mater Education, then delivery reached staff across Mater's network. A charge nurse briefs the team. ### $40,000 from Advance Queensland, $110,000 from Mater Advance Queensland awarded PTR $40,000 toward the project; Mater Education contributed a further $110,000 through its partnership with Advance Queensland's Corporate Innovation Network. Following the pilot, it was delivered face to face to more than 60 staff across Mater's Brisbane and regional campuses, alongside a workshop that trained Mater's own facilitators so the program could continue in-house. ## The rooms staff practised in Break areas, wards and bedsides, recreated so staff could rehearse the conversation before having it for real. A break room, recreated for the training. A ward handover, clipboard in hand. Updating a family in the corridor. A pharmacy counter, recreated for the training. A rehab session, recreated for the training. A GP welcomes a patient. > "As organizations tighten budgets and adapt to remote workforces, VR offers scalability, efficiency, and deep behavioural impact. Beyond training technical skills, it enables leadership, resilience, de-escalation techniques, and inclusive decision-making, all essential for thriving in today's workplace." Simon Lowe CEO, People Tech Revolution. [Forbes, 13 June 2025](https://www.forbes.com/sites/shaheenajanjuhajivrajeurope/2025/06/13/inside-the-leaders-mind-how-vr-training-gets-below-the-surface/) ## What Mater Education reported Mater Education's own program evaluation of the pilot found these figures. A postnatal check-in, recreated for the training. 93% enjoyed the experience 90% reported an increase in their concentration 77% found the VR scenarios more engaging than face-to-face delivery 96% wanted more VR training in future programs Staff also reported increased confidence applying SWGJ concepts, per Mater's own evaluation. [Mater Education, immersive learning pilot closure report, 2025](https://peopletechrevolution.com/uploads/docs/people-tech-revolution-mater-immersive-learning-pilot-case-study.pdf) > "VR will be a game changer, helping us create ongoing opportunities for deliberate and safe practice following the live workshop experience." Program Lead, Speaking with Good Judgement Mater Education ## Mater, in its own words Sean Hunter on what changed when a culture program moved into the headset. Why Mater Education uses VR for workplace culture training Sean Hunter, Director of Systems Transformation at Mater and Mater Education, on moving Speaking with Good Judgement into VR. ### A program that was losing its audience Speaking with Good Judgement is Mater's own program for giving feedback and speaking up respectfully. It was rebuilt in VR so hospital staff rehearse the conversation inside the rooms they will have it in. Sean Hunter is Director of Systems Transformation at Mater and Mater Education. This is his account, recorded for the pilot. ## A session from headset to debrief A facilitator, a scene, a choice and a group talk afterwards, delivered face to face in Mater's own education spaces. How PTR builds and runs sessions like this one is set out in the [XR overview](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr). A paediatric conversation, recreated for the training. An allied-health conversation, recreated for the training. Two nurses face each other on the ward. Want a pilot like this for your own team? [Open the contact form](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/research-evidence/mater-immersive-learning-pilot#contact) Ask our CEO Simon Lowe’s Digital Twin a question ## Sources Mater's own closure report, and the Queensland Government's account of the funding behind it. ### [Mater Immersive Learning Pilot closure report](https://peopletechrevolution.com/uploads/docs/people-tech-revolution-mater-immersive-learning-pilot-case-study.pdf) Mater Education, 2025 Mater Education's own closure report for Speaking with Good Judgement: Through the Looking Glass, the source of the four evaluation figures above. ### [People Tech Revolution's virtual reality training package for Mater Hospital](https://advance.qld.gov.au/innovation-in-queensland/innovation-stories/people-tech-revolutions-virtual-reality-training-package-for-mater-hospital) Advance Queensland, Queensland Government, last updated 10 August 2023 The innovation story behind the grant and Mater's own contribution to the pilot. Related PTR work - [Mater case study: full delivery detail](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/case-studies/mater-speaking-with-good-judgement) - [Healthcare and Medical](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/industries/healthcare-medical) - [Peer-reviewed papers on VR DEI and empathy training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/research-evidence/papers) - [Featured VR research and evidence highlights](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/research-evidence/featured)