Simulating the real world through the use of Virtual Reality VR or Extended Reality XR is rapidly evolving to become a mainstream activity in the Energy industry.  As more and more experienced personnel retire, their expert knowledge also departs with them and is potentially lost forever.  This could lead to a reduction of productivity and expose a company to potential risks that can be catastrophic, which can easily be avoided with upskilled employees. But how can this be achieved?  Classroom instructor-lead training and reading books or manuals provide the theory but do not account for hands-on experience. The use of tools like simulation and augmented reality (VR XR) can empower new users to be exposed to scenarios and situations they may never experience in reality, but through virtual training they can solve problems with confidence, if they arise.

Energy companies are facing the reality that there are less new graduates in the hydrocarbon geosciences, and enrolment is down as a whole. In order to attract new talent, companies need to innovate how to encourage potential employees to enrol in this field of study. Generation Z people are very technology-savvy visual people, growing up in the age of smartphones and online gaming. They seek to be stimulated in their learnings in a similar way that excites them.

This Symposium invites presenters to submit their abstracts that will address the key challenge of how the energy industry is evolving education to be more visual, by deploying the use of simulations and augmented reality (VR XR).  Submissions should highlight and provide examples of how VR / XR simulations are being leveraged to transform education today in oil and gas, and the future vision and directions of this technology for many years to come.